This week, Jessica Jung brings a special guest to her Strand appearance via Crowdcast; Nic Stone continues her nine-stop virtual tour; GraphixCon boasts an impressive lineup; and Keren Grinspoon Israel gains Library of Congress recognition.
Let’s Give It Up for Sisters
Hosted by Manhattan’s Strand Bookstore on the Crowdcast platform, international K-pop star Jessica Jung (r.) celebrated the release of her YA debut, Shine (Simon & Schuster), on September 29. Jung’s sister, singer and actress Krystal Jung, joined her for a discussion, and guests were given a personal look into their lives, as well as an excerpt from the book.
Dear Nic
Last week, bestselling author Nic Stone embarked on a virtual tour for Dear Justyce (Crown), the sequel to Dear Martin, in which she spoke with a range of other acclaimed authors, including Angie Thomas and Jodi Picoult. Pictured here, Stone (l.) was in conversation with Kimberly Jones (I’m Not Dying with You Tonight, with Gilly Segal), hosted by Brave + Kind Bookshop in Decatur, Ga., on October 6. Viewers tuned into the event from multiple states across the country.
Comics Relief
On Saturday, September 26, Decatur Book Festival celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Graphix imprint with GraphixCon. 2020 Eisner Award-winning author-illustrator Raina Telgemeier (Guts) discussed graphic novel creation, with art demonstrations by Maria Scrivan (the Nat Enough series), Varian Johnson (The Parker Inheritance and the upcoming graphic novel Twins), Shannon Wright, (illustrator of Johnson’s Twins); Tom Angleberger (Geronimo Stilton and the Sewer Rat Stink), and Gale Galligan, the cartoonist behind the newest Baby-Sitter’s Club graphic novel adaptation, Logan Likes Mary Anne! The event drew more than 260 guests.
Keren Grinspoon Israel Celebrated
Last month, the Library of Congress deemed Keren Grinspoon Israel one of its 15 2020 Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program Best Practice Honorees. KGI and its programs, Sifriyat Pijama (Hebrew for “Pajama Library”) and Maktabat al-Fanoos (Arabic for “Lantern Library”), are the inaugural Israeli honorees. Adapted from the PJ Library book-gifting program started by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, Keren Grinspoon Israel distributes around 3.5 million books in Hebrew and Arabic each year to more than 500,000 Israeli children, operating through public preschools and elementary schools in conjunction with the Israeli Ministry of Education. Dozens of Israeli books used in the Hebrew program have been translated to English, Spanish, Russian, and other languages for PJ Library, which now has programs in 29 countries to provide free children’s books to share Jewish culture, heritage, and values.
