News from
1500 North University Drive Waukesha, Wisconsin 53188
June 15, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books to Host Digital Bookmobile National Tour Event
WAUKESHA — The Digital Bookmobile National Tour (www.digitalbookmobile.com) will showcase the free audiobook, eBook and video download service at the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books on Friday, June 18. At this free event, readers of all ages will learn how to download digital books from the library through interactive demonstrations and high-definition instructional videos. A gadget gallery featuring iPod®, Zune® and Sony® Reader™ will help visitors discover portable devices that are compatible with the library’s download service. The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books is being held June 18-19 on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, 1500 N. University Dr.
Library card holders can also check out and download digital titles any time, anywhere by visiting their local library’s website.
“The Digital Bookmobile will introduce readers to the wonderful capabilities of downloading titles from their local library,” said Kathleen Eull, event director of the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books. “With technology ever present, the download service that our libraries offer readers is invaluable. The Digital Bookmobile will help introduce that service to the festival-goers.”
The Digital Bookmobile is housed inside an 18-wheel tractor-trailer. This 74-foot community outreach vehicle is a high-tech update of the traditional bookmobile that has served communities for decades. The vehicle is equipped with broadband Internet-connected PCs, high definition monitors, premium sound systems, and a variety of portable media players, all of which help visitors explore the download service of the local libraries. Interactive learning stations give visitors an opportunity to search the library’s digital media collection, use supported mobile devices, and sample eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video.
Patrons can take advantage of the download service 24/7 when they visit the library’s website. From there, they can browse the growing collection of best-selling, new release, and classic titles, and check out a digital title with a valid library card. Once downloaded, digital titles can be enjoyed on a computer or transferred to supported mobile devices. Many audio titles can also be burned to audio CD. At the end of the lending period, titles will automatically expire and are returned to the digital collection. There are never late fees or damaged items.
Festival-goers will also be able to visit the UW-Waukesha library to try the digital download service for free.
MEDIA AVAILABILTY: The Digital Bookmobile will be available all day Friday, June 18 for members of the media.
B-ROLL FOOTAGE/PHOTOGRAPHY: Background footage and still photography of the Digital Bookmobile is available for download at the following location:
http://files.overdrive.com
Username: dbm-libraries
Password: Hmys3rJc
News outlets may use this un-credited as they wish.
ABOUT THE SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books is a free community-wide event organized by the UW-Waukesha Foundation in cooperation with community groups that include the Waukesha County Federated Library System, the Waukesha Public Library, the Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha and Martha Merrell’s Bookstore.
The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books has as its mission an affordable, intergenerational event that promotes creativity and literacy by supporting local and national authors with community exposure and opening a dialogue on how the arts and written word in all genres help shape our present and future. It will feature hundreds of local and national authors presenting sessions about their work, including an area dedicated to Children’s and Young Adult authors and activities. The Festival will also be home to an exhibition of authors, publishers and book sellers as well as Taste of the Festival featuring food from local restaurants. For more information on the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books, visit sewibookfest.com.
ABOUT UW-WAUKESHA
UW-Waukesha has the largest enrollment among the 13 freshman-sophomore University of Wisconsin Colleges campuses. For information about programs, admissions, or financial aid, contact the Student Services office at (888) 2UW-WAUK (888-289-9285) or visit the Web at waukesha.uwc.edu.
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Blain Fowler
Director of Marketing & Communications
University of Wisconsin-Waukesha
P: (262) 521-5481
E:blain.fowler@uwc.edu
waukesha.uwc.edu
June 1, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jim Aylesworth, Lisa Wheeler to Headline Children’s Program for Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books
WAUKESHA – Dozens of children’s authors and illustrators will create enjoyment for all ages at the inaugural Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books, June 18-19 on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha. From author readings to performances to hands-on learning, the Festival has a wide range of events for even the youngest readers.
Highlighting the children’s portion of the festival program are Jim Aylesworth and Lisa Wheeler.
