Inprint Readings on the Green presents Andrea White, reading from her new children’s novel Window Boy, and gifted young writer Jemma Leech 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM INPRINT

Contact: Krupa Parikh, Marketing/Outreach Director 713/521-2026; 713.502.8825c

Inprint Readings on the Green presents Andrea White, reading from her new children’s novel Window Boy, and gifted young writer Jemma Leech

HOUSTON—Inprint Readings on the Green presents Houston First Lady Andrea White, reading from her new children’s novel Window Boy, and gifted young writer Jemma Leech. The reading takes place on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 7 pm, at Houston’s Discovery Green Park, in Downtown Houston at 1500 McKinney, near the main stage of the Park. The reading is free and open to the public and is followed by a book sale and signing. For more information, visit www.inprinthouston.org or call 713.521.2026.

Andrea White’s thoughtful new children’s novel Window Boy follows 12-year-old Sam Davis, as he moves from his home, where he has spent his life watching the world through his window, to Stirling Junior High. This is where Sam—a boy with cerebral palsy, who is only able to move his right hand and tongue—experiences the joys and pain of that world first hand. His constant companion, through it all, is none other than Winston Churchill. White’s first children’s book, Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083, received rave reviews and won the Golden Spur Award from the Texas State Reading Association for the best book by a Texas author.  White is also an active community volunteer. Partnering with the HISD, she and husband, Houston Mayor Bill White, have started the program, Expectation Graduation, to try to keep more kids in school.

Eleven year old Jemma Leech was born in London and is now a 6^th grader at Pershing Middle School. Jemma, who has cerebral palsy and little control of her body, was the first place winner (out of more than 1,600 entries) of the 16 and under “Write Up Your Street” competition while she was a 5^th grader at Mark Twain Elementary. “ ‘Jemma Leech’s winning entry . . . stunned us all with its imagery, craft and finesse,’ a contest judge said . . . ‘It is one entry that inspired a unanimous decision —Winner!’ ”(Houston Chronicle). The prolific Jemma has had a passion for reading and writing most of her life, and her intellectual gifts are evident in the sophisticated body of poetry and prose she has already completed. To communicate, she uses a special keyboard on which she types using a xylophone stick, facilitated by her mother and her assistant at school.

            This reading is presented by Inprint, a literary arts nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire readers and writers, in partnership with Discovery Green Park. Inprint receives support from The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

WHERE:         Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney in Downtown Houston, located across Avenida de las Americas from the George R. Brown Convention Center.

CONTACT:    Visit www.discoverygreen.com or call (713) 400-7336

PARKING:     Metered parking is available on streets surrounding the park; and meter stations accept credit cards and cash. Metered parking is in effect Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is free on evenings and Sunday. Rates vary. Street-level lots and parking garages offer easy access to Discovery Green. Go to www.discoverygreen.com for nearby garages and additional parking information.

About Discovery Green

Located in downtown Houston, Discovery Green is 12 acres of urban green space including one-acre lake, children’s playground area, interactive water features, multi-use amphitheater stage and sloping lawn, small and large dog runs, and two restaurants, the Grove and Lake House operated by Schiller Del Grande Restaurant Group.

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