Literacy/Reading

Wednesday at Wi7 will be capped by an interview of award-winning historian Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, by Bob Minzesheimer of USA Today. Here Brinkley talks about the heroes and bad faith players in Hurricane Katrina, indie booksellers’ role in the area’s economic recovery, and his upcoming titles.

World Book Night’s executive director is hoping that at least 5,000 booksellers will sign up to become book givers, and he’s urging booksellers to encourage customers to do the same.

World Book Night U.S. has announced the 30 titles to be given away by 50,000 volunteer book lovers in its inaugural campaign to distribute one million free books across America on April 23, 2012. The registration process for those wishing to become volunteer book givers is open until February 1.

Author James Patterson will be part of a featured panel at the  Winter Institute that will discuss both his innovative College Book Bucks program and how the book industry can better encourage and engage young readers.

This week, World Book Night U.S. announced the 25 members of its expanded publishing and bookselling Advisory Council.

World Book Night U.S. has launched the official website for the April 23 celebration that aims to spread a love of reading and books through the giveaway of a million books across the country on one night. WBN also launched this week on Twitter and Facebook.

Plans for the April 23 celebration of World Book Night in the U.S. are moving along, with the announcement this week of the U.S. organization’s Board of Directors and news that the title selection process is nearing completion.

This year’s full-color, 20-page ABC Best Books for Children Catalog featuring more than 200 fully vetted frontlist and backlist titles is slated to arrive at all ABA member stores by next week.

Joanna Parzakonis of Bookbug, Lanora Hurley of Next Chapter Bookshop, and Maggie Tokuda-Hall of Books Inc. share tips for attracting and keeping YA book club readers.

Penguin Young Readers Group is partnering with ABA member stores to promote literacy through Jumpstart’s annual Read for the Record event.