The H.W. Wilson Foundation will donate $50,000 to the Center for the Book to support "Shape Your Future -- Read!," the center's 1995-1996 national reading promotion campaign.
"We are grateful to the H.W. Wilson Foundation for this gift and for its loyal support of the Center for the Book's program during the past decade," said John Y. Cole, the center's director. "The Center for the Book is a partnership between the government and the private sector; each year we depend on donors such as the H.W. Wilson Foundation to support our projects in Washington and throughout the nation."
The Center for the Book was established by Public Law 95-129, which was approved by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and authorized the Librarian of Congress to "receive money and other property donated, bequeathed, or devised" to support the center's program.
Early contributors included the Book-of-the-Month Club, Mrs. Charles Engelhard, Clare Boothe Luce, McGraw- Hill, Macmillan, Charles Scribner's Sons, Time-Life Books and Barbara Tuchman. In addition to the H.W. Wilson Foundation, annual contributors in recent years include the Annenberg Foundation, the Association of American Publishers, Baker & Taylor, Bantam Doubleday Dell, Barnes & Noble, Blackwell North America, Daniel J. and Ruth Boorstin, Arthur Brody, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Robert Frase, Harper Collins, Hearst Books, Pizza Hut, Random House, Reed Reference Publishing, Simon & Schuster, Thomson Newspapers, University Microfilms, John Velde Jr., Waldenbooks and John Wiley & Sons.
Another 200 individuals made personal, tax-deductible donations of $25 or more to the center in 1994. For information, write or call the Center for the Book, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-8200, (202) 707-5221.
Herman Wouk Symposium on Historical Fiction. On May 15 the Center for the Book sponsored a symposium honoring Herman Wouk (see p. 322). According to John Cole, the center was especially pleased to sponsor the Wouk symposium, since Mr. Wouk was both a longtime supporter of the Center for the Book and "a writer whose popularity and wide-ranging choice of subjects have led many people into the world of books."
Dr. Cole first met Mr. Wouk at an early meeting of the Center for the Book's National Advisory Board, when Mr. Wouk stated his interest in the center but explained he had to be excused from attending any meetings because he was too busy writing. At the time he was finishing War and Remembrance, which was published in 1978.
For the center's 1983 symposium marking the 40th anniversary of the Armed Services Editions paperback series, Mr. Wouk did provide a letter describing the circumstances of the publication of his first novel, Aurora Dawn ("a sin of my youth"), as an Armed Services Edition. Dr. Cole noted that not only had many Americans gained much of their knowledge of World War II from Wouk's novels Winds of War and War and Remembrance, but that the books also were popular with professional historians; both were cited as "favorite novels about the United States" in a 1993 survey conducted by the Organization of American Historians.
New Book Announced. Conari Press of Emeryville, Calif., has announced publication of Dear Author: Students Write About the Books that Changed Their Lives, with an introduction by Lois Lowry. The book is a selection of prize- winning letters submitted by students to the "Letters About Literature" essay contest sponsored annually by the Center for the Book and Weekly Reader's READ magazine, in cooperation with the state centers for the book. A portion of the profits from the book, which sells for $9.95, will be donated to the Center for the Book. For information, call Conari Press, (800) 685-9595.
North Dakota Honors "Letters About Literature"Winners. The North Dakota Center for the Book honored the state's "Letters About Literature" winners at an awards ceremony at the North Dakota State Library on May 2. The North Dakota center was one of 12 state centers participating in the contest, which is open to students in grades six through 10, and cosponsored with READ magazine. Participants were asked to write a letter to their favorite author, describing how that writer's work had changed their thinking. Nationally, more than 10,000 students participated in 1994; 255 of those entries came from North Dakota.
The winners received plaques presented by North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Wayne Sanstead. The first winner was Sean O'Brien from Hughes Junior High School in Bismarck, who also received $100 for his letter to author Barbara Joosee about his reaction to her book The Pitiful Life of Simon Schulz. The second and third place winners were Kelly Eckart, also a Hughes student, and Danielle Miller from Page Public School, Page, N.D. Eleven students received honorable mention awards.
On March 29 the North Dakota center hosted a luncheon honoring Larry Woiwode, who was designated Poet Laureate of North Dakota on March 9 by North Dakota's 54th Legislative Assembly.
For information about the activities of the North Dakota Center for the Book, write or call executive director Dianne Aull, 604 E. Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND 58505- 0800, (701) 328-1303.
Nebraska Announces Festival. The fifth annual Nebraska Literature Festival, a project of the Nebraska Center for the Book, will be held in Kearney on the campus of the University of Nebraska on Sept. 23.
Events will include presentations about Nebraska authors; a panel on publishing in Nebraska; workshops on poetry, fiction, the personal essay and genealogy/family stories; readings by contemporary Nebraska authors; a book fair; a special "school day" on Sept. 22, which will be limited to 150 students and teachers; an awards luncheon; and a special 4:30-8:30 p.m. presentation: Upward and Outward: Voices of Color in Nebraska, the Literature Festival's first celebration of Nebraska's Native American, Hispanic and African American heritage.
Advance registration is $15. For information and reservations, call the Kearney Community Theatre, (308) 234-1529. For information about the Nebraska Center for the Book and its newsletter, NCB Quarterly, write the Lincoln City Libraries, 136 S. 14th St., Lincoln, NE 68508.
Illinois Literary Heritage Award. John Cole was a speaker on June 3 in Chicago at the presentation of the first Illinois Heritage Award, a project of the Illinois Center for the Book. Presented on the first day of the Printers Row Book Fair, the award went to poet and essayist John Knoepfle for his outstanding contribution "in promoting literature written by Illinois authors or focusing on the Prairie State."
Mr. Knoepfle, who retired in 1991 after a teaching career at Sangamon State University, has written more than 20 books, including Poems from the Sangamon (1985), which soon will be reprinted by the University of Illinois Press.
At the ceremony, Dr. Cole also helped unveil a colorful new "Illinois Authors" poster, which includes Mr. Knoepfle's name and those of 112 other Illinois authors. The poster was developed by the Illinois State Library in cooperation with the Illinois Center for the Book, the Illinois Association of Teachers of English, the Illinois Arts Council and Illinois Writers Inc.
For information, write or call the Illinois Center for the Book, 300 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62701, (217) 524-8835.