As Independence Day approaches, Fall for the Book offers another dose of democracy. Activist, author and blogger David Swanson, the author of Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union, has been selected as the 2010 speaker for the Democracy Project at George Mason. Daybreak offers “a prescription for political reform that literally ends with a to-do list for citizens, and draws inspiration from the misdeeds and missteps of the Bush and Obama presidencies,” and the event provides the campus community the chance “to reflect on the democratic principles, institutions, and practices that have shaped our nation and…other nations around the world.”

The Democracy Project at George Mason University is a chapter of the nationwide American Democracy Project and undertakes the annual event during Fall for the Book as a collaboration with the festival. Swanson will speak on Thursday, September 23, at 10:30 a.m. in Harris Theater on Mason’s Fairfax Campus.

In addition to publishing the book Daybreak, Swanson has worked as press secretary for Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign and as part-time consultant for Kucinich’s 2008 campiagn; as media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association; and as communications coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. He is co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org, the Washington Director of Democrats.com, and a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, the Backbone Campaign, Voters for Peace, and the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution.

Swanson joins nearly 150 more authors, artists and performers who will be appearing at the 12th annual Fall for the Book Festival, September 19-24 at George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus and at venues throughout Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland. To stay up-to-date with the latest news on this year’s festival, please bookmark the festival’s webpage here or join the mailing list on the left of the homepage to have information delivered directly to your inbox.