Submit entries for Big Read family recipes,immigrant stories by Oct. 31

Do you have a family recipe or an immigrant story to share? Or a story about your name or family tree? As part of the upcoming Big Read celebration of Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Namesake,” Dearborn Public Library is sending out a call for entries for two community anthologies that will feature family recipes in one and immigration or name stories in the other. 

Oct. 31 is the deadline to submit recipes, families or name stories at bigreaddearborn.org/call-for-entries for publication consideration. Family recipes passed down from generation to generation would be ideal, but any original family recipe is eligible. The story can be about you or one of your relatives, whether of current or previous generations. 

The program is open to all ages and anyone is welcome to participate. The published family stories and recipes are one part of programming planned for The Big Read Dearborn 2018 that will center on “The Namesake” and ask “What’s in a Name?” “The Namesake” follows a young immigrant family as they try to hold onto their past and embrace their future after leaving India for America. 

The Big read is presented by Dearborn Public Library in partnership with several local community organizations including DFCU Financial; the Henry Ford, the Arab American National Museum; the Dearborn Community Fund; Dearborn Public Schools; the City of Dearborn Department of Public Information.

Also Artspace; Dearborn Public Library Foundation; Dearborn Library Commission; Friends of the Library-Dearborn; University of Michigan-Dearborn Mardigan Library; Henry Ford College Eshleman Library; AAUW Dearborn; Beaumont Medical Library; the East and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authorities; the Dearborn Inn; Green Brain Comics and Dearborn Heights Libraries. 

The kickoff will be from 3 to 5 p.m. March 18 at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. The wrap up party takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. April 28 at the Henry Ford Centennial Library. There will be many more fun and educational events planned in March and April for all ages. 

Visit bigreaddearborn.org or dearbornlibrary.org for updates. NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. For questions, contact thebigreaddearborn@gmail.com or call 313-943-2330.