Tayari Jones to Speak at 2026 Love of Literacy Luncheon
Fundraiser to Benefit Literacy Programs Throughout Palm Beach County
New York Times best-selling author Tayari Jones will be the featured author at the 35th Annual Love of Literacy Luncheon at 11:30 AM on April 9, 2026, at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County will host the fundraiser to benefit local literacy programs.
Jones is the author of award-winning novels, including An American Marriage, which is an Oprah’s Book Club Selection and named a notable book by the New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as one of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century by the New York Times. An American Marriage was also awarded the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Aspen Words Prize, and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Fiction. It has been published in over 20 countries, with more than a million copies in print around the world.
Jones has written a new unforgettable novel Kin, (released Feb 24, 2026), chosen for Oprah’s Book Club, February 2026 Selection. Of the new book, Oprah said, “This [Kin] is a masterpiece of a novel that contemplates the meaning and complications of love and friendship, and it will live with you long after you turn the last page.”
Jones, a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, is a recipient of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, United States Artist Fellowship, NEA Fellowship, and Radcliffe Institute Bunting Fellowship. Her third novel, Silver Sparrow, was added to the NEA Big Read Library of classics in 2016. She is a graduate of Spelman College, University of Iowa, and Arizona State University. She is an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University and the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Creative Writing at Emory University.
Individual tickets to the luncheon are $200. A table of 10 with preferred seating is $2,000. Patron Tickets with access to a private reception with the speaker and including a personal color photograph with the speaker, are available for $350.
The Luncheon is co-chaired by Telsula C. Morgan and Lindsay Reinhart. The committee members include Dr. Regine Bataille, Maggie Dickenson, Keva Farquharson, Debra
Ghostine, Grace Halabi, Nancy Haviland, Sharon Hill, Alma Horne, Stephanie Kahlert, Bernadette O’Grady, Carol Rose and Janel Williams.
Thank you to Presenting Sponsor Bank of America and the following supporters:
Platinum Sponsor: Brenda Medore
Diamond Sponsors: Shawn M. Donnelley and Christopher M. Kelly, GL Homes, Karen Rogers
Gold Sponsors: First Horizon Foundation, Gentle Medicine Associates, Inc., Greenberg Traurig, P.A., Kosinski Family Foundation, Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A., The Palm Beach Post, SCAPS Medical, Cynthia F. Sulzberger
Silver Sponsors: Akerman, LLP, Cozen O’Connor, P.A., Florida Atlantic University, Barbara and Len Gray, Stephanie Kahlert, Lynn University, The Lynch Family & Plastridge Insurance, Nason Yeager Gerson Harris & Fumero, P.A., Denise Rivas, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A., U.S. Bank, WPTV 5
For more information about luncheon tickets, sponsorship opportunities and program recognitions, please contact 561-767 3370 or Communications@LiteracyPBC.org. To learn more about the Coalition’s literacy programs and volunteer opportunities, please visit www.LiteracyPBC.org.
About the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County
Founded in 1989, the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County is a recipient of the coveted 4 out of 4-stars Charity Navigator rating for 16 consecutive years. Partnering with schools, libraries and community organizations, the Coalition staff, volunteers and AmeriCorps members work to improve the quality of life in our community by promoting and achieving literacy. Through literacy programs for children and adults whose limited literacy affects their quality of life, the Coalition served more than 64,000 people last year.
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