Fox Cities, get ready! The 2021 Reads announcement is coming and we have some extra special events in store to celebrate. Read on for all the details.

In January, the Fox Cities Book Festival will announce the book choice for the 2021 Fox Cities Reads. In recent years, we’ve hosted authors Kao Kalia Yang and Matthew Desmond, so you know our 2021 pick is going to be BIG. The Fox Cities Reads is a powerful, shared community experience that brings us together as we learn about different topics and perspectives. The theme for 2021 is Your Authentic Self.

“The idea is that the city that opens the
same book closes it in greater harmony.”

— Mary McGrory, The Washington Post, March 17, 2002

The virtual launch of the 2021 Fox Cities Reads title is scheduled for January 26th, 2021 at 7:00 PM. We are excited to share more about the book, author, and the youth-led advocacy that motivated our selection for 2021.

Please mark your calendars now for the virtual launch. You can register for the Zoom call here, or you can watch on Facebook, either live or the recording.

Your Authentic Self Poetry Contest & Workshop

To celebrate Your Authentic Self, FCBF will host a community-wide poetry contest in the weeks ahead of the Reads announcement! We’ve also planned an excellent poetry workshop to help you on your way.

There are three categories: Adult, Teen, and Youth. The first place winner of each category will receive a $50 cash prize and will be invited to read their poetry at the virtual launch on January 26. Poems should speak to the theme, Your Authentic Self. Local poets will judge the poems in each category. We will share more about our judges in a coming blog post. Poetry entries should be submitted via Google Forms by January 18, 2021. Use this link to submit.

The workshop will be held Tuesday, January 12, 6:30-7:30 PM and is designed to welcome first-time writers, self-declared non-writers, and poets who have been writing for years. Participants will have the opportunity to explore four different types of poetry and have the opportunity to submit one poem for feedback post-workshop. To sign up for the poetry workshop, click here. Participation is limited to 30.

Thank you for participating this year in the 2021 Fox Cities Reads!