Celebrating Cleveland Book Week with the Professional Book Nerds
The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards have been handed out for more than 80 years to books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures. For eight decades these distinguished books have opened and challenged the minds of readers. Last year, The Cleveland Foundation decided to extend this wonderful ceremony into a week long literary celebration known as Cleveland Book Week. This year, the 2nd annual Cleveland Book Week will occur from September 5-9, with a series of events will be hosted celebrating the rich book community of Cleveland. We’re excited to announce that OverDrive’s very own Professional Book Nerds podcast will be a part of the festivities.
On Friday, September 8, at 1:00 pm, the Professional Book Nerds will host a live podcast interview with Karan Mahajan, a 2016 National Book Award finalist and 2017 Ansisfield-Wolf Award winner for Fiction. Mahajan’s brilliant writing about the effects of terrorism on both victims and perpetrators has proven him to be one of the most provocative and dynamic novelists of his generation. Tickets are still available for this event if you’re in the area during Cleveland Book Week.
Creating a literary celebration in your city is a great way to bring your community together around reading and can open up the eyes to countless potential library users about all the wonderful services you have to offer. Whether or not your local city foundation has an event like the Anisfield-Wolf Awards, you can still find creative ways to inject literacy into fun community events. Examples from Cleveland include a poetry reading, a special literary version of the popular monthly Cleveland Flea market and an Art Book + Zine Fair. The more awareness for literacy and the library you can raise the better. If you’d like to dip your toe into this type of marketing with a digital book club, simply reach out to your Collection Development Specialist at OverDrive. We hope to see you this September in Cleveland celebrating Cleveland Book Week, The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, and reading in general!