Stacey Ballis Salutes Literacy

This sporadic series spotlights the literacy ad series I ran while at Lerner Newspapers.

While running the NIE (Newspaper In Education) ad series, I tried to get celebrity spokespeople from all fields.  It was always especially nice when I could get a local, published author to appear in an ad.
Such was the case with Stacey Ballis, who had just had her debut novel Inappropriate Men published.  Ballis was born in Chicago and had an impressive literary record.  I was very excited about having this fledgling author appear in our ads.  Since then, Ballis has had three more books published, including her latest, Spinster Sisters.
This ad received a very nice response from the students in the program, especially the girls.   It accomplished everything I had wanted.
A couple years ago, Ballis started a blog, The Polymath Chronicles, which is a collection of interesting pieces.  As a self-described polymath (look to her site for clarification), she has a lot to offer and she likes offering it to her readers!
I appreciated Ballis participating in the ad series back then.  Someday maybe I will meet her at a book signing and thank her in person.

Storytelling is one of the most important traditions in human history.  Our stories bind us together as people, and have the power to cross boundaries of culture, race, religion and politics.  Reading about someone else's experiences can illuminate our own lives and give us hope, joy and the possibility of understanding.  Read, and you become connected to the world!
--Stacey Ballis as quoted in the NIE ad series in 2005