Wayne State University Press, Detroit’s oldest nonprofit publisher, celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Celebration of Books fundraiser on Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Detroit Institute of Arts featuring six new Detroit-themed books.
For a decade now, the Celebration of Books has marked the publication of a bounty of new WSU Press titles every fall. Wayne State alumni, faculty and staff, community members and Detroit book lovers come together to celebrate at a different host venue each year.
“The Celebration of Books is special for a number of reasons,” says Press Community Engagement Officer Gabe Gloden. “We do a great job of picking an exciting new venue that really makes the featured books shine.”
In addition to serving as a fundraiser for the Press, the event features one of Detroit’s best book sales. New titles sit alongside dozens of past Press favorites, many offered at deep discounts. “Come with an empty stomach and an open spot on your bookcase, because WSU Press will make sure everyone leaves with a delicious meal and a bag full of great new reads,” Gloden says.
This year’s program features Bradford Frost, author and creator of Reveal Your Detroit: An Intimate Look at a Great American City. The book documents a community photography project, led by the Detroit Institute of Arts, featuring thousands of images of the city from the perspectives of Detroit residents. The event also features a strolling dinner, cash bar, book sale, trivia game and door prizes from area merchants such as RUNdetroit, Nora, the Peacock Room and Emerald, Global Detroit Human, Signal-Return, MotorCity Wine, Detroit Historical Society, Detroit Film Theatre and WDET.
Visit celebrationofbooks.eventbrite.com for more information and to purchase tickets, which are $50 and 50 percent tax-deductible.
Additional featured books include:
Revolution Detroit: Strategies for Urban Reinvention by John Gallagher; Redevelopment and Race: Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit by June Manning Thomas; The Colored Car by Jean Alicia Elster; “Old Slow Town”: Detroit during the Civil War by Paul Taylor; and Arsenal of Democracy: The American Automobile Industry in World War II by Charles K. Hyde.