Mid-Columbia Reads Literary Festival Begins October 15, Features Free Book Giveaway for All Ages and Virtual Author Visit

Mid-Columbia Libraries (MCL) proudly hosts its annual Mid-Columbia Reads literary festival Oct. 15 through Nov. 17, 2021 with a free book giveaway and a virtual visit with award-winning young adult and children’s author Adib Khorram.

Community members are invited to stop by their local MCL branch to choose from books for all ages, while supplies last. The featured titles for this year’s community-wide reading program are "You Matter," by Christian Robinson; "There, There," by Tommy Orange; and Khorram’s "Darius the Great Is Not Okay." All books are also available to borrow in print or digital form from the library; there are no holds or waitlists for digital titles. Each book is also available to borrow in Spanish.

On Nov. 17 at 6:30 pm, MCL hosts a virtual chat with Khorram! His debut “Darius the Great Is Not Okay” earned the William C. Morris Debut Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, among other accolades. The story centers on Darius Kellner, who speaks better Klingon than Farsi and knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's a “Fractional Persian” (half, on his mom's side), and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.

This is a multilingual event; interpretation will be provided in Spanish and Arabic. Find the event link on Facebook or at midcolumbialibraries.org.

With the Mid-Columbia Reads literary festival, MCL encourages communities throughout the Mid-Columbia region to engage with the same books and come together to explore and celebrate the written and spoken word. The library strives to build community through the collective experience of reading, thinking, and discussing ideas and themes that raise important social issues while also building future readers and writers in the region.

Readers can learn more at midcolumbialibraries.org/mid-columbia-reads.