Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, the celebrated author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, has been confirmed as the keynote speaker for the much-anticipated return of the leading event for writers in Western Massachusetts, The WriteAngles Conference. After a multi-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the conference will reconvene on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at the … Read more
The selection panel for the Straw Dog Writers Guild Emerging Writer Fellowship has announced the 2022-23 shortlist of three writers. They are Vida James, Regine Jackson, and Syki Barbee (L to R in the photo above). One writer will be named the 2022-23 Fellow in March. The Fellow will receive a $3000 grant from Straw … Read more
Massachusetts Center for the Book today released the list of award winners and honorees for the 21st Annual Massachusetts Book Awards. The Awards recognize achievement in five categories of literature written by current residents of the Commonwealth and published in 2020. “The Massachusetts Book Awards is a perennial reminder of the enviable talent of the … Read more
On November 5, 2021, the new Reuben Hoar Library in Littleton MA opened its doors to the public and celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The $14.5 million project was supported by a $5.8 million grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP). “A library is a living … Read more
A new statewide program from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), now makes it possible for residents to “borrow the Internet” from their local library by checking out a hotspot. Thousands of Massachusetts residents rely on libraries for internet access. There were an average of 15,000 internet sessions every day in public libraries … Read more
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) has announced that it is using funds from the American Rescue Plan to help libraries in communities deemed “hard hit by COVID” by Governor Charlie Baker’s office. The board is providing programs and services that will help their communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Massachusetts Department of … Read more
On Tuesday, October 12, Grub Street responded to the New York Times article that created the sort of social media excitement and angst usually reserved for Hollywood scandals. There have been over a thousand comments on the article and it has created heated discussions on social media. Here is the email Grub Street sent out … Read more
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) has approved $500,000 in grants to library networks in Massachusetts to purchase eContent for the Library eBook and Audiobook (LEA) program. LEA gives Massachusetts residents access to eBooks, audiobooks, and more from 377 participating libraries from across the Commonwealth. This statewide system allows eContent to be shared in a similar … Read more
This month, Western MA arts organization, Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop, will launch a new program: The Writing Across Borders reading series, which seeks to promote dialogue between writers across cultures and continents by spotlighting, each fall, a talented emerging writer living in another part of the world. The program hopes to offer the featured writer … Read more
“Pretty soon all fiction will be climate fiction.” So begins the description for one of the events at the 2021 Boston Book Festival. Meanwhile, another event, the Kickoff Keynote for the festival, is titled, “Our Pandemic Future.” In a time when we now know that climate change has already started changing how we live and … Read more
For many years now, residents of Massachusetts have been able to access audiobooks, ebooks and e-versions of their favorite magazines through various library networks. The demand for econtent continues to grow and surged after libraries closed their doors in 2020 as COVID-19 led to shutdowns of many public spaces across the country. At its October … Read more
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) has partnered with Walker Cares to offer Youth Mental Health First Aid to library staff. “Frontline library staff work with teens, many of whom have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and a year of social distancing.” said Lyndsay Forbes, Project Manager and Grants Specialist at the MBLC. “This program has … Read more