Henryville school, destroyed.

Why “Authors for Henryville”? Read on:

On March 2nd, tornados ripped through Southern Indiana, killing 14 people and devastating several communities. Among the towns that were practically erased from the map was the small community of Henryville. Its elementary, middle, and high schools were torn apart, shredded, and flattened. All the books in the school libraries were ruined.

Some students have lost their homes while others have lost loved ones. All of them will have to be bused to various nearby schools in order to finish out the school year. It is too early for us to even know what the future holds for them or how soon the Henryville schools will be rebuilt and reopened.

But, no matter what, Henryville needs help! And so this group of Hoosier authors is inviting writers from all over to help us raise funds to donate to the Red Cross.

— from the Authors for Henryville website

I’m living in Paris, but a big piece of my heart is in  our current home state of Indiana–especially since last week. Julia Karr, author of XVI and Truth, is spearheading a fundraiser for the Henryville community. Christine Johnson, Mike Mullin, Josie Bloss, and I are working with Julia to organize this effort, and authors from all over are pledging amazing prizes for giveaway to donors as well as auction items (pssst! Meg Cabot is donating sets of ALL of her series!).

You can see the first wave of authors participating on the Authors for Henryville website. Stay tuned for specifics about where to donate funds, bid for auction items, and enter the fabulous drawing. We are waiting on the Henryville schools to let us know how we can best help.

In the meantime, if you would like to pledge a book to use as a prize or auction item, check out this call to authors (perfect for sending on to author friends, too) or simply email your pledge to authors4henryville(at)gmail.com.

Thanks in advance for your generosity and support. Let’s show this community that we care. The success of this effort depends on ALL of us.