STATEWIDE IMPACT

11,000+participantsatvirtual SouthernFestivalofBook

500,000+peoplereached throughChapter16org

61Festivalsessions withmorethan 125authors

50+YoungWriters' Workshopstudents

4,000booksdistributed&3,500 studentsjoinedJasonReynolds liveinsideMinecraft

91SHARPAwards totaling$941,454

2Neighborhood StoryProjects

$80,000+grantawards

Humanities Tennessee serves as the Tennessee affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book What does this designation mean for Tennesseans?

Through the multitude of HT's literary programs, we strive to promote books and libraries, literacy and reading We highlight Tennessee's literary heritage past and present and encourage the creation of new work. We're thrilled to spotlight just a few, of the many, programs that engaged the public with literary Tennessee throughout 2021-2022

On October 22, 2021, we presented a virtual Student Reader Day with Jason Reynolds, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature 4,000 TN students received his book. On the morning of the big event, 3,500 students tuned in for a live broadcast that weaved together contributions from various schools: submitted questions, a student introduction, live student interviews (that took place, in part, inside the popular video game Minecraft!), teacher-submitted photos of participating schools and “responses to the work ” Our friend at the Library relayed that "Jason called it the "nerdiest fun he's had at an event!""

For the 2021 virtual Southern Festival of Books, we were happy to present programs through two special partnerships, in addition to the robust Festival schedule. The National Museum of African-American Music hosted Daniel de Visé for his book King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King. The museum curator, Steven Lewis, interviewed the author, and attendees were offered discounted tour tickets. We also continued our work with the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt on a themed track relating to climate change featuring multiple genres and topics, from poetry to environmental racism to fiction You can enjoy two years of recorded sessions on the Festival's YouTube channel @sofestofbooks.

After two years of a virtual experience, the Young Writers' Workshop returned to an in-person event. In partnership with East Tennessee State University we welcomed 50 rising 9th graders- recently graduated high school students for a week-long residency in Johnson City where they worked alongside peers and professional writers.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to not only improve my writing and learn new skills, but also the chance to learn about myself in a safe place and meet some really great new friends."

SoFestofBooks.org