NKF Celebrates 35 Years of Uniting Authors and Literary Enthusiasts to Benefit Kidney Patients
Online and In-Person Tickets Available for the National Kidney Foundation’s 35th Anniversary Authors Luncheon
(October 28, 2023, San Franciso, California) — Fans of modern literature are invited to meet some of the nation’s top authors while raising funds and awareness about kidney disease. The National Kidney Foundation’s (NKF) 35th Annual Authors Luncheon, will be held on Saturday, October 28, 2023, at the iconic Palace Hotel in San Francisco, California. The Authors Luncheon has long been recognized as a hub for literary excellence and a catalyst for positive change. It is the largest event of its kind in the Bay Area. Over the years, this event has fostered a sense of community among book lovers and writers, all while raising crucial funds for kidney patients in need. This year's anniversary celebration promises those who are passionate about literature to join NKF in the effort to transform kidney care and improve the lives of millions through education, advocacy, and research.
The event will feature four best-selling authors - Lee Child, Anita Gail Jones, Lauren Groff, Mac Barnett, and award-winning illustrator, Shawn Harris. The unique event unites literary enthusiasts with the NKF to help improve outcomes for those living with and at risk for kidney disease.[AH1] ,
"It’s an honor to serve as Chair of this incredible event and reach this significant milestone of 35 years celebrating literature while increasing awareness of kidney disease and raising millions of dollars to support NKF’s work,” said Sheila Gordon, the Authors Luncheon Planning Committee Chair. “In the four decades, I have been doing this work, kidney care has undergone remarkable transformations - living donor transplants and chain donations are common, xenotransplantation is on the horizon and could alleviate wait times for transplants and home dialysis is now possible for millions of patients.”
About the 2023 Featured Authors:
Lee Child: is the author of more than two dozen New York Times best-selling Jack Reacher thrillers, with most having reached the #1 position, and the #1 best-selling complete Jack Reacher story collection, No Middle Name.
Anita Gail Jones: born and raised in Albany, Georgia, Anita maintains a strong connection with this southwest corner of the state. This region is the setting for her novel, The Peach Seed; the manuscript was selected as a 2021 Finalist in the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, and was acquired by Retha Powers at Holt in a two-book deal for publication in August 2023.
Lauren Groff: is a three-time National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, Fates and Furies, and Matrix, and the short story collections Delicate Edible Birds and Florida. She won the Story Prize and has been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Groff’s work regularly appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and elsewhere, and she was named one of Granta’s 2017 Best Young American Novelists.
Mac Barnett: is a New York Times bestselling author of stories for children. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages and sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. Shawn Harris's first illustrated book, Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers, received seven-star reviews and was an Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book, an ALA Notable Book, and a PW Best Book of the Year. His authorial debut, Have You Ever Seen a Flower, is a Caldecott Honor Award winner.
More About the Event: The in-person event will be held at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco on Saturday, October 28, at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET (In-person check-in and book signing begins at 11 AM PT). Virtual guests can watch the event live from their favorite reading nooks around the globe. To purchase in-person or virtual tickets or for more information, please visit kidney.org/authors.
This event would not be possible without generous sponsorship from the following: Special thanks to Presenting Sponsor Wilson Dow, Authors Circle Plus Sponsors Joe & Nicki Parisi and Marcia & John Goldman, Authors Circle Sponsor Otsuka America Pharmaceutical.
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, 37 million adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease—and approximately 90 percent don’t know they have it. About 1 in 3 American adults are at risk for chronic kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, Native American, or other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Blacks or African Americans are almost four times more likely than White Americans to have kidney failure. Hispanics experience kidney failure at about double the rate of White people.
About National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most comprehensive, and longstanding patient-centric organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease in the U.S. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org.
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