Hello, librarians. Big news! Saturday, August 22nd marks the 100th birthday of Ray Bradbury! In a must-see celebration—The Ray Bradbury Centennial Read-A-Thon—book lovers from across the country can enjoy a star-studded reading of Ray Bradbury’s classic novel Fahrenheit 451 streamed over YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The reading begins Saturday, August 22nd and runs until Saturday, September 5th. Check out the promo below!
Contributors include Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, who will introduce each of the three parts of Bradbury’s book, as well as John Szabo with the Los Angeles Public Library, actress Rachel Bloom, Charles F. Bolden Jr. (12th NASA Administrator), and writer/producer/director Ann Druyan who will offer additional introductions.
The all-star line-up of readers includes William Shatner, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, and many more. Author Susan Orlean will also provide an afterword.
A lifelong lover and advocate for libraries, Ray Bradbury framed their importance in his own words: "I'm completely library educated. Libraries are absolutely at the center of my life. Since I couldn’t afford to go to college, I attended the library three or four days a week from the age of eighteen on, and graduated from the library when I was twenty-eight."
We hope you will join in this extraordinary celebration of the 100th birthday of Ray Bradbury. Which of his classics will you read to celebrate? You can check out all the Ray Bradbury novels available from HarperCollins Publishers here.
-Chris