Cedar Rapids native and bestselling author touts library as key to his career

CEDAR RAPIDS—John Sandford regaled a crowd of 300 with stories from his writing career Tuesday night at Washington High School, his alma mater. The bestselling author of the “Prey” series of thrillers told the audience that the Cedar Rapids Public Library was essential to his development as a writer. He recalled a summer spent reading over 100 books that helped him understand the components of the kind of fiction he would one day write.

The event was part of Out Loud! The Metro Library Network Author Series, a joint project of the Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Hiawatha Public Libraries which is funded by the Giacoletto Foundation.

Monetary donations were accepted for the flood ravaged Cedar Rapids Public Library. All told, the event raised $2800 to help the library recover.

“We couldn’t be more pleased,” said series coordinator Rob Cline. “Mr. Sandford’s presentation was delightful and we’re so thrilled that the audience responded with such generosity to help the library.”

Sandford’s presentation was the final Out Loud! event of 2008. The series also presented youth author Bruce Hale and novelists Elizabeth McCracken and Edward Carey this year. The series is funded for two more years.

The Giacoletto Foundation was established in 2007, fulfilling the wishes of the late Giacoletto brothers. Born in Clinton, Ind., John worked for Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids and Lawrence was a professor of engineering at Michigan State University.

Media support for the Out Loud! series has been provided by The Gazette.

Additional information about the series can found at www.metrolibrarynetwork.org.