Austin, TX – The Texas Center for the Book (TCFB) is pleased to announce a partnership with BookPeople and the Texas Library and Archives Foundation for its 2023 reading campaign, Read Across Texas: Empathy. In order to provide books to libraries, donations for this annual statewide community read are now being accepted on BookPeople’s website at www.bookpeople.com/community/read-across-texas-empathy.
Additionally, on February 25, 10 percent of all in-person and online sales at BookPeople will go toward Read Across Texas book grants.
That evening, Naomi Shihab Nye, the author of one of this year’s featured titles, the poetry book Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners, will be featured in an in-person event at 7:00 p.m. at BookPeople in Austin.
Meanwhile, Texas libraries are encouraged to apply for book grants and hold programming space on their spring calendars. The amount of “book bundle grants” available depends on the February fundraising, and applicants will be evaluated and awarded as fundraising progresses. All applications must be received by February 28, 2023.
Read Across Texas: Empathy will offer libraries a broad canvas for convening individuals and groups to explore the unique questions, challenges and solidarity that can occur in communities throughout the state. The four book selections will give communities a platform to engage in challenging, insightful and transformative conversations.
• Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña (Picture Book)
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (Fiction)
• Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter’s Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times by Scott Pelley (Memoir/Nonfiction/Essays)
• Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners by Naomi Shihab Nye (Poetry suitable for YA and up)
“BookPeople is excited for the opportunity to partner with the Texas Center for the Book on this amazing program that puts free books into the hands of Texans for important conversations,” said Charley Rejsek, BookPeople CEO. “The 2023 theme of empathy could not have come at a more timely moment. We are happy to be able to support our community bound by books in this partnership, with hope to grow it in the years to come.”
Texans can also support the program directly by donating to the Texas Library and Archives Foundation. This Foundation makes this program possible.
Stay tuned to www.tsl.texas.gov/readacrosstexas for more information.
Established in 1987, the Texas Center for the Book seeks to stimulate public interest in books, reading, literacy and libraries. The Center builds partnerships with library professionals, educators, authors, publishers and booksellers who provide support to our shared mission of promoting a love of literature throughout the Lone Star State. The Texas Center for the Book is under the direction of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission at the Lorenzo De Zavala State Archives and Library Building in Austin, Texas.
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The Texas State Library and Archives Commission provides Texans access to the information they need to be informed, productive citizens by preserving the archival record of Texas; enhancing the service capacity of public, academic and school libraries; assisting public agencies in the maintenance of their records; and meeting the reading needs of Texans with disabilities. For more information, visit tsl.texas.gov.
