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Literacy League Featuring Patrick D. Smith Now Available for Download

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

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Literacy League Featuring Patrick D. Smith Now Available for Download

~ Author answers students’ questions for his book “A Land Remembered” ~

Tallahassee – The Florida Department of Education’s Literacy League book club continues to inspire future authors with the fifth installment of the series now available for download on Florida iTunes U. This quarter, the interactive book club features author Patrick D. Smith, a Florida resident, who answers questions from the state’s middle school students about his book, “A Land Remembered.”

“Literacy League opens up new and exciting journeys as students, teachers and authors explore literature through the eyes of technology,” said Education Commissioner Dr. Eric J. Smith. “We are extremely fortunate to feature Patrick D. Smith to give students the opportunity to connect with such a celebrated author and to cultivate their literary aspirations.”

Patrick D. Smith is a 1999 inductee into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, which is the highest and most prestigious cultural honor that can be bestowed upon an artist by the state of Florida. A native of Mendenhall, Miss., he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master's degree in English from the University of Mississippi. He moved to Florida in 1966.

In May 2002, Smith was the recipient of the Florida Historical Society's Fay Schweim Award as the "Greatest Living Floridian." The one-time-only award was established to honor the one individual who has contributed the most to Florida in recent history.

“I am honored to be able to support the Literacy League,” said Patrick D. Smith. “I hope that my video will answer most of the student questions about A Land Remembered, why I wrote it, and some questions about my own life as writer. I would be thrilled if my work inspired some talented young students to become writers.”

Throughout the year, the Department’s Literacy League book club connects prominent authors with Florida middle school students through a podcast question-and-answer session about a featured book. The Literacy League podcast is available on iTunes U, which provides free multimedia content to schools, parents, students, administrators and teachers both in Florida and around the world.

To view the Literacy League podcasts, including the program for “A Land Remembered,” visit http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/literacy-league/id399604864. For more information about the Department of Education’s Literacy League, visit www.fldoe.org/literacyleague.

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