NC Center for the Book News
North Carolina Humanities Launches North Carolina Reads Program
November 2021
Participants will enjoy free access to five pre-selected books and both virtual and in-person discussions with special guest speakers.
(November 12, 2021) CHARLOTTE, N.C. – North Carolina Humanities is launching North Carolina Reads, a statewide book club, featuring five books that explore issues of racial, social, and gender equality and the history and culture of North Carolina.
Starting in February 2022, North Carolina Humanities will begin monthly book club events where participants will hear from guest speakers, including book authors and topic experts, and have a chance to talk about the month’s book with others.
“At North Carolina Humanities, we help North Carolinians connect with one another to consider new individual perspectives and question where we have been, where we are, and where we want to go as a society,” said Sherry Paula Watkins, Executive Director of North Carolina Humanities. “That’s why, as North Carolina Humanities celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, we wanted to feature books about American perseverance and diversity.”
Libraries, community groups, and individuals across North Carolina are encouraged to read along with North Carolina Humanities.
Here is how to participate:
- Fill out the North Carolina Reads book kit request form as an individual or as a group. Individuals may request up to one copy of all five books. Groups may request up to fifteen copies of each book. Book kits also include discussion guide questions, bookmarks, and other unique swag! Book kits are free while supplies last. You do not have to request a book kit to participate in book club events.
NC Reads Book Kit Request Form – Individual
NC Reads Book Kit Request Form – Group
- Read at your own pace! North Carolina Humanities will have a suggested reading pace guide for those who would like it.
- Join thousands of other North Carolinians at one of the five book discussion and panel events hosted by North Carolina Humanities, happening online and in person. Event details will be released starting in early 2022.
“Readers have the opportunity to explore people, places, and events related to North Carolina history. All five books pose critical questions about how North Carolinians view their role in helping to form a more just and inclusive society. We hope these stories encourage engaging, productive conversation among participants,” Watkins said.
North Carolina Reads book list for 2022 by month:
February 2022 – Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia by Thomas Healy
- Nonfiction. In a gripping, poignant narrative, acclaimed author Thomas Healy resurrects this forgotten saga of race, capitalism, and the struggle for equality. Was it an impossible dream from the beginning? Or a brilliant idea thwarted by prejudice and ignorance? And how might America be different today if Soul City had been allowed to succeed?
March 2022 – The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash
- Historical Fiction. Intertwining myriad voices, Wiley Cash brings to life the heartbreak and bravery of the now forgotten struggle of the labor movement in early twentieth-century America—and pays tribute to the thousands of heroic women and men who risked their lives to win basic rights for all workers.
April 2022 – Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle
- Historical Fiction. Nineteen-year-old Cowney Sequoyah yearns to escape his hometown of Cherokee, North Carolina, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. When a summer job at Asheville’s luxurious Grove Park Inn and Resort brings him one step closer to escaping the hills that both cradle and suffocate him, he sees it as an opportunity.
May 2022 – Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life by Troy R. Saxby
- Nonfiction Biography. Raised in Durham, the Rev. Dr. Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray (1910–1985) was a trailblazing social activist, writer, lawyer, civil rights organizer, and campaigner for gender rights. In this intimate biography, Troy Saxby provides the most comprehensive account of Murray’s inner life to date, revealing her struggles in poignant detail and deepening our understanding and admiration of her numerous achievements in the face of pronounced racism, homophobia, transphobia, and political persecution.
June 2022 – Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR by Neal Thompson
- Nonfiction. The true story behind NASCAR’s moonshine-fueled origins. Long before the sport of stock-car racing existed, young men in the rural, Depression-wracked South learned that cars and speed were tickets to a better life. With few options beyond farm or factory, the best chance of escape was running moonshine.
In addition to North Carolina Reads, North Carolina Humanities is partnering with the Chapel Hill-based organization Carolina K-12 to host an interactive, two-day teacher workshop in spring 2022. The workshop will build on the themes present throughout the five North Carolina Reads books and introduce other activities to help teachers critically examine our comprehensive past as a nation for students. Registration details will be available in early 2022.
North Carolina Reads is made possible in part by “A More Perfect Union”, a special initiative grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. North Carolina Reads builds on previous North Carolina Humanities book club programs, including the recent 2020-2021 environmental humanities-focused “Watershed Moments: Statewide Read”.
North Carolina Reads book kits are available for request through December 2021. Please direct all North Carolina Reads-related questions to Melissa Giblin, Director of the North Carolina Center for the Book at mgiblin@nchumanities.org or (704) 687-1526.
Please note that selected North Carolina Reads books are intended for readers 18 and over and may not be suitable for some audiences. People completing a book request form must be 18 years or older and reside in North Carolina.
About North Carolina Humanities: Through grant-making and public humanities programs, North Carolina Humanities connects North Carolinians with cultural experiences that spur dialogue, deepen human connections, and inspire community. North Carolina Humanities is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The North Carolina Center for the Book, the state affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library Congress, is a program of North Carolina Humanities that promotes books, libraries, literacy, and reading around the state. To learn more visit www.nchumanities.org.
Press Contact: Melanie Moore Richeson, North Carolina Humanities, 704-687-1520, mmoore@nchumanities.org