Anchor, laureate on board for reading festival / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, January 19, 2007

January 19, 2007

Altrusa Club of Lawrence wants to establish an annual, all-day event that highlights Kansas authors and literacy.

Its first River City Reading Festival will be Oct. 14, and Jim Lehrer, a Kansas novelist and executive editor and anchor of "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS, will be the main speaker.

"I think having Jim Lehrer agree to participate will definitely get us off on a very high level," said Maria Butler, chairwoman of the River City Reading Festival's events committee.

Butler said Lehrer has agreed to talk about literacy issues during a session at the festival, which will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H. He also will be in a book-signing tent along with other Kansas authors, including Kansas Poet Laureate Denise Low-Weso, interim dean of the College of Humanities and Arts at Haskell Indian Nations University.

Lehrer, a frequent presidential-debate moderator, has written 15 novels, including "Flying Crows," which is set in Kansas.

Anne Bell, a spokeswoman for "NewsHour," confirmed that Lehrer has agreed to come to Lawrence for the festival. Butler said Lehrer agreed to waive a speaker's fee for the appearance.

Julie Tollefson, an Altrusa Club member, said organizers were still getting authors for the festival, which will include workshops, crafts and food vendors.

Butler, community relations coordinator for the Lawrence Public Library, a partner for the festival, said the event would include a storytime corner where dignitaries can read to children.

"Anything that we can do like this to encourage people to read, kids to read and people to read to their kids is important," Butler said. "Lawrence just seems like a perfect place for this type of thing."

The Altrusa Club promotes literacy, and steering committee chairwoman Kassie Edwards and other members have planned the festival for more than a year. The group also has partnered with Lawrence public schools, Kansas University Libraries, the KU Department of Teaching and Leadership and the arts center.

The club hopes to have a Web site for the festival operating by the end of the month and is looking for sponsors and volunteers, Tollefson said.

Members had an open house about the festival Wednesday night at Maceli's, 1031 N.H.