Wine and literature enthusiasts will have the chance to combine their passions at the Williamsburg Winery next Tuesday.
Literacy for Life, a non-profit organization that works to improve lives by teaching adults literacy skills, is holding its annual fundraiser, Reading Between the Wines.
The event will feature New York Times best-selling author and Virginia resident Beth Macy, according to a Literacy for Life news release.
Macy will be discussing her two books; her Lukas Prize-winning debut, “Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local — and Helped Save an American Town,” and the Kirkus Prize finalist “Truevine: A Strange and Troubling Tale of Two Brothers in Jim Crow America.”
All proceeds from the event will benefit Literacy for Life, according to the release. In 2016, Literacy for Life helped more than 900 adults achieve basic literacy skills — skills that allowed them to get a driver’s license, gain U.S. citizenship, find a better job and improve their self-sufficiency.
According to the release, both Macy’s books demonstrate how one person can make a difference — a theme demonstrated by adult volunteers and learners in the Literacy for Life program.
In “Factory Man,” Macy follows John Bassett III of Virginia-based Bassett Furniture as he grew his company and saved jobs in the face of competition and outsourcing.
Macy traces the tale of two brothers who were kidnapped and displayed in a traveling circus — and their mother’s 28-year quest to get them back — in “Truevine: A Strange and Troubling Tale of Two Brothers in Jim Crow America.”
Both books are being developed into films, according to the release.
Tickets to Reading between the Wines are $75, and include wine and hors d’oeuvre from Williamsburg Winery. Attendees will be able to participate in a raffle and bid in both live and silent auctions. Items up for auction include out-of-town vacations and a book club session with Macy.
Tickets can be purchased at the Literacy for Life website or by calling their office at 757-221-3325.
