Author postpones visit to Literacy Festival due to hurricane damage

Photo provided by Katie Schneider Photography

Bestselling author Sharon Draper, author of “Out of My Mind,” will visit two Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. schools on Oct. 21 and appear at the Bartholomew Reads Authors Conference/Literacy Festival at Central Middle School on Oct. 22.

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bestselling author Sharon Draper is postponing her visit to Columbus for the time being due to Hurricane Ian.

Draper had planned to visit two local elementary schools on Oct. 21 and appear at the Bartholomew Reads Authors Conference/Literacy Festival at Central Middle School on Oct. 22.

Karen Garrity, who chairs the Bartholomew County Literacy Task Force, said that it is her understanding that Draper lives in Ft. Myers, Fla., which was hit hard by the storm.

“She has significant damage to her home which she needs to address,” said Garrity. The task force is hoping to have Draper’s visit to Columbus moved to early spring and is looking into a possible replacement for her time slot at the festival. The festival itself may end earlier due to her absence but will otherwise go on as planned.

Garrity said that Draper was in England when the hurricane hit.

“My thoughts and prayers are with my family, friends and fellow Americans affected by Hurricane Ian,” Draper shared in a social media post on Sept. 30.

In addition to being scheduled for a presentation and book signing at the festival, the author had planned to visit Clifty Creek and Mt. Healthy elementary schools, with at least one of the sessions broadcast to other classrooms across the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.

The school corp.’s fifth and sixth graders have had the opportunity to read Draper’s book, “Out of My Mind,” thanks to support from the Bartholomew County Literacy Task Force and other sponsors.

“For our part in BCSC, we’re going to continue to give the books to students and classrooms and let them continue to study it,” said Chanda Welsh, assistant to the director of elementary education.

For more on this story, see an upcoming edition of The Republic.