Ivana Sumbundu, founder of Vana Verse, is dedicated to connecting local authors with local readers in Southwest Virginia.
“I like to say it’s bringing local authors with local readers together,” Ivana said.
She started Vana Verse to promote independent authors in the region by booking events, interviewing authors, and encouraging more reading in the community.
“They drive to come here to meet the author and see the event, but it’s really that goal of just bringing people together, even if it’s just for an hour or two,” Ivana explained, “It’s a little universe giving authors the space to share their voice.”
A national literacy study by the Trust reveals that only one in three kids ages 8 to 18 say they enjoy reading in their free time - a 36% drop over the last 20 years.
Ivana shared her perspective: “I don’t understand why it’s happening, I mean as a kid I was an avid reader.”
Ellen Seay, owner of Bibliopub and former teacher, noted, “They definitely don’t have to read as much now as we did when we were kids and in high school.”
Many high schools no longer provide students with full books. Instead, teens read excerpts, often on school laptops rather than paper, according to a New York Times survey of 2,000 teachers, students, and parents.
Ellen added, “Access is an issue because they don’t have full books in school but a lot of it is ADHD concentration issues. It’s really hard to give a child a book and say, ‘Hey read this,’ so you sort of have to break it into smaller pieces for them.”
Ivana encourages parents to introduce children to reading early. “My book club friends that have kids, I tell them bring them, we need to teach them young that reading is beautiful, reading is an honor.”
Reflecting on the impact of her work, Ivana said, “‘Thanks to her, I read a book that changed my life forever’, and if that’s all that it becomes then I’m happy because I changed a reader’s life and I changed an author’s life.”