Register your organization here for the Great Michigan Read
*If you register before June 15, your organization will be entered to win a skype visit with the author! Open to all nonprofits and for-profits!
Great Michigan Read
The Great Michigan Read is a biennial program of the Michigan Humanities Council in which we partner with schools, libraries, museums, religious organizations and other organizations in Michigan for a statewide reading discussion. Each program focuses on a new title – written by a Michigan author or based in Michigan, selected by a statewide committee and approved by the MHC Board of Directors.
This reading initiative aims to connect us as Michiganians by exploring our history, our present and our future as discussed in a single literary title. The program is intended for young adults to senior citizens with a broad goal of making literature more accessible and appealing while also encouraging residents to learn more about our state and individual identities.
For each program, the MHC provides nonprofit organizations the materials necessary to build community discussions. Bookmarks, reader’s guides and teachers guides are available, and eligible organizations may also apply to receive free copies of the book.
2013-14 Great Michigan Read: Annie's Ghosts
After careful selection by a statewide selection committee, the 2013-14 Great Michigan Read title has been chosen. Please join the Michigan Humanities Council and nonprofit organizations around the state in reading Annie's Ghosts, a 2010 Michigan Notable Book written by Washington Post Associate Editor and Detroit native Steve Luxenberg.
Annie's Ghosts is part memoir, part detective story, and part history. As the author tries to understand his mom's reasons for hiding her sister's existence, he takes readers on a journey into his mother's world of the 1930s and '40s, where he explores how a poor, immigrant family manages life with a child who has special needs.
Annie's Ghosts is a story about family secrets, personal journeys, genealogy, mental disability and illness, poverty, and immigration. It is a story of re-framing one's self-understanding once a family secret is revealed, providing insight into how our identities are shaped by learning something shockingly new about our family history.
Timeline of Program
Official partner registration is now open! Register here.
Supplemental materials and book-kits will be distributed late summer.
Non-profit, for-profit, and governmental organizations are all eligible to be partners. Only non-profit and governmental organizations, however, are eligible to receive free books.
Benefits of partnership:
- Materials: Bookmarks, reader’s guides, teacher’s guides, and posters are distributed to all partners.
- Publicity: Michigan Humanities Council will publicize the events your organizations schedules related to Annie’s Ghosts.
- Books: Non-profit and governmental organizations may request up to 30 copies of Annie’s Ghosts. Preference will be given to organizations that have a plan for circulating the books to multiple readers.
Responsibilities of Partnership:
- Events: Submit dates and locations for all of your Great Michigan Read programs using the online event submission form.
- Evaluation: Administer one-page participant evaluation forms and complete a program coordinator evaluation form.
- Credit and logos: All events utilizing partner resources for Annie’s Ghosts (e.g., bookmarks, reader’s guides, free books, etc.) must be identified as Great Michigan Read programs and utilize the following credit: The Great Michigan Read is presented by the Michigan Humanities Council with support from Meijer and the National Endowment for the Humanities (additional sponsors may be added to the credit line as fundraising is ongoing). The Michigan Humanities Council and Great Michigan Read logos should be used when possible.
Previous Great Michigan Read Titles
The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway (2007-08)
Stealing Buddha’s Dinner: A Memoir by Bich Minh Nguyen (2009-10)
Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle (2011-12)
