Children’s Author Donna Washington Featured Luncheon Speaker at Literacy Conference

            Greenville, NC – Durham-based children’s author Donna Washington will be the luncheon speaker for the 2005 Mary Lois Staton Reading/Language Arts Conference. The event will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 11 at the Greenville Hilton.

Ms. Washington attended Northwestern University and currently resides with her family in Durham, NC, where she is a professional storyteller, actress and author.  Her experiences from traveling and living all over the world have afforded her a rich palette from which she weaves her imaginative tales. 

Ms. Washington has authored an anthology, A Pride of African Tales, and two books, The Story of Kwanzaa and A Big Spooky House.  Her forthcoming book, entitled Li’l Rabbit’s Kwanzaa, will be published by HarperCollins Children’s Books later this year. 

In addition to writing and acting, Ms. Washington is also an award-winning recording artist.  Her works include “Live and Learn: The Exploding Frog and Other Stories,” “A Little Shiver” and “Fun, Foolery, and Folktales.”  She travels all over the country offering workshops in storytelling, writing, education and creative drama.

The Mary Lois Staton Reading/Language Arts Conference is an annual teacher education conference that brings national, regional and local speakers on literacy education issues to a one-day conference in Greenville, North Carolina. This event is sponsored by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education at East Carolina University.

For more information, contact Dr. Katherine Misulis at (252) 328-6128 or Dr. Lanette Moret at (252) 328-6174.

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