Billings Events
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BookFest and The Big Read7th annual High Plains BookFest kicks off
October 2-3, 2009 – Billings, Montana
The YMCA Writer’s Voice and the Billings Cultural Partners are pleased to announce the focus of the 7th annual High Plains BookFest will be Native American culture, history, literature and art.
The YMCA Writer’s Voice has applied for a grant for The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read brings together partners such as libraries, civic organizations, schools and cultural institutions across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. The book selected for the reading program in Billings is Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich.*
Pending grant approval, the YMCA Writer’s Voice and the Parmly Billings Library will kick-off The Big Read October 2-3 at the High Plains BookFest and continue programs and workshops at school, libraries, museums and other public venues in south-central Montana throughout the month. The 2009 BookFest and The Big Read will focus on Native and non-native contemporary regional writers, whose works address the culture, history and lives of the Northern Plains Indians.
In addition to public readings and panel discussions on Friday October 2, and Saturday October 3, BookFest activities include the 3rd annual High Plains Book Awards dinner announcing the winning authors, on Friday evening, October 2. Information on the Book Award and nomination forms can be downloaded at http://ci.billings.mt.us/index.asp?nid=1180
The BookFest and The Big Read will engage new audiences, and foster conversations about how literature addresses the challenges, rewards and many unique aspects of Native American life.
Writers interested in participating in the 2009 BookFest should mail or email a note to Corby Skinner, YMCA, 402 North 32nd, Billings, Montana 59101, or email to corby@skinnerbenoit.com
Schools and libraries interested in participating in The Big Read should email the YMCA Writer’ Voice at corbyskinner@yahoo.com
* In her powerful first novel, Love Medicine, Louise Erdrich introduces several generations in the interrelated families living in and around a Chippewa or Ojibwa reservation near the fictional town of Argus , North Dakota . The lives of these characters will unfold further in The Beet Queen, Tracks, and The Bingo Palace.
YMCA Writer's Voice 402 North 32nd 59101 248-1685 ext 231 www.billingsymca.org The Writer's Voice is a literary program of the Billings YMCA. Related:
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