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Calgary Herald

Rotary Club of Calgary hosting 10-day book sale to support children

The Rotary Club of Calgary is hosting a donation drive of books mainly authored by Canadian writers between Friday and May 4 for a 10-day sale that will begin less than a week later. Article content Article content The event, called the Calgary Reads Big Book Sale, lasts from May 9 to 19. Article content The sale will dedicate an entire aisle to hundreds and perhaps thousands of books written by Canadian novelists, said Shirley McIntyre, lead of the fiction section. Article content Article content 'We always have a lot of the new Canadian novels that are popular because they were featured in Canada Reads or the Giller Prize, but we also have so many of those classics that maybe you always meant to read and just never got around to it,' McIntyre said, citing classic Canadian authors such as Carol Shields, Robertson Davies, Stuart McLean and Margaret Atwood. Article content Article content The sale will also give readers an opportunity to explore Canadian history, politics, cooking and travel. Calgarian writers, meanwhile, will fill an entire table. Article content 'You don't have to look to other countries for great writing. We have so many books that tell our story—and many can be hard to find otherwise if they're vintage.' Article content However, the array of books wouldn't be possible without donations. 'If we all fill up a box or two with books we've read—what a difference we can make in ensuring more children can read by Grade 3 and experience the joy of having their very own books,' says Steacy Pinney, chair of Rotary Club of Calgary's Early Childhood Literacy Committee, which leads the sale and distributes the proceeds to early childhood education programs across Calgary. Article content Article content Last year, the event raised $570,000, which was distributed among various initiatives, including bolstering speaking skills among children, literacy among fathers and providing thousands of books to families with low incomes. Article content 'The more quality books we have, the more children we can support so they can reach their potential in school and in life—and getting that extra reading help is more important than ever,' Pinney said. Article content Interested donors could donate during the following hours.