MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
October 18 – October 25, 2007 Edition
The Quills Literacy
Foundation to Contribute
to First Book
NEW YORK, NY 10/16/07–The Quills Literacy Foundation, in partnership with NBC Universal Television Stations and Borders®, is auctioning a selection of autographed 2007 Quill Award winner and nominee titles, plus other notable books, to raise funds for First Book, a nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. Research shows that access to books is the single most critical factor determining whether a child will become a reader.
The money raised in the NBC Owned & Operated markets auction will be contributed to First Book to provide new books for children who otherwise might not experience the joy of owning them. Bids can be placed starting October 22 at http://www.thequills.org. The auction will end at midnight on October 31, 2007.
Our mission is to actively support qualified literacy based initiatives and help drive those programs and causes while building literacy awareness nationwide, and First Book is a strong, most worthy, and innovative leader in this field, remarked Gerry Byrne, Chairman of The Quills Literacy Foundation, which he founded.
With a deep commitment to improving literacy in this country and as dedicated supporters of both First Book and the Quills, we are pleased to be part of this commendable initiative which will help place captivating materials into the hands of young readers who might not have the opportunity otherwise to own a book, said Michael Tam, Chief Marketing Officer of Borders Group Inc. Borders is promoting the auction to benefit First Book through its Shortlist, which is a weekly e-mail sent to Borders Rewards members.
First Book president Kyle Zimmer commented, We have seen childrens faces light up across the country with joy when they receive books of their very own and this auction will make that possible many more times over. We applaud the authors for their generosity and we are incredibly grateful to the Quills Literacy Foundation, Borders, and NBC Universal Television Stations for helping to bring the magic of reading to children in need everywhere.
We are proud to bring added awareness to this years Quills Literacy Foundation initiative, and to support the efforts of First Book, a group that makes it possible for so many young people to know the joy of reading, noted John Wallace, President, NBC Universal Television Stations. The NBC Universal Television Owned and Operated stations are promoting the Quill books auction on their web sites in markets across the country.
Among the titles committed to the Quills Literacy Foundation auction to benefit First Book are Getting to Know You by David Marusek; Jamestown by Matthew Sharpe; The Kommandants Girl by Pam Jenoff; Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker; American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion by Paul M. Barrett; Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett, and Chocolates on the Pillow Arent Enough by Jonathan M. Tisch with Karl Weber. Every day, additional authors add their books to the auction list. Each author is signing and donating ten copies of his or her book. The winning bid in each market (New York, Hartford, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Miami, Chicago, Dallas, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) will receive the selection of autographed books along with a tax-exempt receipt. The proceeds raised will be given to First Book to provide new books to children in need in the NBC markets.
The Quills Literacy Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, which actively supports qualified literacy based initiatives and helps drive those programs and causes while building literacy awareness nationwide. The Foundation, in partnership with Reed Business Informations Library Journal and School Library Journal, has made significant contributions to rebuild and restore Americas public libraries through its new Save the Library program, benefiting the Alvar Street Branch library in New Orleans and Washington, DCs Southeast Neighborhood Library. The Quills Literacy Foundation also supports Battle of the Books, a school-student reading program, in U.S. cities.
Quills Literacy Foundation Chairman Gerry Byrne is also Chairman of The Quill Awards. Designed to inspire reading while promoting great literature, the 2007 Quill Book Awards gala ceremony on October 22nd at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street, in New York City, will be hosted by NBCs Ann Curry and Al Roker, with special guest Stephen Colbert. Celebrity presenters and attendees include Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York, Joan Allen, Tiki Barber, Lorraine Bracco, Tina Brown, Nora Roberts, Mary Higgins Clark, Rocco DiSpirito, Karenna Gore-Schiff, Tony Gilroy, Jonathan Groff, Walter Isaacson, Christopher Meloni, Brooke Shields, Gay Talese, and Eric Van Lustbader, among others. For the first time, a limited number of tickets to the awards ceremony and gala reception are available for public purchase at www.thequills.org . The one-hour Quill Awards television special will be carried by the NBC Universal Television Stations and syndicated through NBC Universal Television Distribution to local markets nationwide on Saturday, October 27, 2007. For further information on The Quill Awards, please visit www.thequills.org . Information on The Quills Literacy Foundation can be found at www.quillsliteracy.org.
First Book is an award-winning nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. Through hundreds of local First Book Advisory Boards, the First Book National Book Bank, and the First Book Marketplace, the organization provides an ongoing supply of new books to children participating in community-based mentoring, tutoring, and family literacy programs. First Book has provided more than 50 million new books to children in need in thousands of communities nationwide. For more information, please go to www.firstbook.org .
