Tampa Book Buzz

deep carnivale:a celebration of words is set for september 27

Mark your calendars! Deep Carnivale:A Celebration of Words is now scheduled for Saturday, September 27, 10 a.m. — 5 p.m.

From the Deep Carnivale website:

The Artists and Writers Group, Inc., has scheduled the second annual Deep Carnivale literature festival for September 27, 2008, in Ybor City on the campus of Hillsborough Community College, at the Cuban Club, and along 14th Street between 9th Avenue and Palm Avenue and is free and open to the public of all ages.

As an organization open to all like-minded individuals, the Artists and Writers Group respects the creative and cultural diversity of our community and is committed to equality, peace and social and economic justice. The Artists and Writers Group aspires to provide events and forums to serve the community through the exposure and sharing of these values.

Visit www.deepcarnivale.com for more as the schedule develops or to read about the 2007 festival.

Anyone interested in participating (authors, performers, food/book vendors, etc.) or volunteering is encouraged to contact Deep Carnivale director David Audet at daudet(at)hccfl.edu.

news and notes:trunk, west, bess the book bus

• Author and blogger Penelope Trunk (Brazen Careerist) came to Tampa for a book signing and ended up introducing some local media to the blogosphere. Good for her! Her blog is marvelous. I haven’t started reading her book yet (it’s on my nightstand), but I’m betting it’s marvelous too.
• Local author Robert W. West (Watermelon Fall) has returned from his cross-country book tour. I wonder how many watermelon seed-spitting contests he witnessed along the way?
• If you’ve got used or new books to donate, consider giving them to Bess the Book Bus.

mitch albom event at local starbucks october 26

Back in August, Starbucks announced that books will be integrated into its entertainment offerings. This month, Starbucks is promoting reading and literacy by selling and encouraging discussion of Mitch Albom’s new book For One More Day.  On October 26 at 7 p.m., the Starbucks on South Howard Avenue is participating in Book Break, Starbucks’ nationwide discussion day centering on For One More Day. A local teacher will lead the discussion and all book lovers are invited to attend.

With Albom’s encouragement — and reflective of Starbucks’ long-standing with the organization — Starbucks is contributing $1 per copy of For One More Day sold, with a minimum contribution of $50,000, to benefit Jumpstart in support of literacy.  Jumpstart is a national non-profit early education organization that ensures at-risk preschoolers enter kindergarten with the foundation of skills necessary for their future successes in school and life.

Customers who purchase For One More Day at Starbucks will receive a discussion guide bookmark. For more info on Albom’s new book, click here. Visit www.starbucksbookbreak.com for more info on Starbucks’ Book Break program, to take part in an online discussion or to order a copy of Albom’s book.

get lit in valdosta, georgia

No fair…my hometown (Valdosta, Georgia) waits until I don’t live there anymore to start the Wiregrass Literacy and Literature Festival of the Deep South. It’s only a 3 1/2 hour drive to Valdosta. Who’s up for a road trip this weekend?

bookworks needs you

Goodwill’s BookWorks program needs book donations and volunteers for the childhood literacy program. According to their website:

BookWorks is designed to instill a love of books and reading and to encourage self-sufficiency in children from low-income households. Volunteers read stories to the children, and afterwards, each child receives his or her very own book.

Visit the Goodwill Bookworks website or call 1-888-279-1988 to learn more.

tampa is florida’s most literate city

Central Connecticut State University has ranked the culture and resources for reading in the 69 largest U.S. cities. Tampa is number 24 — tied with Tulsa, Oklahoma — on this “most literate” list. Other Florida cities that made the list were Miami, number 27, and Jacksonville, number 50.

The 2005 study looked at six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources.

Tampa ranked number 36 in the 2004 survey.

Read the full story in the Tampa Bay Business Journal or view the survey online.

(cross-posted at Sticks of Fire)

book relief helps children affected by hurricane katrina

I read about Book Relief yesterday in Newsweek. Book Relief is an offshoot of the nonprofit national literacy organization First Book and has convinced publishers to commit to donate about 5 million new children’s books to the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Books will go to individual children (to restart personal libraries), schools and libraries supporting the evacuees, and to replenish the destroyed Gulf Coast schools and libraries when they are rebuilt.

To learn more or to contribute, visit www.bookrelief.org.

r.e.a.d. (reading assistance education dogs) dogs literacy program in clearwater

The Clearwater Main Library is offering an interesting monthly literacy program called R.E.A.D. Dogs. R.E.A.D. stands for Reading Assistance Education Dogs. This is what their Schedule of Events on their website says about it:

Sign your child up to practice reading aloud to a lovable furry listener. Call (727) 562-4920 to schedule a time. The mission of the R.E.A.D. program is to improve the literacy skills of children through the assistance of registered Pet Partner therapy teams as literacy mentors. For more information, visit www.therapyanimals.org/home.php.

The dates are September 10, October 8 and November 12 from 10 a.m. to noon and have been added to the sidebar calendar.

hillsborough literacy council

The Hillsborough Literacy Council, a nonprofit affiliate of Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Libraries, teaches functionally and marginally illiterate adults to read and write through its Adult Basic Literacy program. They also have an English for Speakers of Other Languages program to help people read, write and communicate in English.

Individual memberships start at $25. The HLC is always looking for members, tutors, administrative volunteers and funding partners. Call 813-273-3650 or visit www.hillsboroughliteracy.org.

beall’s donates to just read florida

From the Bradenton Herald: For every book purchased at a Florida Beall’s department store, Beall’s will donate $2 to Governor Bush’s Just Read Florida program.