Celebrating in Seattle!

I'm celebrating! It's such an honor that the National Book Foundation chose to award rgz in their first ever Innovations in Reading Grant.

Here was the criteria for their site:

The Foundation's first year of offering the Innovations in Reading Prize (IRP) saw 150 applications from 30 states. Applications fell into the following categories:

Education & Community Outreach
Tools & Technology
Schools & School Libraries
Public & University Libraries
Literary Magazines & Publishers
Book Clubs, Reading Series & Performance
Individuals

A selection process was created based on the following criteria: level of innovation, impact and need, with innovation always carrying the most weight. Impact and need came into play only in cases where two programs were judged to be equally innovative. “Innovation” was not limited to meaning only technologically innovative. In some cases, innovation meant identifying a need in the community and developing a program to address that need in a simple and effective way. In all cases, selections were made to reward programs that create and sustain a life long love of reading.

	The three active co-founders from left to right: Justina Chen Headley, Dia Calhoun, Lorie Ann Grover.

The whole story is here. And we hit Publishers Weekly this morning, too! I'm off to a meeting now with the divas: Justina, Dia, Holly Cupala, and Melissa Walker. If you hear a squee from the Northwest, it's us!