Barbara Bush Foundation to Celebrate 100th Anniversary of George H.W. Bush’s Birth in a Special Celebration of Reading

When the curtain rises on the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation’s 30th “A Celebration of Reading” in April, the audience will be treated to the contributions of four New York Times bestselling authors, writers known for fasten-your-seatbelt thrillers and heartwarming remembrances. In addition, the tenor of the evening will be elevated with the input of one of America’s most popular touring comedians.

Headliners for the April 9 event, taking place at Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, were revealed on Thursday by the literacy foundation. Key to the program will be a special tribute to what would have been the 100th birthday of President George H.W.Bush.

A personal favorite is Chris Bohjalian, the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of 24 books including The Lioness, which is under development to become a television series (which will be very different from Taylor Sheridan’s special ops series called Lioness); Hour of the Witch; Midwives; and The Flight Attendant, which was made into a popular MAX limited series starring Kaley Cuoco.

Jean Becker, chief of staff for former President George H.W Bush who edited  Pearls of Wisdom by Barbara Bush and was author of bestseller The Man I Knew: The Amazing Story of George H.W. Bush’s Post Presidency, will discuss her upcoming release Character Matters: Life Lessons from George H. W. Bush which is set for release on April 16^th. 

Former Special Forces officer and bestselling author Brad Taylor, with 18 books to his credit, will also take the Houston stage. Fans are anticipating him commenting on his upcoming novel called Dead Man’s Hand, in which Taylor’s popular protagonist Pike Logan goes head-to-head with Vladimir Putin.

National Book Award winning, New York Times bestselling author James McBride, whose book The Color of Water was on the best-sellers list for two years, rounds out the writer participants. His Deacon King Kong was one of Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club picks.

The Barbara Bush foundation fun will begin when comedian Gary Gulman takes the stage and shares the humor that has been entertaining sellout crowds across the country including his gig at Carnegie Hall. You might have caught one of his five comedy specials include HBO’s The Great Depresh.

“Mom designed this event 30 years ago to shine the light on her cause of literacy and demonstrate to everyone that reading is joyful and a foundational skill for living the American Dream,” Neil Bush says. “My wife Maria and I are deeply committed to carrying forth Mom’s literacy legacy and my parent’s longstanding commitment to the people of Houston, the city they called ‘home’ for more than five decades.

“The 2024 A Celebration of Reading will be an inspiring milestone event and a platform during which we will commemorate Dad’s 100th birthday.”