Literary Arts is proud to announce Bank of America as our title sponsor for Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival in 2017. We are so grateful for their generous support, with special thanks to Roger Hinshaw, Bank of America’s Market President in Oregon and SW Washington. Bank of America’s leadership in the community and continued support of Literary Arts helps build thriving communities by investing in what makes our state such a vibrant place to live: the people.
Together, we are proud to present Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival, a celebration that reflects the amazing writers, readers, and thinkers in Oregon and nationwide. The festival is unique in the way it builds community around literature; from children’s story times and writing workshops to author events and book fairs, Wordstock is a dynamic, interactive celebration of literature and books.
As the title sponsor of Wordstock, Bank of America is a making an important statement about the value of literature. At Literary Arts, we continue to strive to make Wordstock as inclusive as possible and offer low-cost tickets to promote accessibility including free tickets to all attendees 17 years old or younger. Ticket sales only cover 10% of the cost of the festival. Lead sponsors, like Bank of America, unite book-lovers and the authors who inspire us, by keeping ticket prices low.
Bank of America is committed to supporting the work of nonprofits who strive to make the local community a better place to live, especially those nonprofits focused on preserving neighborhoods, educating the workforce for 21st century jobs, addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter. They have been serving Oregon for 120 years, and last year gave more than $2.5 million to local nonprofits. Literary Arts is delighted to be counted among the many deserving community organizations involved with Bank of America. For more information about their work in the community, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/oregon.
“We’ve been supporting Literary Arts for many years now, primarily their College Essay Mentoring Project and Writers in the Schools. We’ve seen first-hand the impact their Youth Programs have on engaging students,” said Monique Barton, Bank of America’s Portland-based Senior Vice President. “And we’re honored to further expand the partnership to also support Wordstock, an important community convening.”
Through this partnership, Bank of America will continue to support Literary Arts’ Youth Programs, especially the College Essay Mentoring Project, which provides one-on-one mentoring for high school students working on their college admissions and scholarship essays. In the past year, 82 mentors assisted 233 high school seniors at Benson, Franklin, Madison, and Roosevelt high schools through this program. With Bank of America’s support, Literary Arts helps better prepare local students to excel in college and compete in the 21century workplace and generates excitement around writing. 21st century workplace and generates excitement around writing.
Andrew Proctor, the Executive Director of Literary Arts, noted, “We so value the leadership role that Bank of America has taken in supporting the festival as a title sponsor. For years, they have been committed corporate parters in our education work. We want to thank Bank of America for all the support they offer throughout the community.”
Wordstock is the state’s largest gathering of readers, writers, and literary organizations together in a physical space. In 2016, 7,000 book-lovers gathered downtown — 10% of which were under age 17. The 2017 Wordstock Festival will be held on Saturday, November 11, and will return to the Portland Art Museum.
We look forward to sharing a memorable festival with all of you! Stay tuned for ticketing information and this year’s author line-up announcement on Tuesday, September 5.
