PRESS RELEASES

Gaithersburg Book Festival Partners with Local Organizations for Book Drive

By Jud Ashman | Published April 28, 2015

Festival Teams with Gaithersburg Elementary, Politics & Prose and Hand & Stone Massage to Encourage Attendees to
Donate Books to Benefit Local Children

Gaithersburg, Md. – April 30, 2015 – While you are enjoying the great selection of children’s books offered at this year’s Gaithersburg Book Festival (GBF), consider the children whose families can’t afford to buy new books or have difficulty accessing their local library. In some city schools, as many as 90 percent of students qualify for reduced or free school lunches, which underscores the need in the community for additional support. The Gaithersburg Book Festival, Politics & Prose Bookstore and Kentlands Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa are teaming up to encourage Festival attendees to purchase books onsite May 16, which will then be donated to children in the Gaithersburg community.

The list of requested titles (see below) will be on display in the Politics & Prose tent at the festival. All book drive purchases at the festival will be delivered by Politics & Prose Bookstore to Stephanie Brant, principal of Gaithersburg Elementary School (GES). Brant, in coordination with festival organizers and the City of Gaithersburg, will get them to local students.

“Promoting literacy in our community is one of the main goals of the Gaithersburg Book Festival. We give our local students a rare opportunity to meet their favorite authors, which fosters a stronger connection to reading and the books they love, “ said Jud Ashman, founder of the Festival and Mayor of Gaithersburg. “I’d like to thank Stephanie Brant, Hand & Stone and Politics & Prose for being the driving force behind this new initiative that will ensure we can get books into the hands of our young readers.”

Everyone who donates a book will receive a coupon from Hand & Stone for free aromatherapy on a massage or $10 off an Exceptional Facial. Hand & Stone will also hold a drawing, giving donors a chance to win a free massage or facial.

About the Gaithersburg Book Festival

The Gaithersburg Book Festival is an annual all-day celebration of books, writers and literary excellence. Now in its sixth year, the Festival has become one of the premier literary events in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The 2015 Festival will be on Saturday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the grounds of Gaithersburg City Hall, in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, Md. Other activities include author appearances, discussions and book signings; writing workshops; a Children’s Village; onsite sales of new and used books; literary exhibitors and food, drink, ice cream and more. Admission and shuttle service from Shady Grove Metro and Lakeforest Mall are FREE. For more information please visit www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org.

Questions about the drive?

Contact: Kay Hechler at 240-743-9704

Featured Children’s Books and Authors

Dragons Beware!, Jorge Aguirre

Crossover, by Kwame Alexander

The Jumbies, by Tracey Baptiste

Double Reverse, by Fred Bowen

All Fall Down, by Ally Carter

Passenger on the Pearl, by Winifred Conkling

Swing Sisters, by Karen Deans

Thursdays with the Crown, by Jessica Day George

Macbeth: The Graphic Novel, by Gareth Hinds