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 Bexley
Community Book Club (BCBC) is a yearlong
author initiative that encourages community-wide
engagement with the works of a single Selected
Author. The initiative, a program of The
Bexley Education Foundation (BEF) is now in
its fourth year. BCBC aims to combine literature,
literacy and community-building through a series
of events leading up to a daylong visit from
the Selected Author.
BCBC
is pleased to announce that our 2011 Selected
Author is Billy Collins, a former US
Poet Laureate whose works have appeared in The
New Yorker, The Paris Review and The
American Scholar.
 The
2010 Selected Author was Ann
Patchett, author of the international
bestselling novel Bel Canto. The 2009
Selected Author was Tobias
Wolff and the Selected Author for the
program's inaugural year, 2007-2008, was Pete
Hamill.
"Bexley
Community Book Club was developed in 2007 as
a unique model for a community-based author
initiative to promote reading and lifelong learning,"
said Linda Kass, Chair of The Bexley
Education Foundation Board
of Governors. "As a private foundation
supporting public education in Bexley, The Bexley
Education Foundation is thrilled to be able
to offer this literacy program for our students
and the community at large, and we welcome a
writer of the caliber of Ann Patchett."
 Over
the seven months leading up to the author's
visit to Bexley in April, the book club's volunteer
committee works with BEF staff to organize events
designed to encourage and deepen readers' engagement
with the author's works. These events have included
lectures, panel discussions, book discussion
gatherings, guest speakers at Bexley High School,
inclusion of the author's work in high school
courses, a writing contest, a film screening
and a December BCBC Bookfair hosted by Promotional
Partner Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Easton.
 The
author's visit in April includes an array of
activities throughout the day, including interactive
discussions with Bexley High School students
in large and small groups, media appearances,
a donor recognition dinner at Giuseppe's Ritrovo,
and a public lecture and book signing.
Proceeds
from Bexley Community Book Club, derived from
corporate and individual sponsorships, ticket
sales and book sales, will go to The Bexley
Education Foundation to support literary, performing
and visual arts in the Bexley City Schools.
Community, Media and Promotional Partnerships
help increase awareness of the initiative.
Further
information, including individual ticket sales
information (advance general admission tickets
for Ann Patchett's lecture are $20 each), and
information about joining the BCBC
Author's Circle, are available on this website
or by calling the BEF office at 338-2093.
The
Bexley Education Foundation funds programs and
projects to ensure educational excellence in
the Bexley City Schools, one of the top public
school districts in the state and nation.
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