Jim Aylesworth is an accomplished children’s author with more than 35 titles in print. His specialty is picture books for young children, featuring rhythms and rhymes. Originally a teacher in Illinois, Aylesworth found his students’ passion for stories fueled his dream of becoming a children’s book author. Persistence is a trait of Aylesworth’s that led him to his chosen profession. Undaunted by a string of rejection letters, he successfully published his first title, Hush Up!, in 1980. This persistence is a theme Aylesworth takes to his school audiences.
Since that first work, Aylesworth has used his talent to continue to reach children, much the way he did when as a teacher he was honored by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois’ Governor’s Office for excellence in the classroom. “Writing children’s books is my way of being the teacher beyond the walls of my classroom for children that I may never know,” Aylesworth said. Aylesworth’s most recent book, The Mitten, was published in 2009. He is scheduled to appear at the Festival on Saturday, June 19 at 1 p.m.
Lisa Wheeler shares the same passion for writing as Aylesworth. Similarly, she became a published children’s author after trying her hand at other professions. She was published first in 1995, but had spent her whole life writing. Wheeler has penned dozens of picture books and five easy reader books.
“Writing books for children is definitely a dream come true,” Wheeler said. “I am doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.”
Her most recent work is titled Ugly Pie and will be available in July. She is scheduled to appear at the Festival on Friday, June 18 at 2 p.m.
“We are really fortunate to have so many authors and illustrators as a part of the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books,” said Jennie Stoltz, Library Director at the Pewaukee Public Library and chair of the children’s programming committee for the Festival. “We wanted to make sure that everyone who enjoys reading will have opportunities at the Festival. Jim Aylesworth and Lisa Wheeler are wonderful additions to an already great lineup of presenters.”
The Children’s programming at the Festival features a wide range of authors for the younger audience. National Public Radio commentator Beth Finke is scheduled to appear with her seeing-eye dog, Hanni, and will read from the Braille version of her book Hanni and Beth: Safe and Sound. Kashmira Sheth, an Indian-born author, will speak on how her science background is incorporated into writing award-winning titles for young adults such as Blue Jasmine and Keeping Corner. Both will appear on Friday, June 18, with Finke presenting at 11 a.m. and Sheth at 4 p.m.
Children and young adults will also have the opportunity for a hands-on experience at the Festival. Bob Anderson, a retired Wisconsin Librarian and accomplished cartoonist, will investigate the basics of cartooning and teach Festival-goers how to start character drawing. Teen authors are invited to take the stage at an open mic to share three minutes of audience-appropriate original material in front of a live audience. Both events take place on Saturday, June 19. The teen open mic is scheduled for 2 p.m.; Basic Cartooning is scheduled for 3 p.m.
ABOUT THE SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books is a free community-wide event organized by the UW-Waukesha Foundation in cooperation with community groups that include the Waukesha County Federated Library System, the Waukesha Public Library, the Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha and Martha Merrell’s Bookstore.
The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books has as its mission an affordable, intergenerational event that promotes creativity and literacy by supporting local and national authors with community exposure and opening a dialogue on how the arts and written word in all genres help shape our present and future. It will feature hundreds of local and national authors presenting sessions about their work, including an area dedicated to Children’s and Young Adult authors and activities. The Festival will also be home to an exhibition of authors, publishers and book sellers as well as Taste of the Festival featuring food from local restaurants. For more information on the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books, visit sewibookfest.com.
ABOUT UW-WAUKESHA
UW-Waukesha has the largest enrollment among the 13 freshman-sophomore University of Wisconsin Colleges campuses. For information about programs, admissions, or financial aid, contact the Student Services office at (888) 2UW-WAUK (888-289-9285) or visit the Web at waukesha.uwc.edu.
