Northeast Lakeview College Welcomes Author Charles Shields

(San Antonio, TX - February 2008) Northeast Lakeview College welcomes Author Charles Shields on March 4 at 9:30 am at the Live Oak Civic Center (8101 Pat Booker Rd). Shields, author of The New York Times Bestseller Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, will discuss why he chose to write a biography of Ms. Lee, the surprises he encountered along the way, and the parallels between To Kill A Mockingbird and Harper Lee's life. The event is free and open to the public.

Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee is the first book ever written about Harper Lee. To write the biography, he interviewed over 600 of Harper Lee's neighbors, childhood friends, law school classmates, and Kansas residents who became her friends while she was there helping Truman Capote research In Cold Blood. As a result of Shields' research, information never before known appears in this insightful portrait of the Pulitzer prize-winning author.

Shields comes to Northeast Lakeview College as part of The Big Read for an Enlightened Community. Northeast Lakeview College has received a matching funds grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to participate in the national Big Read program and together with its primary partners, will bring northeast Bexar county and its surrounding communities together to read and celebrate the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Northeast Lakeview College's The Big Read for an Enlightened Community runs March 3, 2008 to April 15, 2008 with a full calendar of events, including a movie screening, dramatic readings, panel presentations, community discussions, and a presentation by Mary Badham, who portrayed "Scout" in the movie of the same name. Visit http://www.accd.edu/nlc/big_read_events.htm for a complete listing of confirmed events.

"We are delighted to bring The Big Read to the Randolph Metrocom area," says Dr. Eric Reno, Northeast Lakeview College president. "Our participation, together with that of our primary partners, will revive the interest in reading in our community."

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading into the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

CONTACT: Kathleen Johnson-Hodge
College Director of Community & Public Relations
Northeast Lakeview College
210-590-5470
kjohnson-hodge@mail.accd.edu