FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 9, 2019

CONTACT

Farrell Howe

Marketing and Communication Manager

Kalamazoo Public Library

269-553-7879

Update on the Reading Together 2019 Author Visit with Angie Thomas

Kalamazoo, MI – Thursday, May 9, 2019. Kalamazoo Public Library regrets to announce that, for a variety of reasons, the Angie Thomas author visit originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 17 at Miller Auditorium will not be rescheduled.

Reading Together, the library’s annual “one book one city” program, operates on a particular timeline. When Ms. Thomas canceled for health reasons, KPL was hopeful her appearance could be rescheduled for later this spring, before turning its attention to the selection of a title for 2020. Her availability, however, was not was not made known in a timely fashion, forcing the library to make the decision to move on.  

“While we are very disappointed with the cancellation, all of the book discussions, special programming, and community conversations inspired by “The Hate U Give” made this year’s Reading Together event truly impactful.” said Kalamazoo Public Library Director, Ryan Wieber. “Thank you to our community for its active participation, the KPL staff, and all the local organizations who promoted Reading Together by incorporating the themes presented in the book in their own programming and events.”

According to data collected by Kalamazoo Public Library, more than 800 teens and adults attended book discussions and/or other events related to The Hate U Give as part of the 2019 Reading Together program. This figure does not include private book clubs who also discussed the book on their own. More than 3,000 copies of The Hate U Give (print, digital, audio and the movie) have circulated from all KPL locations since October 1, 2018.

KPL would like to recognize the many local organizations who participated in Reading Together 2019 by hosting discussions, planning special events, and/or participated on the Reading Together steering committee: Arcus Center for Social Justice; Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo; Black Arts and Cultural Center; Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kalamazoo; Bronson Hospital; Brown Sugar Book Club; City of Kalamazoo; Disability Network of Southwest Michigan; Douglass Community Association; Fetzer Institute; Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative; Friendship Village; Gull Lake Community Schools; Kalamazoo College; Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety; Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; Kalamazoo Public Schools; Kalamazoo Valley Community College; KYD Network; Lakeside Academy; Legal Aid of Western Michigan; Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at WMU; Parchment Community Library; Peace House; People’s Church; Portage District Library; Portage Public Schools; Portage United Church of Christ; Public Media Network; Read and Write Kalamazoo (RAWK); Richland Community Library; SHARE (The Society for History and Racial Equity); TRHT Kalamazoo (Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation); United Campus Ministry; Western Michigan University; Young Kings and Queens and YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo.

Special thanks to this year’s Reading Together sponsors: The Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, The Kalamazoo Community Foundation, and Friends of Kalamazoo Public Library.

If you participated in any of this year’s Reading Together programs, events or book discussions and would like to provide your feedback, please take a moment to complete this brief survey.

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