Read With ME.
Read With ME. is funded by FairPoint Communications and is a statewide literacy program that brings books to every kindergartner in Maine. Read With ME. bookbags holding the featured book and additional materials are delivered to elementary schools throughout the state with the help of almost 100 loyal volunteers including the Army National Guard, FairPoint Pioneers and FairPoint technicians.
Maine Reads Community Literacy Project
The Maine Reads Community Literacy Project is designed to strengthen communities
and literacy by helping libraries to reach out into their communities and create
new literacy initiatives. Libraries have the opportunity to apply for seed money
for these initiatives. Please note that the upcoming grant deadlines are November
15, 2010 for planning grants and April 1, 2011 for implementation grants. All recipients of planning grants from 2007 must reapply in November for renewed planning grant status.
The Maine Festival of the Book
April 1-3, 2011 in Portland. Stay tuned for details! DIrections
You have done here… in a couple years, what it’s taken other literary festivals in other states a decade or more to accomplish, and I thank you for inviting me.-- David Baldacci, bestselling author and keynote speaker at the Maine Festival of the Book 2008
Since 2007, the Maine Festival of the Book has been held in the spring in downtown Portland. It celebrates the written word by presenting programs appealing to a range of tastes and interests. With the exception of two events, the programs are free. This literary extravaganza consists of panel discussions, signings, readings, performances, and other events, and attracts Maine's cadre of outstanding authors, as well as some major writers from outside the state. More than 3000 people have attended the festival since its inception two years ago. Past presenters include Pulitzer-Prize winners David McCullough, Richard Ford, Elizabeth Strout, and Maxine Kumin, as well as Tess Gerritsen, Wesley McNair, David Baldacci, Brian Wood, Crystal Zevon, Anita Shreve, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Monica Wood, Patrick Quinlan, Ron Currie, Elizabeth Hand and many others.