Literary festival in our midst

The following story about Reading Reads is from our sister papers, Berks Mont Newspapers. I am psyched to see that Pulitzer winning author Richard Russo "Empire Falls", "Straight Man") is going to be speaking on the Alvernia campus next month as part of the festival.

Reading Reads: Reading Literary Festival enters third year

Poetry workshops and open mike sessions, children reading to dogs, programs ranging from vampires to ghosts to the reconciling of religion in the public schools, the appearance of a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer-these are among the events scheduled for the third Reading Reads: The Greater Reading Literary Festival.The festival will take place throughout the month of October and throughout Berks County in nearly 30 venues. Dozens of authors, poets, illustrators, and lecturers will take part in more than 90 events during the month.

A complete schedule of events, feature articles, and updates are available at the festival web site, www.readingreads.com.

Highlights of the 2008 Literary Festival include:

• The naming of the 2008 Poet Laureate of Berks County, which will take place on Oct. 1 at 10 a.m. in the Miller Center of Reading Area Community College. A gala event is scheduled, sponsored by RACC in collaboration with Berks County Libraries, the Berks Bards poetry group, and the Greater Reading Literary Festival.

• An appearance by the world-renowned Poetry Slam titleists "Junkyard Ghost Revival" at the Berks Campus of Penn State University. The "spoken word theater experience" will take place in the Perkins Student Center at 9 p.m. on Oct.16.

• An "Author Extravaganza" with 16 local and regional writers discussing and signing their works at Borders Books & Music on Oct. 18. The event begins at 10 a.m. and continues through 8 p.m.

• Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo (Empire Falls, Bridge of Sighs, and more) will speak in the Alvernia College Physical Education Center at 6 p.m. on Oct. 21.

• The Literary Festival will honor Reading's landmark Pagoda atop Mount Penn by dubbing it the "Bookoda" and presenting several events there on Oct. 24. The evening begins with a "mixer" of writers' groups from Greater Reading and the Lehigh Valley, continues with a book signing by Reading Police Chief William Heim and Reading Fire Chief William Rehr (both authors), and concludes with ghost stories by author Charles J. Adams III.

• Eli Kowalski, author of Looking Back: 75 Years of Eagles History, will sign his book and chew the fat with Philadelphia Eagles fans at Barnes & Noble at 6 p.m. on Oct. 30.