FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, April 17th, 2009
CONTACT: Linda Hengst, Executive Director – Ohioana Library
lhengst@ohioana.org
614-466-3831
3rd ANNUAL OHIOANA BOOK FESTIVAL: CELEBRATING OHIO’S AUTHORS – MAY 9TH
Ohio’s libraries are the best in the country. With great collections and high circulation rates, is it any wonder that Ohio is the home of some of the country’s best writers?
“Celebrating Ohio’s Authors” is the festival theme – more than 70 nationally know writers will participate at event chaired by Ohio First Lady Frances Strickland
COLUMBUS, OH – Readers of all ages and interests are invited to the third annual Ohioana Book Festival on Saturday, May 9th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The festival 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, entertainment, and a special area for children’s programming.
“We are so excited that more than seventy 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 third festival,” said Linda R. Hengst, Ohioana’s Executive Director. “They represent every major literary field and genre – fiction (mystery, romance, fantasy, science fiction, and literary fiction), nonfiction (memoirs, history, and essays), 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 in schools and other community venues and the media. These authors, all stars in their chosen literary field, include:
R. L. Stine, a Columbus native, is one of the best-selling children’s authors in history and most well known for his Goosebumps and Fear Street series.
Jeff Smith, who grew up in Columbus, is the creator of the award-winning graphic novel series Bone which has brought the love of comics to a new generation world wide.
Peter Mansoor, an OSU graduate, is current Chair of Military History at OSU. A recently retired US Army Colonel, his twenty-six year military career culminated in his service in Iraq as the executive officer to General Patraeus, Commanding General of the Multi-National Force in Iraq. His acclaimed book, Baghdad at Sunrise, is a memoir of his experiences.
Thrity Umrigar, professor of creative writing and literature at Case Western Reserve and former Washington Post and Cleveland Plain Dealer contributor, is a Bombay, India native. She is a highly acclaimed bestselling author of three novels and a memoir, First Darling of the Morning.
John Scalzi, a California native and current Bradford, Ohio resident, is an award-winning science fiction novelist. Best known for his debut novel Old Man’s War. His newest release The Last Colony hit the New York Times Bestseller list last year.
Erin McCarthy/Erin Lynn of West Lake, OH, sold her first book in 2002 and twenty-four books later she is still entertaining readers with contemporary and paranormal romances. She also writers young adult novels under the pen name Erin Lynn.
Jaime Adoff, grew-up in Yellow Springs, Ohio where he currently makes his home, is an award-winning author of popular books for children and young adults. A poet, rock-and-roll musician, and author, Adoff received the 2006 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award for his book Jimi and Me.
Margaret Peterson Haddix, grew-up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio and is the award-wining author of more than 20 books for children and young adults, including the popular The Shadow Children series. Her new book, Found is the first in her new series The Missing.
Ann Hagedorn, a Dayton native currently a resident of Ripley, Ohio, is a former Wall Street Journal staffer and investigative report with the New York Daily News. She is the author of a number of award-winning nonfiction titles, including Beyond the River and Savage Peace.
Phil Brady, a New York City native, is Youngstown State University Distinguished Professor, award-winning poet, essayist, editor, and musician, and community organizer. His most recent work is By Heart: Reflections of a Rust-Belt Bard is a collection of essays.
During the festival, the featured authors will do individual reading and presentation, including taking part in five panels, including “The Writing Life” with R.L Stine and Thrity Umrigar; and “Why We Write, What We Write” with Erin McCarthy and Jeff Smith. Other panels include special interest topics such as writing for children and how to get published. All times, topics, and panel participants are listed at www.OhioanaBookFestival.org .
In addition to the featured authors there will be more that sixty additional writers at the festival who will be reading, signing books, and engaging in conversations with readers of all ages. 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 like Miss Bindergarden, arts and crafts, story time, and the viewing of several Goosebumps DVDs.
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 the support of the State Library of Ohio, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Ohio Humanities Council, the Reinberger Foundation, the Ohio Lottery Commission, and Honda of America Mfg., Inc. Our media sponsors are WOSU Public Media and Ohio Magazine. Along with the Kent State Library Science program, twenty local and statewide partners and contributors are helping to make the festival program possible including the Toledo Public Library, Public Library of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Columbus Public Library, Ohio Center for the Book, and the Ohio Library Council and numerous local organizations. The full list can be found on the Ohioana Book Festival web site. www.OhioanaBookFestival.org
