The Nashville Public Library Literary Award Honors Kate DiCamillo

How does one writer capture the spirit of another? Author and Literary Award winner Kate DiCamillo grappled with this question at the annual Nashville Public Library Literary Award Gala. As she took the podium, Kate dedicated her speech to the people who inspired her writing career: iconic children’s author E. B. White  and the librarian who introduced her to his work.

The Nashville Public Library Foundation celebrated its 19th annual Literary Award Gala with many firsts. For the first time in its history, the Literary Award honored an author known for groundbreaking work in the children’s literature genre: Kate is a New York Times best-selling author whose books include Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tiger Rising and The Tale of Despereaux. The annual patrons party, historically held at the Main Library, transformed into the intimate First Edition Reception hosted at Parnassus Books. And after Kate’s public lecture, Wishing Chair Productions debuted a puppet show based on her book La La La: A Story of Hope. Everyone agreed that co-chairs Cassidy and Dierks Bentley, Johari and Lonnell Matthews, and Kristin and Carter Paine planned an incredible and inclusive weekend. And Kate shared that she’d given back to Nashville by spending her prize money on 9,000 books and donating them to schoolchildren in the area.

Even with all the firsts of the weekend, it was hearing Kate talk about how libraries and reading had impacted her that held the most meaning. Kate told the story of discovering Charlotte’s Web as a small child — how the cover of the book scared her and how a librarian assured her she was stronger than she thought. It was not until Kate was 31 that a writing instructor insisted she read the iconic book, and her life was forever changed. She immediately felt the impact and love E. B. White had for the world. “Every word of Charlotte’s Web bears the full weight of White’s love for the people, seasons, animals and arachnids of this world,” Kate said. “And every word of the book shows us how we can bear the triumphs and despairs, the wonder and the heartbreak, the small and large glories and tragedies of being here. We can bear it all by loving it all.”