Much like the success of our programs between April and June, virtual engagements throughout July and August have created a successful online presence for PBS Books.
- Our July event Trailblazing Women Author/Illustrator Talk for Kids: Vashti Harrison was a major highlight! This exciting program was part of our summer-long Trailblazing Women Virtual Series. As of 8/26/20 at 4pm, the Facebook Live event has over 11,000 views and has been cross posted over 80 times. A big thank you to the host Heather-Marie Montilla, PBS Books Library Bureau Chief, for her compelling conversation with Vashti!
- Another special July virtual engagement event was our Trailblazing Women: Author Talk with Scholar Martha Jones, Ph.D., to discuss her soon-to-be-released book: “Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All.” As of 8/26/20 at 4pm, the event has over 6,000 views and was cross posted over 100 times. Thank you to New York Times best-selling Novelist Tayari Jones and Pulitzer Prize finalist Poet Evie Shockley, Ph.D. for collaborating with us on this memorable panel!
- Our August partnership event with Poetry in America, Trailblazing Woman: Emily Dickinson, has over 10,000 views on Facebook as of 8/26/20 at 4pm. Part of our ongoing series, this event was cross posted by 86 libraries and 13 PBS stations who shared the livestream with their communities. Special thanks to Elisa New, Rhina P. Espaillat, and Adam Kosan for participating in and organizing this special event! And thank you to Fred Nahhat, Senior Executive Producer at DPTV, for his insightful questions as our moderator!
- Our recent event, Trailblazing Women for Kids with Anika Aldamuy Denise, was another major highlight of this developing series! As of 8/26/2020 at 4pm, the program hit over 5,000 views, and was cross posted by our partners over 150 times. We are so honored to have had a special preview of Anika’s upcoming book, A Girl Named Rosita, on our own channel!
Thanks again to all of our committed library partners for helping to make these events so rewarding for participants and viewers alike. We look forward to seeing how our virtual programming continues to grow in the coming months!