The Paul Revere Awards for Graphic Excellence are announced each June by the Music Publishers Association. Established in 1964 in honor of the 200^th anniversary of the first music engraving in America by the famous silversmith, Paul Revere, these awards were initially given as a means of alerting the music industry to the advantages of providing the best possible publication from the viewpoint of engraving, graphic arts, and production standards. At that time, the music typewriter was in its infancy and not a thought had been given to computerization.

Each year 25-30 publishers submit entries, and awards are given to about 30 of the 125-130 publications received. The judging panel usually includes a well-known music editor or musical personage, a graphic designer and a music librarian. Award certificates are given not only to the publisher but, where applicable, to the engraver, cover designer, book designer, production coordinator and printer. As is fitting with the choice of the namesake Paul Revere, the cartouche used on the award certificates is one which was designed by Revere himself.

The Music Publishers Association was founded in 1895 and is the oldest music trade organization in the United States, fostering communication among publishers, dealers, music educators, and all musicians and lovers of music. The non-profit association addresses itself to issues pertaining to every area of music publishing with an emphasis on the issues relevant to the publishers of print music for concert and educational purposes.

More information about the 2012 Paul Revere Awards is available online.

At the  festival, attendees will have the opportunity to meet authors and to purchase  signed copies of their books. Books by the Banks features writers in various categories including fiction, non-fiction, cooking, children’s literature, local  travel, sports, and more. Nationally known authors such as Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), Karl Marlantes (What It Is Like to Go to War), Katherine Howe (The House of Velvet and Glass), and Robert & Cortney Novogratz (Home by Novogratz) will join local favorites Loren Long (Nightsong), Robert Flischel (Messages of Glory: The Narrative Art of Roman Catholocism), and Ellen Schreiber (Immortal Hearts) in the Author Pavilion.

Three University  of Cincinnati authors will be among the 100+ authors at the festival. The UC authors are:

• Joel B. Peckham, Jr., associate professor of English, UC Clermont College. His book, Resisting Elegy: On Grief and Recovery, is a collection of narratives that explore the transformative power of emotional and physical pain from the vantage point of a husband and parent who lost his wife and a child in an accident that left him in chronic distress. Along the way, Peckham fills a need for a brutally honest, literary examination of not only grief and suffering, but also of recovery.
• Leah Stewart, associate professor of English in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. Stewart will interview author Gillian Flynn in an open book discussion at 2:30pm. In addition, a limited number of galley copies of Stewart’s upcoming book The History of Us will be given away.
• Luke Geddes, PhD student in the English and Comparative Literature Department in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. Geddes’ publishing debut, I Am A Magical Teenage Princess, is a collection of 17 short stories that take a cracked-lens look at the past five decades of troubled teens, American pop culture, and media mania. Read more.

Other participating authors with ties to UC include: Dan Andriacco, author of Holmes Sweet Holmes, UC graduate; David Bell, author of The Hiding Place, attended UC; Edward Paxton and Jerry Glenn Harris, authors of Straight White Shield: A Life and Works of John Hauser 1859-1913, both retired UC professors, Nancy Herriman, author of The Irish Healer, UC graduate; and Christopher Bennett, Only Superhuman, UC graduate.

A  commemorative Books by the Banks poster by local artisit Marlene Steele will be available for purchase at the festival for $15.

Books by the Banks is organized by UC Libraries, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, The Mercantile Library, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Northern Kentucky University Library, Clermont County Library, Midpointe Library System, and Lane Libraries.

The Books by the Banks website has information on the authors scheduled to appear at the event, a schedule of panel sessions, activities scheduled in the Kids’ Corner, as well as directions and parking information for Duke Energy Convention Center. For more information, visit www.booksbythebanks.org.

September 30 through October 6 is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information.

For more on Banned Books Week, visit ALA’s website at http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek.

September 30 through October 6 is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information.

For more on Banned Books Week, visit ALA’s website at http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek.

Banned Books Week is Sept. 30 – Oct. 6

Banned Books Week is an annual observance from the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) that celebrates the First Amendment right of the freedom to read.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week and thousands will celebrate by participating in special events and exhibits to learn about the power of literature and the harms of censorship.

UC Libraries will bring attention to Banned Books with a daily feature of one of the Top-10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2011 . Perhaps one of your favorites will be on the list.

At number 10, a favorite of many, is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Reasons for challenges: offensive language; racism.

For more on Banned Books Week, visit ALA’s website at http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek.