Conference News

Writers Reach Out to Readers: Literacy Volunteers of America Launches Authors Guild to Support Adult Learners

Sidney Sheldon, Nora Roberts, Joan Lowery Nixon and Diana Concannon are among the founding members of the Literacy Volunteers of America Authors Guild, a consortium of writers dedicated to promoting literacy. Through the Guild, which was formally announced at LVA�s national conference in Houston, TX on October 22, authors from across the country will lend their names and and provide financial support to reach the more than forty million adults in the United States who lack basic literacy skills.

Diana Concannon, author of Helen�s Passage, announced the formation of the Guild at a �Literature for Literacy� breakfast and book-signing event held at the conference. �Like everyone involved with LVA,� she said, � authors know the power of literacy. It is the power to make choicesnwhether selecting dinner from a menu or pulling the levers in a voting booth. It is the power to write a check or a letter to a child. Literacy expands our imaginations and draws us together, allowing us to explore the worlds of others simply by opening a book. More than forty million adults in this country are unable to write things as basic as a note to their child�s teacher, or read things as important as road signs.

�Through the Authors Guild, we, as writers, will support the many heroes who find the courage to reach out to LVA. We want to share the joy we have have experienced as writers and as readers.�

The Authors Guild also includes honorary members:

  • Ruth Colvin, LVA�s founder, who has written several of LVA�s training manuals as well as A Way With Words, which recounts LVA�s history
  • Tom Harken, a member of the LVA National Advisory Board whose newly published book, The Millionaire�s Secret, tells how he learned to read as an adult, after becoming a wealthy restaurateur
  • Wally Amos, LVA�s National Spokesperson, whose inspirational books include The Power in You and Watermelon Magic
  • Judy Blankenship Cheatham, Ph.D., author of LVA�s new publication, Help a Child Learn to Read and other LVA texts

It is anticipated that the Guild will significantly expand its membership over the next year. Plans are being reviewed for Authors Guild projects such as public service announcements, bookmarks featuring each author, special book-signings and a black tie fundraiser.

An estimated one in five adults in the United States cannot read or write well enough to meet personal goals as parents, employees and citizens. LVA is a national, not-for-profit organization, managed by professionals, which delivers services through a network of more than 375 community literacy programs in 42 states. In the past year, more than 70,000 adults and their families were served by more than 50,000 trained LVA volunteer tutors in Basic Literacy and English proficiency.

For more information about LVA or the Authors Guild, contact Beverly Miller at LVA�s national headquarters: 315/472-0001, extension 208, or email [email protected].