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Blain Fowler
Director of Marketing & Communications
University of Wisconsin-Waukesha
P: (262) 521-5481
E: blain.fowler@uwc.edu
waukesha.uwc.edu
May 5, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Adult Programming Lineup Set for Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books
WAUKESHA – The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books has established a wealth of variety in its adult programming.Authors of fiction, poetry, business and self help, mystery, local history and nature will be presenting during the two-day festival, held June 18-19 on the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha campus. Headlining the adult program are authors A. Manette Ansay and Kris Radish.
Ansay, a Port Washington, Wis., native, is the author of six novels, a finalist for the National Book Circle Circle Award, a National Endowment for the Arts recipient and a recipient of numerous literary awards. Her most recent work, Good Things I Wish You, is the story of two summer romances separated in time by more than 150 years. Prior to Good Things, she penned Vinegar Hill, an Oprah Book Club Selection, and Midnight Champaign, the finalist for the National Book Circle Award. Ansay, a lecturer in the Masters’ of Fine Arts program at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., is scheduled to deliver the keynote address on Friday, June 18.
Radish, an alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, is the author of seven novels and two non-fiction works. Her most recent work is titled Hearts on a String and will be published on May 25. It is the tale of five very different women who meet by chance and discover deep-rooted common bonds. She is scheduled to speak at the festival on Saturday, June 19.
Radish, a 2005 UW-Waukesha Outstanding Alumni recipient, joins 2009 Outstanding Alumni recipient Scott Zieher as a program presenter. Zieher published his first work, Virga, a book length-poem inspired by a UW-Waukesha geography class, in 2005. His second book, Impatience, was released in September 2009. Zieher will appear in different sessions on Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19.
Also participating in the Festival is Philip Chard. Chard is President and CEO of NEAS, Inc., a global EAP, Work/Life and behavioral solutions firm serving over 300 companies. He writes an award-winning weekly column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel titled “Out Of My Mind,” and is author of The Healing Earth, which won the 1995 Midwest Publishers Award, and Beast Management, which provides creative approaches to workplace conflict resolution. Chard is scheduled to appear Friday, June 18.
Poetry authors are well represented at the Festival. Wisconsin Poet Laureate Marilyn Taylor, Wisconsin’s first Poet Laureate Ellen Kort, Milwaukee Poet Laureate for 2008-10 Susan Firer, newly named Milwaukee Poet Laureate Brenda Cardenas and Madison Poet Laureate Fabu Carter Brisco will all be in attendance as presenters at the Festival.
Local, regional and campus authors round out the spectrum of participants. The full schedule of programming will be released in the weeks leading up to the festival. The complete lineup of participants in the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books is available on the Festival’s web site, sewibookfest.org.
“The adult program committee has done a wonderful job attracting authors of all genres to the Festival,” said Kathleen Eull, Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books Event Coordinator. “Festival patrons will have so much from which to choose. Anyone who has an interest in reading, no matter the subject, will find something appealing at the Festival.”
Admission to the outdoor festival is free. The UW-Waukesha campus is located at 1500 N. University Dr.
ABOUT THE SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books is a free community-wide event organized by the UW-Waukesha Foundation in cooperation with community groups that include the Waukesha County Federated Library System, the Waukesha Public Library, the Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha and Martha Merrell’s Bookstore.
The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books has as its mission an affordable, intergenerational event that promotes creativity and literacy by supporting local and national authors with community exposure and opening a dialogue on how the arts and written word in all genres help shape our present and future. It will feature hundreds of local and national authors presenting sessions about their work, including an area dedicated to Children’s and Young Adult authors and activities. The Festival will also be home to an exhibition of authors, publishers and book sellers as well as Taste of the Festival featuring food from local restaurants. For more information on the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books, visit sewibookfest.com.
ABOUT UW-WAUKESHA
UW-Waukesha has the largest enrollment among the 13 freshman-sophomore University of Wisconsin Colleges campuses. For information about programs, admissions, or financial aid, contact the Student Services office at (888) 2UW-WAUK (888-289-9285) or visit the Web at waukesha.uwc.edu.
###
Blain Fowler
Director of Marketing & Communications
University of Wisconsin-Waukesha
P: (262) 521-5481
E: blain.fowler@uwc.edu
waukesha.uwc.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 11, 2010
The first Southeastern Wisconsin Festival of Books will be held June 18-19, 2010 at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha.
More than 100 authors of adult and children’s books will make presentations at the free public event that will have all the trappings of a festival– an exhibition of authors, publishers and books sellers, music and drama performances, a cook book stage featuring chef demonstrations, a children’s festival with children’s authors and activities, an art exhibit, food and entertainment.
During daytime hours, presentations will be featured at six locations on campus. A keynote speaker and voice open mike are set for Friday evening. Saturday will open with a celebrity author presentation and close with a Blue Grass music concert.
Throughout the Festival, a two-day Read-a-thon to benefit the Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha will feature celebrity readers. The annual Spelling Bee for Literacy that supports the Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha and is held at the Country Springs Hotel and Conference Center will herald the Festival on Thursday, June 10.
“UW-Waukesha is excited to host the Festival. Many of our campus authors will participate, along with locally and nationally-known writers,” UW-Waukesha Dean Patrick Schmitt said.
The festival is being organized by the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha Foundation with cooperation from Waukesha County, the City of Waukesha, the Waukesha County Federated Library System and all the public libraries in the county, the Friends of the Waukesha Public Library, the Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha, Martha Merrell’s Bookstore in Waukesha, Marquette University, Carroll University, the Waukesha and Pewaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators–Wisconsin chapter.
More than 50 volunteers have been working on the Festival for several months, but organizers will need twice the number to stage the event. Information about volunteering, sponsoring and participating is available at the website www.sewibookfest.com.
The Festival Committee is headed by Norman Bruce, owner of Martha Merrell’s Bookstore, Waukesha, and Kathleen Eull of the UW-Waukesha Foundation. The Programming Committee is led by David Hackbarth, Brookfield; The Children’s Area Committee; Jennie Stoltz, Director of the Pewaukee Public Library; Marketing and Sponsorship Committee, Laraine O’Brien, Waukesha; Site Planning and Logistics Committee, Scott Silet, Director of UW-Waukesha Library and Media Services; Taste of the Festival Committee, Andrew Ruggeri, Waukesha; Art Exhibit Committee, Ryan Peters, owner of the Clinton Street Gallery, Waukesha, and Jonathan Parker,Principal, Eppstein Uhen Architects; Volunteer Committee, Bonnie Birk, Waukesha; and Legal Counsel, Kristi Nelson Foy, Waukesha.
In addition to the committee chairs, Steering Committee members are Jane Ameel, Director of the Waukesha Public Library; Lillian Boese, Executive Director of the UW-Waukesha Foundation; David Brostrom, Waukesha; Vicki Brostrom, Brookfield Public Library; Heidi Cox, Director of the Town Hall Library, North Lake; Professor Jane Crisler, UW-Waukesha Faculty; Laurie Freund, Waukesha County Federated Library System; Kathie Giorgio, Director of AllWriters’ Workplace and Workshop, Waukesha, and Editor of Quality Fiction Magazine; Professor Joseph Foy, UW-Waukesha Faculty ; Tom Hennen, Director of the Waukesha County Federated Library system; Tracy Josetti , Marquette University Regional Development; Karol Kennedy, Waukesha Public Library; Professor Dean Kowalski , UW-Waukesha Faculty; Becky Murray, Pauline Haass Public Library (Sussex-Lisbon); Mayor Larry Nelson, City of Waukesha; Mary Ann Noe, Waukesha; Ellen Nowak, Chief of Staff for Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas; Jean Pascek, Friends of the Waukesha Public Library; Debra Running, Executive Director, Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha; Denice Ryan Martin, Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators–Wisconsin chapter; Mark Sabljak, Publisher of the Business Journal; Edell Schaefer, Director of the Brookfield Public Library, and Melissa Schneider, Director of the New Berlin Public Library.
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