The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is launching its sixth annual writing competition entitled, A Victorian Era Mystery: “Whodunit” at the Mansion, which will start on February 15 and end on June 7, 2019 with an awards presentation on Sunday, Nov. 17, […]
Saturday, February 2, 2019 is Take Your Child to the Library Day. This does not prevent you from taking a child any day, of course, but this specific day celebrates with family-friendly activities and helps people learn about early literacy […]
Searchable Sea Literature is devoted to works by North American authors, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and plays. This list of works has been expanded from what was initially derived for The Encyclopedia of American Literature of the Sea and the Great Lakes (Jill […]
This is a guest blog post by Malavika Kannan, a senior from Seminole High School in Sanford, Florida. She is a national winner of the 2017–18 Letters About Literature contest, a reading and writing competition for students in grades four […]
Connecticut Center for the Book at Connecticut Humanities is now accepting submissions for the 2019 Connecticut Book Awards. These awards recognize the best books of 2018 by authors and illustrators who reside in or who write about Connecticut. Categories include: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Young Readers. Entry fee starts at $40 for a […]
The Connecticut Center for the Book named the winners of the 2018 Connecticut Book Awards at a ceremony October 14, 2018 at Staples High School in Westport. Five winners were named among the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Young Readers […]
October 23, 2018 marks the finale this The Great American Read of 2018. The list has been narrowed down to the following top 10 titles Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Chronicles of Narnia (series), by C.S. Lewis Gone with the […]
Writing is a critical skill, as critical as reading well and reading deeply. However, writing often takes a back seat to reading development, but they really go hand-in-hand: become a good reader and become a better writer and vice versa. […]
The Connecticut Book Awards recognize the best literature produced in 2017 in the categories of Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Young Readers. By supporting the Connecticut Book Awards, you show your support for the written and spoken word throughout Connecticut. All donors […]
Connecticut Center for the Book, a Connecticut Humanities program, has announced the finalists for its 2018 Connecticut Book Awards. The awards recognize and honor authors and illustrators who have created the best books in or about our state in the […]
Did you know that 73 books for adult readers were published (or will be published) by Connecticut authors in 2018? And another 89 books for younger readers? And those are only the ones we know about in August 2018! Those […]
What is Mini-BookCon 2018? Mini-BookCon 2018 is an opportunity for publishers, agents, editors, writing program providers, MFA programs, and others to show their stuff to current and future writers. This event is tied to the Writers Conference, day three (October 14) of […]
When visitors come to Connecticut’s booth at the Parade of States at the National Book Festival in Washington DC on September 1st, they will find Ada’s Violin by Connecticut author Susan Hood as the 2018 selection. This story, suitable for […]
The deadline has passed for submission to the 2018 Connecticut Book Awards and we are excited to report that the quantity and caliber of submissions are outstanding. Judging will take place during the summer with finalists announced in the fall. […]
Connecticut Center for the Book is pleased to support Connecticut Public in this summer’s PBS Kids Writers Contest. This Contest is designed to promote the advancement of children’s literacy skills through hands-on, active learning. The Contest, running in partnership with […]
Designed to spark a national conversation about reading, literacy and the books that have inspired, moved and shaped us, THE GREAT AMERICAN READ is an eight-part PBS series and nationwide competition that explores the joy of books and the power […]
Below are some recent posts from The Catbird Seat in the Division of Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress. Enjoy!
