A grant-funded book compiling local essays and art work hit the presses last month, and is in its second printing already.
A grant-funded book compiling local essays and art work hit the presses last month, and is in its second printing already.
The Friends of the Library, Waikoloa Region, got a grant to collect the local writings and art from the Atherton Family Foundation, Project Manager Vivian Green said. The grant gave the group one year to create the book, “This We Believe: Waikoloa Region,” and get it printed, she said.
Contributing authors and artists are women and men, young and old, kamaaina and newcomers from all over the country.
“This is a book about the Big Island,” Green said. “Most of these people were amateur writers and amateur artists. We certainly are amateur compilers and amateur online publishers. It came out beautifully considering it’s a people’s book.”
The theme was beliefs. Writers approached the topic in a variety of ways, from talking about education to living life at the right speed to joy.
“There are many ideas that I believe in, but choosing joy in all circumstances tops the list,” Jacqueline McBride Koscil wrote in her essay. “Some people may think of joy as a superficial and short-lived state of euphoria. My idea of joy is a state of being content that comes from deep within the essence of who I am, no matter what prevailing circumstances are in my life.”
The Atherton grand paid for the process of creating the book and the first 200 copies, which Green said arrived last month. Those sold out already, which prompted a second printing this month. Green said the Friends of the Library group will continue to publish more copies as necessary, and focus on distribution around the island for the next year or so. The group is charging publication costs plus $1, which goes to the group. Green said the goal of the publication isn’t to make a profit, but to share the book with the community.
Artwork in the book includes quilts, paintings, rock sculptures and photography.
The soft-cover, full-color book is available to purchase for $16 at the Waikoloa Village Office, the golf pro shop or at Waikoloa Mail Boxes in the Waikoloa Highlands Shopping Center. Green said it is also available in Waimea, Kailua-Kona and Keauhou. People may also download an order form from the group’s website, library.waikoloacommunity.org, and mail the form and a check for $21 to the address on the form. The additional charge covers priority mail shipping costs.