Amanda Meeks of Chicago was named the recipient of the 2013 Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship. Check out our press release about her, and meet and congratulate her in person next month at the FTRF Member Reception at the Hilton Chicago. (You can also meet Sara Paretsky!) There's no charge to attend the reception.

Since graduating last year from Emporia State, Amanda has become involved in the volunteer-run Read/Write Library (formerly the Chicago Underground Library), which collects Chicago-area books, magazines, zines, journals, newspapers, broadsides, and art books. She'll be talking about that and other projects at her "ignite" session on Monday, July 1, 11:30 a.m.–noon at McCormick Place.

Congrats, Amanda!

Famed novelist and popular Chicagoan Sara Paretsky will be a special guest of honor at the 2013 FTRF Annual Member Reception on Thursday, June 27.  The reception will be held from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at the Hilton Chicago, Joliet Room, following the FTRF Board of Trustees meeting.

Paretsky is a longtime supporter of the Freedom to Read Foundation and intellectual freedom, and has been a featured speaker on the issue at a number of events - including last year's Dominican University McCusker Memorial Lecture, co-sponsored by FTRF, and ALA's 2008 Banned Books Week Read-Out. She's best known as author of the V.I. Warshawski series of detective novels.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet the recipient of the 2013 Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship (the winner will be announced in this space next week), and learn about the latest on the Foundation's cases and other activities.  If you're not a member, you can join now or at the door.

We hope those of you attending #ALA2013 or otherwise in the Chicagoland area will join us for this very special event!

Meanwhile, check out Sara's video from last year's Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out!