Advisory Board

Martha Burns is the co-creator of National Reading Group Month and, with her sister, Alice Dillon, the co-author of Reading Group Journal: Notes in the Margin.

John Y. Cole, a librarian and historian, began working at the Library of Congress in 1966, and has been director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress since it was established in 1977. Under his direction the Center for the Book plays a major role in the National Book Festival, which takes place annually in Washington, D.C.

Alice Dillon is the co-creator of National Reading Group Month and, with her sister, Martha Burns, is the co-author of Reading Group Journal: Notes in the Margin.

Shireen Dodson is Special Assistant to the Director, Office of Civil Rights attaché, U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. She is the author of One Hundred Books for Girls to Grow On and The Mother-Daughter Book Club, Tenth Anniversary Edition.

Francine Fialkoff is the editor-in-chief of Library Journal, a position she has held since 1997.

Carol Fitzgerald is the co-founder and president of The Book Report Network (TBRN), a group of seven Internet sites about books and authors. Prior to founding TBRN, she spent 17 years at Condé Nast, where she developed broad-based marketing, promotion, and publicity programs.

Judy Gelman, a public relations consultant, is the co-author of The Book Club Cookbook and The Kids' Book Club Book.

Mary Harris is co-owner, with Rebecca Willow, of Parkplace Books, Kirkland's Community Bookstore. An avid reader since the age of four, Mary's passion for books and reading has lead her through a global trek from South Africa to Seattle, with stop-over here-and-there in Australia and England. She brags a 20-year affiliation with Parkplace Books, seven of which as partner.

April L. Judge is a member of the New Jersey Library Association and director of the West Caldwell Public Library.

Ann Kent is the founder of book group expo, an annual two-day conference for book lovers, held in October.

Vicki Levy Krupp, a former high school history teacher, is the co-author of The Book Club Cookbook and The Kids' Book Club Book.

Mary Mackay is Marketing Director at ALA Publishing which publishes Booklist Publications; American Libraries magazine; ALA Editions; ALA Graphics; and ALA Online Resources.

Barbara Drummond Mead is co-owner, with her husband, Charlie, of Reading Group Choices, a company dedicated to selecting discussable books and suggesting discussion topics for reading groups. Their annual publication, Reading Group Choices, is distributed to bookstores and libraries and is available for purchase.

Nancy Pearl is a former librarian and author of Book Lust, More Book Lust, and Book Crush. She is a regular commentator about books on National Public Radio and has a monthly television program, "Book Lust with Nancy Pearl," on the Seattle Channel. In 2004, Pearl was the 50th recipient of the Women's National Book Association Award (a.k.a. The WNBA Award) for her contributions to the world of books.

Rosalind Reisner is a former librarian and the author of Jewish American Literature: A Guide to Reading Interests and the forthcoming Read On...Life Stories: Reading Lists for Every Taste. She speaks and writes about books and reading and maintains the Web site A Reader's Place. She coordinates NRGM Selects Great Group Reads, co-chairs the Program Committee for the WNBA-NYC Chapter and is a member of a nonfiction book group.