NBCC “Next Decade in Book Culture” at Johnson County Library in Kansas

by Jane Ciabattari | May-30-2011

What will happen to the book by the year 2020? Will it be a memory? A curiosity? Or still going strong despite electronic devices such as Kindle and Nook?

As part of a national series of events on this subject, Johnson County Library presents an interactive audience/panel discussion entitled The Next Decade in Book Culture featuring members of the National Book Critics Circle on Wednesday, June 8, at 7:00 p.m. the Central Resource Library.

Join former Kansas Poet Laureate Denise Low, educator Mark Luce of the Barstow School, and author Steve Weinberg in a lively discussion with moderator John Mark Eberhart, Reader's Advisory Coordinator with the library. Free and open to the public; no registration necessary.

For more information call (913) 826-4600. Interpretive services and other accommodations for those with special needs are available by contacting Library staff at least one week in advance of the program.

National Book Critics Circle at the Johnson County Library: The Next Decade in Book Culture

When: June 8, 2011 7 pm

Where: Johnson County Central Resource Library 9875 W. 87th St. Overland Park, KS

Who:

Denise Low, Kansas poet laureate 2007-2009, received her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and her M.F.A. in poetry from Wichita State University . She comments on literature on her blog. A book of essays about Great Plains writers, Natural Theologies, is forthcoming from The Backwater Press. Her books To the Stars: Kansas Poets and Words of a Prairie Alchemist are Notable Book of Kansas winners. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and president on the AWP.

Mark Luce is chair of the English Department at the Barstow School in Kansas City, Missouri. He is a current member and former board member of the National Book Critics Circle. His book reviews and other literary pieces have appeared in publications across the nation.

Steve Weinberg has been involved with the National Book Critics Circle for 20 years, including service on its board of directors. He compiles and updates the NBCC's  popular guide to freelance markets for NBCC members. His book reviews and book-related essays have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers, ranging from The Kansas City Star to The New York Times to Publishers Weekly. Weinberg, based in Columbia, Missouri, is the author of eight nonfiction books.

Moderator John Mark Eberhart is the Reader's Advisory Coordinator for Johnson County Library in Overland Park, Kansas. He is the author of two verse collections, Night Watch and Broken Time, which was a finalist for the 2009 Thorpe Menn Award. From 2000 to 2009 he was the book review editor for The Kansas City Star. Currently he serves as vice president, managing editor and co-editor of poetry submissions for Kansas City Voices magazine.