In the past several months you’ve heard from Janet McCarthy Grimm about the launch of New York Book Forum (NYBF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving the publishing community and its efforts to promote literacy. As acting vice president of NYBF and one of its founding board members, I am enthusiastic about our initiatives so far this year.
Last week, NYBF hosted an engaging conversation between Janet and Kyle Zimmer, CEO of First Book, about First Book’s 30-year commitment toward breaking barriers to equitable education. Kyle conveyed an obvious love and passion for our industry that was perfect for NYBF’s inaugural program. For those of you who missed it, the program is available via our YouTube page.
We are looking forward to Janet’s next conversation on June 16th with Jay Diskey, former executive director of the Association of American Publishers’ PreK-12 Learning Group, who will be speaking about how educational publishing has been impacted by the pandemic and how it will be further affected by related changes in public funding. Our August 18th program will feature Michael Cirelli, former executive director of Urban World NYC and founder of the National Youth Poet Laureate Program. Please look for details on both virtual programs in our upcoming correspondence.
Additionally, and in keeping with its mission to celebrate books and reading, NYBF will be producing the 34th New York Book Show on October 12th. With so many challenges facing us over the past year, the New York Book Show committee will be reaching out to you soon for your thoughts on reimagining this event for 2021.
Sincerely,
Martha Hanson
Vice President
New York Book Forum, Inc.