From the DC Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association:
Women’s National Book Association Celebrates Women’s History Month
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Friday, March 26th, 2010, 12:30 PM
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library celebrates Women’s History Month with a presentation by the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) in the Great Hall, located on the 1st floor, on Friday, March 26th at 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM. The public is invited to readings of poetry and prose by WNBA National President Joan Gelfand, author of A Dreamer’s Guide to Cities and Streams; former WNBA President Carla Danziger, author of Hidden Falls, a Norwegian mystery; Dr. Liliane Willens, author of Stateless in Shanghai; and Roberta Beary, author of The Unworn Necklace, and the 2008 Kanterman Merit Book Award Prize Winner.
The public is invited to bring a brown bag lunch to this event. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is located at 901 G. Street, NW. For more information about this event, please call 484-951-1817, or email WNBAeventsDC@gmail.com. For more information about library programming, call 202-727-0321.
In the autumn of 1917, women across America awaited the Senate's vote on the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which, when ratified in 1920 by two-thirds of the state legislatures, would give women suffrage. A group of 15 women booksellers--excluded from membership in the all-male Bookseller's League--met in Sherwood's Book Store, 19 John Street, in downtown New York to form the Women's National Book Association.
Its unique characteristic was that membership was open to women in all facets of the book world-publishers, booksellers, librarians, authors, illustrators, agents, production people-the only criterion being that part of their income must come from books. Ninety years later, with ten chapters spanning the country from Boston to San Francisco and with Network members across the country, the WNBA continues to champion the role of women in the world of words. Today, membership is open to women involved in all aspects of publishing and to men who subscribe to the Association's goals.
During these years, WNBA has conducted seminars on bookselling techniques, published four books, led in-service courses for teachers on children's books, sponsored book and authors luncheons and dinners, cooperated on local book fairs, been active as a non-governmental organization member at the United Nations, entertained visiting book women from abroad, and surveyed the status of women in publishing.
To learn more about the Women’s National Book Association, visit their website at http://www.wnba-books.org/.
