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>>My name is Kalela Williams,

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and I'm the Director 
of Virginia Humanities,

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Virginia Center for the Book.

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How would I describe myself?

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I would say I'm a writer.

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I have been writing 
for a long time.

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My debut novel is coming 
out in the fall of 2024,

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and it's called "Tangleroot."

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I'm also a reader.

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I'm a history enthusiast.

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I love history.

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I even do historical 
interpretation or 
at least I used to.

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I'm a daughter, I'm a sister, 
I'm an auntie, a partner,

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I'm a cat mama.

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I've got three cats. 
(Kalela laughing)

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I was introduced to 
libraries as a child

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and introduced to 
used bookstores,

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and that's what really 
got me hooked on books.

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So Virginia Humanities is the 
State's Humanities Council,

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and Virginia, the Virginia 
Center for the Book

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is a department within 
Virginia Humanities,

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and there's many 
other departments.

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I have great 
coworkers in folk life

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and in grants, in education 
and community initiatives,

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"With Good Reason," 
a radio show,

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Encyclopedia of Virginia, 
I could go on and on.

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And the Virginia 
Center for the Book

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as one of the departments 
in Virginia Humanities is,

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there's a book art studio 
and a book arts program.

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And so that encompasses 
an actual print studio,

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an art studio that 
focuses on book arts.

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And then we also do 
year-round literary programs

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such as author readings.

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And of course, we're 
very well known

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for the Virginia 
Festival of the Book,

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which happens every 
year in March.

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Books are a way 
to talk to people.

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Books are ideas.

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They're thoughts.

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They're written down on a page.

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People coming together 
to talk about these ideas

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and these concepts

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and how they relate to 
us as individual people,

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that's what excites me

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about the Virginia 
Festival of the Book.

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Now there's some 
things, you know,

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there are some perks like 
meeting famous authors that's,

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and I fan girl 
like anybody else.

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Really, what's exciting 
to me about the festival

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is the way that it 
allows me to think bigger

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and think broader 
and think more deeply

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and think all, 
more imaginatively.

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It's just really thrilling.

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(upbeat music)