Deschutes Public Library Foundation to Reveal the 2023 A Novel Idea Selection
at Free Community Celebration
Saturday, December 3, 2022 • 6pm • Downtown Bend Library, 601 NW Wall Street, Bend
Get ready for an unprecedented season of literary magic celebrating two decades of Oregon’s largest community read project. Expect the unexpected as hundreds of readers gather to find out what the next chapter of A Novel Idea will be.
The Deschutes Public Library Foundation will unveil the 2023 A Novel Idea selection at a public celebration on Saturday, December 3, at the Downtown Bend Library. Doors open at 5:30pm, with the main event taking place upstairs at 6pm, featuring trivia, light appetizers and no-host bar for attendees. The highly anticipated book reveal is slated for 6:30pm, with copies available for sale and for check-out immediately following the announcement.
“It’s an exciting time to be back in person with A Novel Idea 2023 on the horizon,” said Deschutes Public Library’s Programs Supervisor Liz Goodrich. “Many readers have enjoyed the selections together year-after-year. You may not know these people personally, but you’ve read the same books and are connected through them.”
A Novel Idea began with David James Duncan’s The River Why. From 400 participants that first year, the program has grown by leaps and bounds, with nearly 9,000 people taking part in 2022. It is the largest community read program in Oregon, bolstered by nearly a month of free programming that enhances the chosen book’s themes.
“Over the past 19 years we’ve read some amazing novels and non-fiction titles, seen book-to-movie adaptations dominate the big screen and watched up-and-coming authors hit the bestsellers list right before our eyes. We can promise you this year is definitely going to be one for the books,” said Goodrich.
Programming for A Novel Idea kicks off April 1, 2023 with the main author event happening on Saturday, April 28. All programs are free of charge thanks to the support of the Deschutes Public Library Foundation. Readers can reserve a library copy immediately following the reveal on December 3. Local bookstores will have copies available for purchase.
Head to the A Novel Idea website for a look back at the past 19 years. For more information about this or other library programs, please visit the library website at deschuteslibrary.org and the Foundation website at dpl.foundation.org.