Media Contact: Jennie Hess, 407-325-0837
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ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 11, 2024) – Florida author and three-time National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff will headline the annual “Reading Between the Wines” Adult Literacy League (ALL) fundraiser Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. Presented by Bank of America at the Orlando Science Center, the evening event from 7-10 p.m. will feature delicious local eats and drinks, silent auction bidding on premium experiences and goods, and meet-the-author fun. WESH-2 News anchor Sheldon Dutes will emcee the event.
“Lauren Groff has been dubbed ‘one of our finest living writers,’ and with good reason,” said ALL executive director Gina Solomon. “Her novels and short stories are thought-provoking and incredibly hard to put down. We’re delighted that the stars aligned to bring Groff to our important annual fundraiser.”
Groff’s NYT bestsellers include the short stories Florida and Delicate Edible Birds, as well as novels Arcadia, The Monsters of Templeton, Matrix, Fates & Furies, and her latest release, The Vaster Wilds. U.S. President Barack Obama, known for his annual reading lists, had named Groff’s Fates & Furies his favorite book of 2015. Groff recently opened The Lynx, an independent bookstore in Gainesville, Fla., to combat surging book bans in Florida by spotlighting books written by Floridian, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) authors. Celebrated author Hernan Diaz, whose novel “Trust” won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is a friend of Groff’s who called her “one of our finest living writers.”
The “Reading Between the Wines” evening will kick off with a wine-and-dine and a chance to bid on premium Silent Auction items and experiences. Literacy League staff, volunteers and students will share success stories, followed by the main event: a Q&A with Lauren Groff emceed by Dutes and followed by audience questions. Groff, who says she’s “delighted” to be guest author this year, will sign books afterward.
“Spreading literacy is joyous work, as is an event that brings together our love of both books and wine, and I’m a huge proponent of any organization that supports in such an essential way the freedom to read,” Groff says. “As an additional thrill, I’m over the moon to bring to the event a table of banned books through my bookstore, The Lynx. We also have a mission to expand literacy and literature throughout the state of Florida, and I’m so happy that we are in this fight together.”
Delicious edibles from popular Central Florida restaurants will be offered on the event’s dine-around menu. Local breweries will serve beer, and multiple wine donors will provide a selection of pairing sips.
This year’s silent auction will offer premium items such as theme park tickets and passes; local theater and museum ticket packages; spa experiences; restaurant, brewery, golf, and retail gift cards; plus much more.
All event proceeds will support Adult Literacy League (ALL) programs and services designed to build a literate community. ALL, which provided one-to-one tutoring and classes for more than 1,500 adult learners last year, is on track to reach 2,000 students in the upcoming year.
Tickets are $99, with early-bird tickets ($80) available Sept. 19-Oct. 17. Popular Connoisseur tables ($750) go on sale Sept. 19 and include four admission tickets, a reserved cocktail table, and two bottles of wine.
Visit our website for more information. To purchase tickets to Reading Between the Wines, please call 407-422-1540 or click on our event page.
The Adult Literacy League (ALL) was created by a group of dedicated volunteers in 1968 and, since then, has helped thousands of adults 18 and older gain employment and economic self-sufficiency through one-on-one tutoring and classes in reading, writing, citizenship, job skills, math and other key studies. ALL holds classes in Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). When an adult cannot read, it is a detriment not only to the individual, but also to our community. ALL’s Reading Between the Wines event was designed to raise awareness, funds and friends to change people’s lives through literacy. For more information and to purchase tickets to the event, please call Peyton Whittington, Development & Communications Manager, at 407-422-1540.