WHAT: 13th Annual Spring for Literacy Luncheon
WHERE: Governor’s Club
WHEN: APRIL 25, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
(Doors open at 11 for socializing and games)
HOW: Click HERE to register
Click HERE to print the registration form
Click HERE for the RAFFLE
Tickets are $125 per person; tables seat 10 people.
25 seats are available outside — first come, first served.
NOTE: outdoor seating offers audio only, no video.
Violinist, educator, and New York Times bestselling author Brendan Slocumb will discuss his latest literary thriller Symphony of Secrets at Chatham Literacy’s 13th Annual Spring for Literacy Luncheon at Governor’s Club on Thursday, April 25th, 2024 from 12:00pm-2:00pm. Doors open at 11am for socializing and games.
A music educator for twenty years, Slocumb taught public and private school students, played violin with orchestras throughout the northeast and published two successful novels beginning with his debut work, The Violin Conspiracy.
Symphony of Secrets was one of Washington Post’s top 10 Mystery Novels of 2023 and an NPR Best Book of the Year. Slocumb is referred to as the ‘maestro of musical mystery.’
“Everyone had low expectations for me,” Slocumb says, “(As a Black musician) I didn’t fit the typical mold of a violinist…it (finally) got to the point that I started writing things down, and that was cathartic.” His writing efforts resulted in two back-to-back “gripping page turners” which one reviewer described as “superb” novels that “appeal to any thriller fan, not just readers with an ear to classical music.” After publishing his The Violin Conspiracy, Slocumb heard from numerous Black musicians saying their struggles were being validated in his novels.
“I was inspired by family, faith and everything paid off at the end,” Slocumb said. “So, I feel like it’s my responsibility to give a message to others who feel like they can’t go on, to keep going on.” Slocumb feels that music is a universal language. “Music is about communication – a way of touching your fellow man beyond and above and below language.”
Through his novels, Slocumb says he hopes he can “throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.” In his latest work, Slocumb touches on how marginalized people are often seen as someone who can’t contribute to society. He hopes this novel will encourage readers to, “go out and listen and maybe hear a voice otherwise you’d never have experienced.”
Slocumb graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in music education with a concentration in Violin and Viola. A high school educator, Slocumb was named Teacher of the Year, is in the Who’s Who of American teachers and is a Nobel Teacher of distinction. Slocumb has performed with the Washington Metropolitan Symphony, the McLean Symphony and other Washington, D.C. area orchestras. He also performs chamber music and teaches lessons on violin, guitar and piano.
Ticket sales start March 1, 2024. Contact www.chathamliteracy.org, or call 919-742-0578. Proceeds will benefit Chatham Literacy services.
IF YOU ARE A TUTOR, consider taking your Chatham Literacy Learner(s) for $25 per person. Select the “student registration” option on the registration form.
CAN’T GO? Consider making your registration a donation. You will receive an autographed hardback of Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb. Select the “absentee registration” option on the registration form.
McIntyre’s Books will donate to Chatham Literacy 20% of book sales on either of Slocumb’s books. Call the bookstore to order your copy today: 919-542-3030.
Raffle tickets are available half-way down the luncheon registration form….you can participate in both the luncheon and the raffle, by completing the same form OR just participate in the raffle by filling out a separate form.
WHEN: Raffle tickets available between February 15 – April 25, 2024
WHAT: 2 opportunities to win the participation of a local author in your book club or small friend gathering.
TICKETS: $25 per raffle ticket
RAFFLE 1: Daniel Wallace, will join a book club meeting/friend gathering to discuss one of his books or his life as an author. Daniel Wallace is an author and currently lives in Hillsborough. He is best known for his 1998 novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions, which was also made into a movie. His other books include Ray in Reverse and The Watermelon King. His stories have also been published in a number of anthologies and magazines, including The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror.
RAFFLE 2: Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle will join a book club meeting/friend gathering to discuss her book and journey as an author. Annette is an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Bank of Cherokee Indians and resides in Qualla, NC. Her debut novel, Even As We Breathe, released in 2020, was a finalist for the Weatherford Award and named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. In 2021, it received the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award.
“Just wanted to let you know that Clyde [Edgarton] and two of his musician friends gave a program for my book club yesterday afternoon. It was fabulous. What a great raffle prize.
– Gloria Wilkins
We are a small book club. Having such a program in the apartment of one of our members was so very special.”
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Interested in being a sponsor? Click here.
Chatham Literacy’s mission is to help adults living or working in Chatham County acquire literacy and educational skills needed to function successfully in society.
Print and mail in a registration form by clicking here. To complete and pay online, complete the following registration form.
