Book & Author Benefit Luncheon Coming April 20
Writer / Kara Kavensky
The 38th Annual Christamore House Guild (CHG) Book & Author season kicks off with its unveiling of the selected books. This year’s list includes: “The Wife Between Us” by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen, “The Woman in the Window” by A.J. Finn, “The Home for Unwanted Girls” by Joanna Goodman, “The Room on Rue Amelie” by Kristin Harmel, “Sunburn” by Laura Lippman, and “No Time to Blink” by Dina Silver.
The Woman in the Window and The Wife Between Us are currently on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
“We are so excited that two of our selections are in the Top 5 national bestsellers,” says CHG Book & Author co-chair Stephanie Allen. “It’s interesting that three of our six selections are thrillers, which speaks to current literary trends.”
The authors will be in town for a couple of days surrounding the luncheon, first making an appearance the evening before at the Author Reception.
Reid Duffy has been involved with Christamore House Guild Book & Author event from inception, originally serving on the book selection committee. Over the years, Duffy’s role has evolved into an anticipated presentation of the authors during the VIP Author reception the evening before the luncheon. Duffy’s welcome address and introduction of each author is filled with his pundit satire.
When asked about memorable moments from past CHG Book & Author seasons, Duffy shared that one-year mystery writer and NBC news correspondent Douglas Kiker suffered a heart attack the night before, with his wife standing in for him during the luncheon “praising Indianapolis’ medical care.”
“One year after I had finished my duties at the Author Reception, Diane Willis called me and asked me to step in for her the following day as master of ceremonies for the luncheon because she had the flu,” Duffy says. “My presentation was highly praised, as only a small portion of those in attendance had known that I’d simply repeated my performance from the night before.”
This year’s VIP Author’s Reception will be hosted by JP & Shannon Gentile, owners of the Parry Mansion, a home with an interesting history.
According to research done by Indy Star writer Will Higgins, “David M. Parry was beyond any of today’s Hoosier big-hitters. He founded an automobile company, built several railroads, was president of a couple insurance companies. He was famous. There was talk of him being Teddy Roosevelt’s vice president. But he has been dead nearly a century and is forgotten. Unlike the Cloweses and the Lillys, he left behind nothing with his name on it except a tombstone in Crown Hill Cemetery (Sec. 14, Lot 6).”
Christamore House was founded in 1905 by two Butler University students. Its mission is to provide the very best child and youth educational services, senior programming and life skills training to the residents of Haughville and the Near-Westside neighborhoods. The historic Christamore House located at 502 N. Tremont. The Book & Author event was formed specifically to fund scholarships for students from Haughville.
“The Christamore House Guild Book & Author event is a celebration for our scholars, past and present, with all of the proceeds funding the Francis Carter Coburn Scholarship,” says Laurie Annan, event co-chair. “During 2016-2017, we awarded more than $80,000 in scholarships to 25 students.”
Co-chair Jennifer Kittle echoes the sentiment.
“The benefit to the students that are awarded scholarships impacts lives,” Kittle says. “Many, if not all, of these students would not be able to attend college otherwise.”
The Christamore House Guild Book & Author event will be held at the Indiana Roof Ballroom on April 20th. Tickets for the luncheon and the Author Reception may be found online: ChristamoreGuild.org.