April is National Poetry Month and the Academy of American Poets offer lots of suggestions to celebrate, such as: The Dear Poet Project Poem-a-Day April 26: National Poem in Your Pocket Day There are also tools to help teach poetry […]
Over 100 Connecticut libraries are participating in Passport to Connecticut Libraries in 2018! Based on Connecticut’s Wine Trail Passport Program the Library Passport Program highlights Connecticut libraries throughout the month of April. Each library has its own unique characteristics but […]
Connecticut Center for the Book is very excited to partner with the Center for Contemporary Printmaking and Creative Arts Workshop at the April 21, 2018 Makers Faire in Westport! This year’s theme for the event is #WeAreConnecticut and will highlight the […]
The amazing collections of the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum illustrate the vital role of women in American […]
Fresh Voices Poetry Competition offers students the opportunity to write and prepare poems suitable for presentation and publication. Since 1993, student poets from all corners of Connecticut have entered this competition and mentoring program. The Fresh Voices Poetry Competition is now […]
Lisa Lucas, Director of the National Book Foundation, will speak at Fairfield University on the topic of “The Need for Literature in Politically Challenging Times.” This is a free and public event; venue is wheelchair accessible with nearby parking in back […]
This contest is for students in grades 4-12 who live or attend school in Hartford. There’s even a $500 grand prize! Students may select from two topics: Hartford through my eyes What makes Hartford special to me Submissions may be […]
Connecticut Center for the Book at Connecticut Humanities is now accepting submissions for the Connecticut Book Awards! These awards recognize the best books of 2017 by authors and illustrators who reside in Connecticut. Categories include: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Young Readers. Entry fee starts at $40 for a 2,000 copy or less […]
Once upon a time a books were cherished, kept forever and day, and catalogued at home with beautiful printed bookplates (or ex libris) printed with the owner’s name and a fanciful image of some sort which were pasted to the […]
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with the Connecticut Office of the Arts to support 2018 Poetry Out Loud, a free high school program which encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry […]
Great opportunity for Connecticut Authors! “READ Local” is a Local Connecticut Author Fair which will be held at the Welles-Turner Memorial Library March 24, 2018. Published authors are invited will be afforded the opportunity to meet potential readers and share their talent […]
The Connecticut Book Awards were held on October 22, 2017 at the Mark Twain House & Museum. It was a gorgeous day – a day anyone would be happy to spend picking apples at an orchard, bird watching, beach […]
The 2017 Connecticut Book Awards finalists are in!
September marks the 30th anniversary of Library Card Sign-up Month—a time when the American Library Association (ALA) joins public libraries nationwide to highlight the value of a library card. Since 1987, Library Card Sign-up Month has been held each September to […]
The Windham-Campbell Prizes has published the full schedule for its fifth annual festival (September 13-15). Karl Ove Knausgård, whose newest book, Autumn (August 22, Penguin Press) begins a new autobiographical quartet based on seasons, will deliver the Windham-Campbell Lecture at […]
Books! Authors! Costumed characters! It was all that and much more at the 17th Library of Congress National Book Festival. Connecticut Center for the Book, a program of Connecticut Humanities and the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book, had […]
Actually, there is a little something for everyone in these six selections. Mystery? Check. Memoir? You bet. Coming of age story? Yup. History? Um-hmm. So enjoy a good beach, or even a backyard, read.
The Connecticut Authors Trail is back for its tenth year! Twenty-five libraries will host twenty-five authors starting July 10 in Franklin and will wrap up September 20 at Mohegan Sun. Passports are available free at participating libraries throughout the summer as […]
It has been 100 years since the United States entered “The Great War” or the “War to End All Wars” and Connecticut played a role in the war effort with her residents serving in the armed forces and with Connecticut’s […]
Elephant Rock Books is accepting manuscripts for full-length YA novels for its Helen Sheehan Book Prize. The deadline is June 30, 2017, so if you have something suitable, now is the time! The 2018 Sheehan YA Book Prize is a […]
Historically broadsides were large sheets of paper printed on one side only announcing events or proclamations – like the Declaration of Independence – or simply advertisements. Today, broadside printing is done by many smaller printers and publishers as a fine art variant, […]
