Concordia to host book sale in preparation for the Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival

The Plum Creek Children’s Literacy Festival will host a pre-event book sale in Room 003 on the lower level of the Thom Leadership Education Center at Concordia University, Nebraska, Wednesday, Sept. 4, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The sale will include books by Plum Creek authors, illustrators and literacy experts featured at the 24th annual festival Sept. 19-21, taking place at Concordia. Books purchased may be left for the authors to sign and then picked up after the festival. The sale, run by volunteers, is one of the main sources of funding for the festival.

“Our festival pre-sale has titles for all ages from our featured authors and illustrators- board books, picture books, chapter books, and young adult novels- by some of today’s most prominent authors and illustrators in the field,” said Dylan Teut, director of the Plum Creek Literacy Festival. “Purchases are left behind to be autographed by the book creators themselves and are available for pick up following the festival. An autographed book is a unique treasure that makes for a great gift. A portion of all sales come directly back and support the festival which we are then able to offer to over 14,000 children free of charge.”

This year’s festival will feature authors and illustrators who spend hours with children at schools and on campus Sept. 20. Authors and illustrators at the event are Sarah Albee, Ben Clanton, Kate DiCamillo, Matt Glover, Lita Judge, Alan Katz, Penny Kittle, Kekla Magoon, Kate Messner, Florence Minor, Wendell Minor, Barbara O’Connor, Lin Oliver, Jason Reynolds, Lori Richmond, Stephen Savage, Matt Tavares, Duncan Tonatiuh and Jacqueline Woodson.

The festival also includes an adult conference Sept. 21 with authors, illustrators and several literacy experts speaking on a variety of topics. The conference features a luncheon and keynote address by Kate DiCamillo, who has written many popular novels including “Because of Winn-Dixie,” and “The Tale of Desperaux,” and is one of six authors who have received the American Library Association’s Newbery Medal multiple times. Space for the luncheon is limited and must be reserved through the online registration form prior to the event.

Find out more about the Plum Creek Literacy Festival at cune.edu/plumcreek and on the festival’s Facebook page at facebook.com/plumcreekliteracy.