“Celebrating Ohio’s Authors” is the festival theme – more than 80 nationally-known writers will participate at this event chaired by Ohio First Lady Frances Strickland
COLUMBUS, OH – The greatest literary event in the state, the 4th annual Ohioana Book Festival will be held on Saturday, May 8th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Readers of all ages and interests will have a wonderful time at the Festival, which will be held at the Ohioana and State Library of Ohio’s facility in the Jeffrey Mining Center at 274 E. First Ave., in the historic Italian Village and Short North Arts District of Columbus. The event is free and open to the public; no tickets or advance registration required.
Festival activities will include panels, roundtables, author readings and discussions, a book fair, book appraisals, food, and a special area for children’s programming.
“We are so excited that nearly ninety nationally recognized authors – all of them Ohioans by birth or residents with books that have been published in the past year – will participate in our fourth festival,” said Linda R. Hengst, Ohioana’s Executive Director. “They represent every major literary field and genre – fiction (mystery, romance, fantasy, science fiction, horror, and literary fiction), nonfiction (memoirs, history, essays, and cook books), poetry, and books for children and young adults.”
Ten writers – the festival’s featured authors – will come to Columbus early to participate in outreach programming at schools and other community venues, as well as media interviews and book signings. These authors, all stars in their chosen literary field, are as follows:
David Catrow, a Springfield native, is a writer, illustrator, and cartoonist. He has written or illustrated over seventy notable and award winning books and has been twice honored by the New York Times with the Best Illustrated Book of the Year.
Dan Chaon, a Cleveland Heights resident and professor of creative writing at Oberlin College, is a novelist and O’Henry Award winning short story writer. His book Await Your Reply was named one of the Test Best Books of 2009 by Publisher’s Weekly and is an Ohioana Book Award finalist in fiction.
Lori Foster, a West Chester, OH resident, has produced more that seventy novels since her first book was published in 1996. She writes romantic novels and urban fantasy. Her 2008 book Hard to Handle was a #2 New York Times bestseller.
Andrew Hudgins, the Humanities Distinguished Professor at the Ohio State University, is a poet and the recipient of the 2010 Governor’s Award for the Arts. He has been nominated for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
Angela Johnson, a resident of Ravenna, OH, is the author of more than 40 books for children and young adults. She is a three-time winner of the American Library Association’s Coretta Scott King Award. In 2003 she received a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” and the Ohioana Children’s Literature Award for the body of her work and contributions to children’s literature.
Lisa Klein, a Columbus resident, was an assistant professor of English at the Ohio State University for eight years. She is the author of three highly acclaimed historical fiction novels for young adults including Two Girls of Gettysburg and Lady Macbeth’s Daughter.
Martha Moody, a Dayton physician, is the author of three bestselling novels, Best Friends, The Office of Desire, and, the most recent, Sometimes Mine, a 2010 Ohioana Book Award finalist.
David Lee Morgan Jr., a Warren, OH native and former high school and college athlete, is an award-winning sports journalist with the Akron Beacon Journal. He is a motivational speaker and the author of four books including LeBron James: The Rise of a Star, and More that a Coach: What it Means to Play for Coach, Mentor, and Friend Jim Tressel.
Ted Rall, grew up in Kettering, OH, is an award-winning cartoonist, graphic novelist, and essayist. He twice won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalist Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in editorial cartooning. He is the president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.
Lucy Snyder, a Worthington, OH resident, has a BS in biology, an MA in journalism, and is a graduate of the 1995 Clarion Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Workshop. She is the author of two novels and three collections of short stories and poetry. She received the 2009 Bram Stoker Award for poetry for her collection Chimeric Machines.
During the festival, the featured authors will do individual readings and presentations, including taking part in five panels, including “Real People, Real Stories” with David Lee Morgan and Ted Rall; “How We Write, What We Write” with Dan Chaon and Lori Foster: “Mentors & Muses: The Writers and Books That Inspired Me” with David Catrow and Martha Moody. Other panels include special interest topics such as how to get published, a writers groups’ forum, and book collecting. A new addition to the festival this year will be a book appraisal clinic from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. conducted by members of the Aldus Society. A small fee will be charged for appraisals. All times, topics, and panel participants are listed at www.OhioanaBookFestival.org .
In addition to the featured authors there will be more that seventy-five writers at the festival who will be reading, signing books, and engaging in conversations with readers of all ages. (full list available at www.OhioanaBookFestival.org.)
The Kent State University Library and Information Science students and faculty along with local librarians will provide many lively activities for youngsters, including costumed book characters Curious George, Wild Thing, Amelia Buddleia, and Hedgie.
The most recent books of all of the festival authors will be available through the on-site Barnes and Noble Bookstore.
The Ohioana Book Festival will be a wonderful experience for individuals, and a great day for a family to celebrate as part of this Mother’s Day weekend.
More information about the festival can be found at www.OhioanaBookFestival.org .
The festival is presented by the Ohioana Library Association with major funding provided by the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the Ohio Humanities Council, the Reinberger Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, Honda of America, Mfg., Inc., and the State Library of Ohio. The children’s activity area is co-sponsored by Huntington Bank and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Media sponsors are WOSU Public Media, OHIO magazine, and WCBE radio. Barnes & Noble is the official bookseller. Additional support is provided by more than twenty contributors and community partners including the Toledo and Lucas County Public Library, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Ohio Center for the Book, at the Cleveland Public Library, and numerous local organizations. The full list can be found on the Ohioana Book Festival web site. www.OhioanaBookFestival.org
The mission of the Ohioana Library, established in 1929 by First Lady Martha Kinney Cooper, is to recognize and encourage the creative accomplishments of Ohioans; preserve and expand a permanent collection of books, sheet music, manuscripts, and other materials by Ohioans and about Ohio; and disseminate information about the work of Ohio writers, musicians and other artists to researchers, schools and the general public. Individuals can visit the library at 274 E. First Ave., Columbus, OH, or online at www.ohioana.org.