Reading well takes practice, practice, practice — especially for children! Summer is when reading loss often occurs. Other things are going on – sleep away summer camp, vacation with family or friends, cook outs, day camps for swim, soccer, computer, […]
About Route One Reads Connecting the 2,369 miles of U.S. Route 1 from Ft. Kent, Maine, to Key West, Florida, the Route One Reads initiative is a partnership between 16 affiliate Centers for the Book to promote books that illuminate […]
In just a few more days we’ll be in our new headquarters off of Main Street in Middletown. We are sad to leave our old location, but excited to be closer to the restaurant scene downtown! (We’re all a bit […]
Every parent wants to see their child succeed and reading together at home is an important place to start. Book Voyagers programs are designed to promote the joy of reading and encourage families to create literature rich home environments. Our […]
Did you know? April 9-15 is National Library Week! How cool is that? Do you remember your first library card? Your first hardcover book that you proudly checked out on your own? How about the first video cassette, audiobook, video […]
The Connecticut Book Awards – on hiatus since 2011 – are back because the need for them exists! So Zen. Or something. But through what other avenue can we recognize outstanding Connecticut-based authors? Nowhere. There is a void in the […]
This is soooo cool. Danbury Public Library has developed a brand-new recording studio called Studio 170 with the support of the Friends of the Danbury Library. What could you do with it? Record your own podcast Record a music or […]
‘Tis the season – the season to apply or register for writers’ conferences that is… The Yale Writers’ Conference kicks it off – applications opened on January 19, 2017 and will close on April 30, 2017. The message here is: […]
Did you know that if you use Chrome as your browser, you can add an extension that will help you find books in your local library? Well, if you didn’t, now you do! Naturally, any library patron can go to […]
New Haven Reads is seeking volunteers to help tutor children in New Haven. Can you help? There are over 120 below grade-level readers on their waiting list, so they could really use the assistance. Here is why: Literacy tutoring helps […]
Wesleyan University’s bookstore, as probably anyone from Middletown knows, is moving downtown this year and will be managed by R. J. Julia of Madison. In the event you are one of the few book purchasers who doesn’t know, R. J. […]
Fiction Colson Whitehead The Underground Railroad Non-Fiction Ibram X. Kendi Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in Amerca Poetry Daniel Borzutzky The Performance of Becoming Human Young People’s Literature John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell March: […]
What a cool idea! East Lyme’s new Storybook Trail combines reading with physical fitness. Launched in September, the trail is a walking path around the perimeter of Samuel M. Peretz Park in Bridebrook with pages from a picture book laminated […]
You may be wondering: What’s a Little Free Library? Very simply, it is what it says on the box: A tiny free neighborhood library. These libraries are colorful, and usually imaginative, little structures, set up on a pole in a […]
Are you an unpublished writer or illustrator of children’s books? Have you dreamed of a chance to have your writing or portfolios reviewed by a literary agent or book publisher? Shoreline Arts Alliance is presenting the seventeenth annual New Voices […]
Letters about Literature is a wonderful opportunity for students to read a piece of literature and tell us what it means to him or her. It’s a competitive process so there are prize opportunities, too! This contest is offered by […]
It’s not all Herman Melville and Moby Dick or Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, you know. Tons of other maritime material has been written and there is a website devoted to works by North American authors, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and […]
The Library of Congress announced today that Stephen King will open the Main Stage of the 2016 Library of Congress National Book Festival with a presentation and recognition by the Library of his lifelong work promoting literacy. Tickets will be […]
Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and a two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages and received […]
Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and a two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages and received […]
Timothy Kenny is a former USA Today foreign editor, non-‐profit foundation executive, Fulbright scholar and associate professor of journalism at the University of Connecticut. In 2002-‐03 Kenny lived for a year in Kosovo, working as a senior media advisor and […]
Patricia Staley is president of the Friends of Slater Museum and a member of the Norwich Historical Society, Guns of Norwich, Connecticut Society of Genealogists and Mystic Seaport Museum.
