libraries: Everybody Reads brings Pulitzer Prize winner to the Palouse

Get out your calendars and red pens to mark Nov. 12-13 as red-letter days because a Pulitzer Prize winner and the author of "All the Light We Cannot See," Mr. Anthony Doerr, is coming to the Palouse.

Everybody Reads 2015 is thrilled to announce Doerr and his bestselling novel as the featured title and headlining speaker for this fall's annual community reading program.

The Everybody Reads program is "a region-wide effort that declares, with one voice, that reading is not only a source of individual pleasure, but a tool for community-building." Originating in the Lewis-Clark Valley in 2000, Everybody Reads has expanded throughout the region with participation from Asotin County Library, Clarkston High School Library, Neill Public Library, Whitman County Library, WSU Libraries, Latah County Library, Lewiston City Library, Lewiston High School Library, Prairie-River Library District, Denny Ashby Library and Columbia County Library District.

Neill Public Library will host Doerr for an evening presentation, "All the Light We Cannot See, Conversations with Anthony Doerr," at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 13. A complete schedule of Doerr's tour is as follows:

Nov. 12

• noon, Clarkston High School
• 6 p.m., Lewiston City Library

Nov. 13

• noon luncheon, Colfax Branch, Whitman County Library. Catered lunch available for $12. Reservations required, call (877) 733-3375.
• 5:30 p.m., Neill Public Library
• 7:30 p.m., Moscow High School Auditorium

Your local libraries and bookstores have stocked up on copies of "All the Light We Cannot See," encouraging patrons to read in preparation for author presentations and lively community discussions.

"All the Light We Cannot See" tells the story of a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. More than a story of the war, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, that people try to be good to one another.

"All the Light We Cannot See" has won many awards, including the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2015 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. In addition, it is a No. 1 New York Times Bestseller, a finalist for the 2014 National Book Award and the No. 2 book of 2014 at Amazon.com.

Residents inspired by "All the Light We Cannot See" should consider participating in "Everybody Writes," a region-wide community writing program. Submit an original work of poetry, fiction or nonfiction on the topic of "War" to your local library by Oct. 23. Works are limited to 800 words or fewer. First prize winner receives a Kindle Voyage, second and third prize winners receive Amazon gift cards. More information about this partner program is available from the Everybody Reads website at www.everybody-reads.org.

Contact your local library for more information about these programs, or visit the Everybody Reads website at www.everybody-reads.org. Everybody Reads sponsors include the Idaho Humanities Council, Confluence Press, Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Whitman County Gazette, Pullman radio stations KQZB, KHTR and KQQQ, ... And Books, Too!, The Bookie of Pullman, Main Street Books of Colfax, BookPeople of Moscow, Clarkston Quality Inn & Suites and Sixth Street Retreat.

Joanna Bailey is the director of Neill Public Library.