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NEA Big Read 2024
Book copies available now! Stop by the library circulation desk and read with your community!
The Friends of the Homer Library and Homer Public Library are hosting a dynamic community read of the novel The Cold Millions by Jess Walter. The Homer Big Read 2024 will focus on the early 20th-century history of the Northwest and Alaska, including the treatment of women, indigenous peoples, the working poor, and free speech. Over a six-week period in January and February 2024, the community will be invited to participate in book clubs and events that promote curiosity, conversation, and engagement with the book, the library, and the community.
Copies of The Cold Millions and The Big Both Ways, a book by Alaska author John Straley with similar themes, are now available for checkout at the Homer Public Library. Stop by the circulation desk for the books and a calendar of Big Read events.
Want to volunteer? Email cheryl@friendshomerlibrary.org for more information on how to volunteer or support Big Read activities.
Check below for all NEA Big Read Events held at various locations in Homer!
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
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January 19th, 6pm At Alice's Champagne Palace |
Join us at Alice's Champagne Palace for the NEA Big Read Kick-Off! Live "Banned" music & songs with Scott Bartlett, Cindy McKenna, Cathy Stingley, and Martie Krohn. Join in the IWW songbook sing-along and Big Read trivia game. Pick up your own copy of the featured titles and learn more about the 2024 NEA Big Read in Homer! |
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January 23rd, 6pm At the library |
Session 1 A four week book club with a different themes each week led by a local expert. This session will focus on the Spokane Riots, with guest speaker Jeff Meyers. |
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January 24th, 9am KBBI AM 890 |
A live, call-in conversation with Kathleen Gustafson’s Coffee Table program and community guests to discuss themes from The Cold Millions. |
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Historical Homer and the Kenai Peninsula January 25th, 6pm At the library + Zoom |
Local freelance writer Clark Fair will share his research process and historical stories about the people and early days of Homer and the Kenai Peninsula |
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January 30th, 6pm At the library |
Session 2 A four week book club with a different themes each week led by a local expert. This session will focus on the history of unions, with guest speaker Michael Hawfield. |
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February 1st, 6:30pm At the library |
Jess Walter (The Cold Millions) and Alaskan author John Straley (The Big Both Ways) will discuss their books, which both take place in the Pacific Northwest during the early 20th century and share common themes. This is a virtual presentation that will be screened in the Fireplace Lounge. Discussion facilitated by Tom Kizzia. |
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February 2nd, 5:30pm At Homer Council of the Arts |
Come to Homer Council on the Arts for the First Friday opening of the exhibit Finding Home, which focuses on the challenges to find home. The opening reception will include a conversation about the Homer local housing crisis. The exhibit will be open all of February 2024. Call for Art! Contact HCOA at (907) 235-4288. Deadline is January 20th. |
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February 4th, 12pm At Bunnell Street Arts Center |
Learn about a new high school curriculum, developed with Alaska Natives, that explores the stories, cultures, and identities of Alaska, with interdisciplinary arts. This is event is held at Bunnell Street Arts Center. |
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February 6th, 6pm At the library |
Session 3 A four week book club with a different themes each week led by a local expert. This session will focus on Indigenous Perspectives, with guest speaker Tasha Dunlap. |
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February 8th, 1pm At Homer Senior Center |
Come to the Homer Senior Center for a book discussion facilitated by Janet Klein, followed by time for seniors to share stories about homesteading days. |
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POSPONED - New date TBD At Kachemak Bay Campus |
This event has been postponed - new date TBD. Michael Armstrong, retired editor of the Homer News; Jeff Meyer, a historian at Kenai Peninsula College; Megan Edge, former reporter and lawyer for the Alaska ACLU; and others. At Kachemak Bay Campus. |
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February 13th, 6pm At the library |
Session 4 A four week book club with a different themes each week led by a local expert. This session will focus on Leading Women, with guest speaker Lia Calhoun. |
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February 15th, 2pm At Ninilchik Community Library |
Tribal elders and long-time locals will be invited to a book discussion and to share stories from the early days of the Ninilchik area. At the Ninilchik Community Library |
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February 16th, 1pm |
Now is the time to seize the day! Join us for a special screening of Disney’s Newsies (1992 - PG rated) the true story of a courageous group of newsboys who become unlikely heroes when they team up to fight an unscrupulous newspaper tycoon. Determined to make their dreams come true, they find the courage to challenge the powerful! |
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The Cold Millions Onstage with Pier One February 16th, 6pm February 17th, 6pm At Beluga Lake Lodge |
Enjoy original performances featuring historical speeches and songs from labor movements related to our Big Read book. Director Kathleen Gustafson along with Musical Director Tyler Munns and community members, will stage community performances two nights in a row at Beluga Lake Lodge. Seating is limited - Preregister at the library to get your free ticket! |
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The Cold Millions Onstage with Pier One (Homer High School)
February 22nd, 3pm At Homer High School Mariner Theater |
Kathleen Gustafson and Tyler Munns will bring ideas and themes from Jess Walter's book to life with skits for high school students at Homer Mariner Theater and via zoom. |
