Book Fair is Coming!
MKA is proud to be the site of the biggest annual Scholastic Book Fair in the country. This tri-campus annual event, organized by the Parents' Association of MKA, has become a highlight of school and community life, in addition to opening its doors to the general public.
Since l996, some of the world's most respected children's authors have visited the Book Fair, including J. K. Rowling (the only school visit she made on her first-ever Harry Potter book tour to the US), Carl Hiaasen, Henry Winkler, Jerry Spinelli, Jack Gantos, Mary Pope Osborn, Paula Danziger, Mike Lupica, Jon Scieszka, Avi, Walter Dean Myers, Robert Sabuda, Kathryn Lasky, Anthony Horowitz, and Cornelia Funke. In 2003, the MKA Book Fair was the venue used by Madonna to launch her children's book Mr. Peabody's Apples.
Students at the Upper School are not left out, and authors to that campus have included Ishmael Beah, Luong Ung, Stephen Colbert, James Patterson and Sarah Culberson.
In the early 2000's, the Fair added two events for the community at large: an adult luncheon or dinner, featuring guests that have included Ruth Reichl, Nora Ephron, Ann Hood, Sue Miller, Vince Flynn and Dominique Browning, and a Sunday Spectacular day at the Middle School Campus, which combines shopping and a visiting celebrity author such as R. L. Stine, Yogi Berra, Nathan Lane and Julianne Moore.
The Book Fair runs for five days in November and typically grosses over $100,000 in book sales. In addition to author visits and signings, the Fair has become a vehicle for tri-campus community building, teacher appreciation efforts, and outreach to MKA's partner charter schools in Newark, Kipp/TEAM, SPARK and RISE Academies.
The 2016 MKA Book Fair will be held from November 4-9 and confirmed authors are David Shannon, Matt de la Peña, Jennifer Weiner, Grace Lin, Adam Gidwitz, K.E. Rocha, Mike Maihack and Gail Lumet Buckley.
For more information, please contact Talia Selove, Director of Annual Giving & PAMKA Liaison at tselove@mka.org or 973-842-2769.