Everybody Wins! Vermont (EW! VT), a children’s literacy and mentoring program, will hold its second annual Book Bash celebrating local author, Ellen Miles, on Saturday, November 8 at the Old Labor Hall in downtown Barre. In the afternoon from 1-3pm, a free family fun event will feature a chance to meet the author, live dog performers, snacks and free books for children. The evening gala begins at 6pm, when Ms. Miles will be presented with the EW! VT Jeffords Award in honor of her contributions to children’s literacy.  A children’s literature-themed dinner will be served, and Vermont author and illustrator signed books and reading-related packages will be auctioned.

Ellen Miles, local Vermont author and Everybody Wins! Vermont mentor, has been in love with children’s books her whole life. Reading, writing and editing are in her blood: her mother is the children’s book writer Betty Miles and her father, Matthew Miles, was a notable writer and editor in the field of educational research.  After college, Ellen lived in New York City and worked in publishing, starting as a freelance manuscript reader and worked her way up to editor of a children’s book club before deciding that the world of publishing was not for her. Returning to Vermont in 1987, she soon began to write, first as a ghost-writer and writer-for-hire and now has three book series under her own name, the most recent and successful of which is The Puppy Place, about a family who fosters puppies. There are currently thirteen Puppy Place titles available, with more to come. In 2002, Ellen became an EW! VT mentor at Union Elementary School in Montpelier, and her mother, brother, and sister-in-law are all EW! VT mentors as well.

The EW! VT Jeffords Award is named in honor of two of Everybody Wins! Vermont’s greatest advocates, Senator James Jeffords and the late Elizabeth Jeffords.

“Senator Jeffords was an Everybody Wins! mentor for 11 years in Washington, D.C.  He and his wife were critical to the creation and success of the program here in Vermont,” remarked Beth Fastiggi, president of EW!VT’s board of directors and a longtime mentor.

Tickets for the Book Bash are $45 each or $80 for two. Tickets may reserved by calling (802) 229-2665, emailing amy@everybodywinsvermont.org or purchase tickets online at www.everybodywinsvermont.org.

Everybody Wins! Vermont is a not-for-profit literacy and mentoring organization dedicated to increasing children’s prospects for success in school and beyond through one-to-one reading experiences with caring adults. Currently, over 500 EW! VT mentors read with elementary school students at 19 schools, including the Barre City Elementary/Middle School.

For additional information about Everybody Wins! Vermont or about the Book Bash, visit www.everybodywinsvermont.org or contact Amy Cunningham at 802-229-2665, amy@everybodywinsvermont.org.

Filed under: Community, Education, Special Events