The Newberry County Literacy Council will present the inaugural Newberry County Big Read program designed to promote reading and discussion throughout the county. The book selected for the 2016 program is The World Made Straight by Ron Rash. A variety of public events are planned during the months of January and February 2016, including discussion forums; music, art, and drama presentations; essay and art contests in the schools; and a film presentation of one of Mr. Rash’s novels. SC Humanities supported this project with a Fast Track Literary Grant.
The tagline for the Newberry County Big Read program is “Celebrating Reading and Reading Together.” The goal is to promote reading as a community value and bring the community together to read and discuss one book, a format which has been successful in many other communities across the country. The hope is that the Newberry County Big Read will become an annual program.
The first Newberry County Big Read forum will take place on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at the Newberry County Library (1100 Friend Street, Newberry, SC) from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. The closing program will be a book discussion featuring Randall Wilhelm, author of The Ron Rash Reader at the Firehouse Conference Center in downtown Newberry on Monday, February 29 at 7:00 p.m.
For more information about the Newberry County Literacy Council, visit their website at: http://www.newberryread.com or call 803-276-8086.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 23-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.
