I got home yesterday frm Keene, NH, after a busy Saturday at the Keene State College Book Festival, which David White has been running for---I think he said 38 years. (Can that be? He isn't old enough, surely!) I have been several times before, and it is always fun, with an enthusiastic audience  (500 this year) and varied, always interesting speakers...(this year surprisingly, all female: Katherine Paterson, Jane Yolen, Lita Judge, Beth Krommes, along with me.)  A squirrel performed a self-immolation on a transformer and caused a power outage of an hour or so but everyone re-grouped and made the best of it. And dinner was roast beef, not barbequed squirrel, despite many jokes about the possibility of the latter.

Tomorrow I head to NYC and here, lifted from the newspaper there, is why:

The American Place Theatre

The Giver: Theatrical Premiere And 2009 Literature To Life Award Event

Tuesday, Nov 3 6:30p at Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York, NY

The Giver: Theatrical Premiere and 2009 Literature to Life Award Event Presented to author Lois Lowry by David Kener, Executive Director of The American Place Theatre; Performed by Melissa Center; Adapted and Directed by Wynn Handman Current educators are invited to join celebrated author Lois Lowry as she experiences her powerful book, The Giver, come to life in the renowned Literature to Life  tradition. This American Place Theatre world premiere follows the story of twelve-year-old Jonas, who as a member of a seemingly ideal world, has been selected to receive the memories of a far different past. Following the one-hour solo-performance, Ms. Lowry will receive the 8th prestigious Literature to Life Award; past recipients include Sue Monk Kidd, Frank McCourt and Ray Bradbury. Audience members are invited to stay for a light reception with the author and artists following the premiere.