The same old, same old structure of Barbara Bush’s A Celebration of Reading has had some restructuring. Think of it as not a major face lift but rather some nipping and tucking.
Since Barb is staying pretty close to Poppy in Houston and Mandi and George P. have relocated to Austin for his duties as Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, there are no Bushes available to spearhead the annual Dallas fundraisers.
Luckily, a Dallas first family member has stepped up to chair the literary event. Marianne and Roger Staubach’s daughter/author Michelle Staubach Grimes will chair the Monday, October 12, fundraiser at the Meyerson.
And Michelle has just announced the final roll out of authors of her first time. Here’s the play list: Harlan Coben, Scott Simon, Jodi Picoult, Markus Zusak and Dana Perino, who was just here.
The funds raised support various reading programs including Teen Trendsetters that pairs teen mentors with first-, second- and third-grade students. In 2014, “Celebration of Reading help launch 15 new programs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.”
The evening will include a presentation by the authors followed by a light supper in the Meyerson lobby. Don’t worry about it being held on a school night. Folks usually are home in time for the 10 p.m. news or the last quarter of Monday Night Football.
Sponsorships are available, but tickets will be on sale at a later date. Stay tuned for that announcement.
As for the full dossier on the authors, just follow the jump.
- Harlan Coben’s last seven consecutive novels all debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. With 60 million books in print worldwide, Harlan has won the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award – and is the first author to win all three literary honors. His novel Tell No One was turned into the smash hit French film of the same name, which became the top box office foreign-language film of the year in the USA and won the Lumiere (French Golden Globe) and four Cesars (French Oscars). Harlan is also the creator and executive producer for The Five, an original drama for Sky Living now filming in the UK, and No Second Chance, based on his novel.
- Dana Perino’s recently released debut title, And the Good News Is …, was an instant New York Times best-seller. She serves as co-host of Fox News Channel’s “The Five,” which was rated last year as the third most-watched program on all cable news. Perino also appears as part of the political and election coverage teams on the Fox News Channel. The former White House press secretary for President George W. Bush, Perino served for seven years in the Bush administration working at the Justice Department and the Council on Environmental Policy. Perino also served three years on the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, an appointment by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
- Jodi Picoult is the award-winning author of 23 novels, who has sold nearly 25 million copies worldwide. Her last eight novels debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list including My Sister’s Keeper, which was released as a major motion picture in 2009 starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin. Picoult’s latest novel, Leaving Time, was an instant No. 1 New York Times best-seller and has dominated best-seller lists across the country. Her books have been translated into 34 languages in 35 countries. Picoult has also been the recipient of numerous awards including a lifetime achievement award from the Romance Writers of America, Cosmopolitan magazine’s Fearless Fiction Award winner in 2007, and was the 2013-14 recipient of the New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit. Picoult lives in New Hampshire with her husband. They have three children.
- Scott Simon is one of America’s most admired writers and broadcasters, having reported from all over the world and honored with every major award in broadcasting, including the Peabody, the Emmy, the Columbia-DuPont, the Ohio State Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and the Sidney Hillman Award. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday, the most-listened to news program on NPR with more than four million listeners. Simon has written six books and has one of the largest personal media followings on Twitter. He also hosts public television specials and is a contributor for CBS Sunday Morning.
- Mark Zusak is the author of five books, including the international best-seller, The Book Thief, which is translated into more than 40 languages. First released in 2005, The Book Thief has spent nearly 400 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list, and still remains there eight years after it first was published. The book was adapted into a major motion picture in 2013. His works prior to The Book Thief won various awards, including the 2003 Australian Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award (Older Readers), the Printz Honour in the U.S. and the highly regarded Deutscher Jugendliteratur prize in Germany. Zusak lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and two children.