One Book, One Region

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Jane Harper’s debut novel The Dry has been chosen for an innovative program in regional Tamworth that takes the traditional book club concept to the next level.

Named One Book, One Region, the program is designed to have everyone in the region read and discuss the same book.

Central Northern Regional Library has distributed 340 copies of The Dry throughout Tamworth and surrounds. One hundred copies have been added to the catalogues of the library’s branches, with the rest distributed throughout regional towns for the general public to take, read and pass on.

The campaign has been widely embraced on social media, with dozens of The Dry readers posting photos of themselves with the book under #onebookoneregion.

Jane appeared at a special video link-up last Saturday to chat to library audiences about the book.

“I was really honoured to see The Dry chosen for the One Book, One Region initiative,” Jane said. “It’s a fantastic scheme and I’m grateful to everyone involved for encouraging community engagement in reading.”

One Book, One Region is in its second year; last year’s book was Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project.

Tamworth Regional Council’s Manager Cultural Services Kay Delahunt encouraged residents to read The Dry and pass it on to a friend or colleague.

"The One Book, One Region program takes the idea of a book club and expands it to cover an entire region,” she said. “The book we are focussing on this year is The Dry by Jane Harper. It's a mystery and is a very captivating read – I flew through the book in only two days!"

For more information about the One Book, One Region program, contact Tamworth City Library on (02) 6767 5228 or drop in at 466 Peel Street, Tamworth.

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