The Big Read Sonoma County, led by KRCB Public Broadcasting, is pleased to announce that once again its countywide reading program has been selected to receive funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. This year’s program, which takes place during September and October, will include a wide range of activities and book-related projects based upon Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, about coming of age and confronting racism in the South in the middle of the 20th Century.

From book club discussions to dramatic readings to multimedia interpretations and more, The Big Read Sonoma County joins more than two hundred communities across the United States participating in The Big Read, an initiative designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.  To Kill a Mockingbird presents opportunities to explore and discuss the themes of empathy, the criminal justice system, confronting racial tensions, and the importance of neighborhoods and community, among others.

“We are thrilled to once again have the opportunity to lead a county-wide reading program,” said Nancy Dobbs, President and CEO of KRCB.  “We hope this will be an opportunity to raise and discuss the themes of the novel as they relate to our own community.”

The local program, an outgrowth of the decade old Sonoma County Reads encourages reading among adults, teens, and youth. It is facilitated by KRCB in partnership with the Sonoma County Library, Sonoma County Public Library Foundation, the Arts Council of Sonoma County, Sonoma County Book Festival, Sonoma State University, Santa Rosa Junior College and Copperfield’s Books.

The Big Read Sonoma County and KRCB encourage community members to participate and organize activities related to the Big Read this fall. All activities will be listed on the Big Read Sonoma County calendar of events, which will be distributed throughout the county, and on the Big Read Sonoma County and KRCB websites.  The most creative, interesting projects will be featured on KRCB’s airwaves.  In addition, a limited number of mini grants of between $50 and $500 will be available. 

For information about the NEA initiative, visit www.neabigread.org. To learn more about The Big Read Sonoma County, visit www.bigreadsonoma.com or call Robin Metalitz, KRCB Outreach Coordinator at 707-584-2005.