Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance hosts events in support of Banned Book Week

    Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, as part of a Big Read grant awarded by the National Endowment of the Arts, will feature a statewide series of events during the American Library Association’s Banned/Challenged Book Week, Sept. 27-Oct. 4.     The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Support for The Big Read is provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Transportation for The Big Read is provided by Ford.
    Maine is one of 268 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read from September 2009-June 2010. To date, the NEA has funded more than 800 Big Read programs in the nation’s towns and cities. During the American Library Association’s Banned/Challenged Book Week, our community will celebrate Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” with a full calendar of events including book discussions, panels, writing workshops and film presentations.
    These events span the state from Presque Isle to York, and all events are free and open to the public. The flyer is available for download at www.mainewriters.org.
    “Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance is thrilled to be a Big Read grant recipient this year. Maine is a geographically disparate state, and writing can be a lonely pursuit, so my hope is that writers and readers will use this programming as an opportunity to come together within their respective communities,” said Shonna Milliken Humphrey, executive director of MWPA.
    Locally, the event is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 1, form 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library, located at the corner of Second and State streets, in Presque Isle. Join the Presque Isle Reading Club (PIRC) and other readers from the public for a lively discussion of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” and other experiences with banned books or censorship.