You are hereJeff Deck and Benjamin Herson discuss The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time

Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson discuss The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time

Start: 09/08/2010 6:30 pm

End: 09/08/2010 8:00 pm

Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, authors of the book The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time discuss their new book.

Time: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 6:30 PM
Location: Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch, Truman Forum, 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64112
Phone: Rainy Day Books at 913-384-3126 to Order Books in advance, and The Kansas City Public Library at 816-701-3407 to make Reservations to attend.

Authors: Jeff Deck served as an associate editor for Rocks & Minerals magazine and his short stories have appeared in The Furnace Review and Boston Literary Magazine. He won two spelling bees in junior high. Benjamin Herson has been a bookseller for the past eight years. His short stories have appeared in Dan River Anthology and Down in the Dirt.

They are the somewhat fearless leaders of the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL). Visit www.GreatTypoHunt.com

Title: The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time , $23.99 Hardcover, ISBN 9780670022045, On Sale Date: August 3, 2010. Rainy Day Books will sell The Great Typo Hunt at this Event.

The world needed a hero, but how would an editor with no off-switch answer the call? For Jeff Deck, the writing was literally on the wall: “NO TRESSPASSING.” In that moment, his greater purpose became clear. Dark hordes of typos had descended upon civilization… and only he could wield the marker to defeat them.

Recruiting his friend Benjamin and other valiant companions, he created the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL). Armed with markers, chalk, and correction fluid, they circumnavigated America, righting the glaring errors displayed in grocery stores, museums, malls, restaurants, mini-golf courses, beaches, and even a national park. Jeff and Benjamin championed the cause of clear communication, blogging about their adventures transforming horor into horror, it’s into its, and coconunut into coconut.

But at the Grand Canyon, they took one correction too far: fixing the bad grammar in a fake Native American watchtower. The government charged them with defacing federal property and summoned them to court—with a typo-ridden complaint that claimed that they had violated “criminal statues.” Now the press turned these paragons of punctuation into “grammar vigilantes,” airing errors about their errant errand.

The radiant dream of TEAL would not fade, though. Beneath all those misspelled words and mislaid apostrophes, Jeff and Benjamin unearthed deeper dilemmas about education, race, history, and how we communicate. Ultimately their typo-hunting journey tells a larger story not just of proper punctuation but of the power of language and literacy—and the importance of always taking a second look.

What: Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson will discuss their adventures and new book, and answer audience questions. A booksigning will follow the presentation. The authors will sign copies of The Great Typo Hunt purchased from Rainy Day Books, on our website and / or at our Author Event.

Location: