About the library > News Releases > 2006 > Kate DiCamillo will present Children's Author Lecture

Newbery Award-winning author Kate DiCamillo will present library's Children's Author Lecture on April 10

March 14, 2006

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PORTLAND, OR – Award-winning author Kate DiCamillo will present Multnomah County Library's 2006 Children's Author Lecture on Monday, April 10, at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 1126 S.W. Park Ave. in Portland. A book sale and author signing will follow the talk.

With characters ranging from stray dogs, mice that talk and caged tigers, DiCamillo's books deliver universal messages about love enduring over time, conquering evil, and making life worth living.

DiCamillo is the author of Because of Winn-Dixie (a Newbery Honor book), The Tiger Rising (a National Book Award finalist) and The Tale of Despereaux (winner of the 2004 Newbery Medal). She has recently completed a series of early chapter books about a pig named Mercy Watson. Her most recent novel, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, was published earlier this year.

"People ask how I make up my characters, and the answer is, I don't - I find them." Says DiCamillo, who lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "Winn-Dixie began with a phrase I heard in my head right before I fell asleep one night. And the next morning, there was this fabulous voice that carried me through."

Tickets for the lecture are $5 for students (K-12) and $10 for adults. Tickets will be on sale through April 10 at Central Library (801 S.W. 10th Ave., Portland); Library Administration (205 N.E. Russell St., Portland); Gresham Library (385 N.W. Miller Ave., Gresham); Hillsdale Library (1525 S.W. Sunset Blvd., Portland); Hollywood Library (4040 N.E. Tillamook St., Portland); Midland Library (805 S.E. 122nd Ave., Portland); Sellwood-Moreland Library (7860 S.E. 13th Ave., Portland); and St. Johns Library (7510 N. Charleston Ave., Portland). Tickets will also be available at select Portland-area bookstores: A Children's Place (4807 N.E. Fremont St., Portland); Annie Bloom's Books (7834 S.W. Capitol Hwy., Portland); and Twenty-Third Avenue Books (1015 N.W. 23rd Ave., Portland). Jackson's Books (Pringle Park Plaza, 320 Liberty St., S.E., Salem) will also have tickets for sale. To order tickets by mail or for more information, please call 503.988.5402. Information may also be found at www.multcolib.org/kids/lecture.

The majority of tickets sales support the library's outreach to local schools. "Hundreds of needy students from schools will get to meet the author through this unique library program," says Katie O'Dell, the library's reading promotions coordinator. Schools that normally could not afford to bring an author to their school for a visit will get tickets and transportation to the lecture and books as part of the program. This year's beneficiaries are Earl Boyles Elementary, Bridger Elementary, Reynolds Middle School and Gilbert Heights Middle School.

The Children's Author Lecture is sponsored by Multnomah County Library, Riverdale School District, Oregon Public Broadcasting, McCormick and Schmick's, and The Library Foundation.