Rebecca Brown is a Culinary Instructor, Certified Integrative Health Coach, chef, and author. After earning her culinary degree she worked at The Zeppelin Ristorante in Orvieto, Italy, as well as Burton’s Grill and Six Main Restaurant in Connecticut, all of […]
Ralph LaGuardia, MD has been in private practice in Connecticut for over 25 years. He is triple specialized in Internal Medicine, Bariatrics and Geriatrics. In addition to which he practices Integrative Medicine, which is the combination of the best of […]
Emery Roth II has been shooting photographs since childhood. He studied both design and language arts at Carnegie-Mellon University, simultaneously earning degrees in architecture and literature. His photographic passions lead him to careful compositions under natural light only, but no […]
As a former military brat and traveling addict, it was tricky choosing a landing pad. At last, Heather Webb settled in a rural town in New England. For a decade she put her degrees in French and Cultural Geography to good use […]
John-Manuel Andriote is the author of Victory Deferred: How AIDS Changed Gay Life in America (University of Chicago Press); Hot Stuff: A Brief History of Disco (HarperEntertainment); and Wilhelmina Goes Wandering, a 2014 indie-published children’s book based on the true […]
John-Manuel Andriote is the author of Victory Deferred: How AIDS Changed Gay Life in America (University of Chicago Press); Hot Stuff: A Brief History of Disco (HarperEntertainment); and Wilhelmina Goes Wandering, a 2014 indie-published children’s book based on the true […]
Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN, is a Master Gardener and teacher with over 20 years’ experience developing workshops and classes, speaking and writing about holistic health, edible and medicinal plants, dreams and more. She has degrees in Nursing and Nutrition Science […]
Nancy Hoehl Shapiro is currently a university adjunct professor developing and facilitating self -awareness courses for first year students. She earned her Masters Degree in Counseling from the University of Rochester, where she researched the impact of youth sports on […]
George Koopman III was born and raised in the Boston area. His passion for military history began at an early age. He became involved in Revolutionary War re-enacting in 1998 and since 2006 has been portraying General Washington at reenactments […]
Bruce Ware Allen was born in the greater New York Metropolitan Area and grew up there, in the Netherlands, and in Italy. The son of a navy veteran and shipping executive (and first cousin to naval historian Gardner Weld Allen), […]
Cassandra Giovanna doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then […]
Friday Berrigan serves on the board of The War Resisters League, a 90-year-old pacifist organization, and helped to found Witness Against Torture, a nonviolent direct action group focused on shutting down Guantánamo and ending torture. She long served as a […]
Friday Berrigan serves on the board of The War Resisters League, a 90-year-old pacifist organization, and helped to found Witness Against Torture, a nonviolent direct action group focused on shutting down Guantánamo and ending torture. She long served as a […]
On December 2, 2006, Timothy Hollister‘s seventeen-year-old son, Reid, the driver, died in a one-car accident. On a three-lane Interstate highway that he probably never had driven before, on a dark night just after rain had stopped, and apparently traveling above […]
Join the discussion of Emma Healey’s novel “Elizabeth Is Missing.” Though suffering from dementia and unsure who she can trust, Maud will stop at nothing to find her best friend who seems to have gone missing. Curated from Mysteries […]
Join the discussion of Emma Healey’s novel “Elizabeth Is Missing.” Though suffering from dementia and unsure who she can trust, Maud will stop at nothing to find her best friend who seems to have gone missing. Curated from Mysteries […]
In I Almost Forgot About You, Dr. Georgia Young’s wonderful life—great friends, family, and a successful career—aren’t enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life, she finds herself […]
Just after the turn of the twenty-first century, a group of striving Connecticut writers and illustrators sat around a kitchen table, hatching a brand-new idea. Grateful for each other’s support as they sent their work to countless literary agents and […]
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Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide contest that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. Students who participate in Poetry Out Loud practice public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. […]
Every year, the American #Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles a list of the ten #books that are most regularly challenged in libraries—in other words, the books that, for various reasons, have been the target of the most censorship efforts. […]
O’Brien was told by the technician there that in terms of her hearing, “she’s a broken piano.” That dismissive phrase haunted O’Brien and, somewhat in defiance, she wrote what turned out to be a spectacular memoir. Perhaps that phrase is […]
Robert Tougias is an established nature writer and author. Tougias contributes nature articles to newspapers throughout New England and writes several outdoor columns for newspapers in #Connecticut. His articles on cougars have appeared in many magazines, including Appalachian Trailways and […]
“It has just been an ecstatic joy to be able to do work in service of readers,” Lucas tells NPR. “And it just feels like an extraordinary opportunity to build on the work they’ve done, and to keep figuring out […]
Have you check out chapter three of THE GREAT CONNECTICUT CAPERyet? You’ll definitely want to after #reading this interview to see what Beth Lovell has created as an illustration for the Caper. All the beautiful artwork on this post was […]
The Poetry Institute in New Haven is featuring Evelyn Atreya on Thursday, January 21, 2016. Evelyn is president of the Guilford Poets Guild. She is on the board of the #Connecticut Poetry Society. Her first #book, Regarding Rock, was recently […]
The literary arts are a big enough deal in Iceland to have contributed significantly to the country’s economy. See full story on Literature Comprises 1.5% Of Iceland’s GDP – The Reykjavik Grapevine
