We had the good fortune of connecting with Tome Student Literacy Society and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Tome Society, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Tome Student Literacy Society is a grassroots student club envisioned in 2012 by two sisters – Jennifer Parker and Rebecca Hamby – both Media Specialists in Georgia, at the time. As sponsors of their school book clubs, they saw a need for an active student community promoting literacy that went beyond informal book discussions. On a trip to an educational technology conference in 2012 the idea for Tome was born. Very soon after Tome’s birth, Shelby Day, another Georgia Media Specialist and Ashley Walden, a classroom teacher, joined the founding leadership team and the four worked diligently to make Tome an excellent resource for students and teachers across the country. Jessica Burger and Caroline Mott joined the team in 2019 and continued to help Tome Society grow and develop.
The team also saw a need for a student book award list that promoted high quality, “PG” books for teens and young readers. The It List is an option in a large group of book award lists for students who want the choice to read new, clean, encouraging books.
In April of 2014, Tome hosted its 1st Annual Conference with approximately 90 students and advisers present. The conference was re-branded as TomeCon in 2016. TomeCon continued to grow from 400 attendees in 2016 to over 2,200 in 2019. The pandemic forced us to make TomeCon 2020 and 2021 virtual, with many authors providing interviews answering student-submitted questions. TomeCon 2022 was back in person and was a huge success, with over 2,000 attendees and award-winning author Alan Gratz as the keynote speaker.
Tome Society currently has over 200 registered chapters across the southeast and is growing each year. These chapters include public, private, and home schools, as well as public libraries.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Tome Student Literacy Society is a grassroots student club envisioned in 2012 by two sisters – Jennifer Parker and Becca Hamby – both School Library Media Specialists in Georgia, at the time. As sponsors of their own school book clubs they saw a need for an active student community promoting literacy that went beyond informal book discussions inside their school walls. So, on a trip to an educational technology conference in 2012 the idea for Tome was born. Ten years later, Tome has grown beyond the borders of Georgia into several other states across the southeast and now serves students in grades 2-12 in 200+ public, private, and home schools, and public libraries.
Tome Society is a women-run non-profit, managed by a volunteer board and one part-time employee. The Tome Team gives of our time to do this because we love reading and we want students to become adults who love reading, too.
Each school year we curate the Tome Society It List book award list, consisting of 40 recently published, well-written, high interest “PG” novels. Tome Society club chapters use these books as the content for book discussions and literacy based competition entries.
In March each school year, we bring in It List Authors and other guest speakers for our big end-of-year event, TomeCon. Students spend the day learning about writing, publishing, art, history, technology, and much more. We also host our annual awards ceremony at TomeCon, where students are rewarded for their hard work in the competitions.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Tome Society is based in Gainesville, Ga, near metro-Atlanta. Its an up-and-coming “big small town” with lots of arts and entertainment options. We might hit up the Dragon Boat Festival on Lake Lanier in September, or walk the Wonderland of Lights at Wilshire Trail in December, or go to a concert on the Square any time of year. If we’re in the mood to learn, we could attend an art or gardening class at the Botanical Gardens, or visit the North Georgia History Center. When its time to eat, Gainesville has no shortage of great dining. For breakfast, we would have to grab coffee and a delicious handmade pastry at Diletto Bakery, then we would head over to Sweet Magnolia on the Square for lunch. You can’t go wrong with Rebecca’s Chicken Salad on a croissant with a side of broccoli salad and some lemonade. Dinner would be a hard choice because the Gainesville Square has so much to choose from. For upscale dining, we could take our pick from Avocados, Recess Southern Gastro Pub, or Shrimp and Grits at 2 Dog Cafe. If we’re feeling comfort food, there’s hummus and pita at Alpha Gyro Grill, a perfect burger at Collegiate Grill, or a Holy Shiitake pizza at Mellow Mushroom.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Tome Student Literacy Society would not exist without the librarians, teachers, and parents who serve as club advisers for their students. Thank you for volunteering your time to spread a love of reading with us!
Website: http://www.tomesociety.org/
Instagram: @tomesociety
Twitter: @tomesociety
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tomesociety/