BookFestPA coming to State College July 14

What could be better than the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, aka Arts Fests? A Book Fest that coincides! The following release and photos were lifted directly from the BookFestPA site.

The reviews are in ... BookFestPA is a tremendous addition to the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts! The second BookFestPA brought 30 authors and almost 3,000 readers together for a day of author talks, books signings, and other events.

A big hit in its first two years, BookFestPA returns on Saturday, July 14, 2012, with wonderful local authors, great nationally known writers, and an array of book-related activities. Join the 3rd Annual BookFestPA fun from 10am to 5pm to celebrate books, authors, and reading!

The Book Tent Highlights Great Local Authors

Schlow Centre Region Library’s parking lot will once again host BookFestPA’s lively Book Tent. Familiar faces like Kieryn Nicolas, Ken Hull, John Carr, Jeffrey Frazier, David Pencek, Jodi Moore as well as new local authors, including Andrea Adams and John Poorman, will share their stories and sign their books. Penn State Press - think Ice Cream U - will be showcasing titles from their line-up, and BookFestPA speakers will rendezvous with fans to autograph their books.
The BookFest tent will be open for book sales, signings, and a chance to meet your favorite local (and not so local) authors from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

The 2012 Speakers!

Pennsylvania writers are definitely part of the big time, and the big time definitely comes to BookFestPA this year!

Don’t miss Sara Shepard, author of Pretty Little Liars fame, whose hugely popular book series is the basis for the current hit TV show of the same name. The Lying Game, her second thriller series, is also now a TV show, and her latest release, the adult novel Everything We Ever Wanted, is a riveting mystery based on a college hazing scandal.

Sara spent part of her childhood in State College (Schlow was her library!) and earned an undergraduate degree at New York University and a graduate degree at Brooklyn College. While in college, she bought many pairs of purple vinyl pants, loud leather jackets, brightly colored club kid sneakers, and even a Day-Glo pacifier. After recovering from that unfortunate but short-lived phase, she had a series of jobs— interning at Elle magazine, filing important documents at J.P. Morgan, and writing and editing at Time.
Her first story ever, Quizzles, which she wrote and illustrated, was about friendly yellow creatures that lived in a backyard garden. It won second prize in a contest at Schlow Centre Region Library in State College, and was bound and placed on the shelf — where it is still part of the collection. Her second story was about a five-legged camel named Lloyd and his band of friends journeying through the human circulatory system.
When she was young, the things she wanted to be when she grew up were a soap opera star, a designer for LEGO, a claymation artist, a geneticist, a fashion magazine editor, and, most of all, a writer. Currently, she lives in suburban Philadelphia.

Tawni O’Dell is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Fragile Beasts, Sister Mine, Coal Run, and Back Roads, which was an Oprah’s Book Club pick and a Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection. Her work has been published in over 40 countries. Back Roads is currently in development to be made into a film starring Jennifer Garner. Tawni adapted the screenplay which is set to be directed by Adrian Lyne.
Tawni was born and reared in the coal-mining region of western Pennsylvania, the territory she writes about with such striking authenticity. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism and spent many years living in Chicago before moving back to Pennsylvania. A single mother of two, she now resides in State College.

 Non-Fiction Feature
Lee Stout, an acclaimed presenter during our inaugural BookFestPA, returns with his new book, A Matter of Simple Justice: The Untold Story of Barbara Hackman Franklin and a Few Good Women.
A departure from his first book, Ice Cream U., this is an equally compelling a story based on the “A Few Good Women” oral history project at the Penn State University Libraries, A Matter of Simple Justice illuminates the administration’s groundbreaking efforts to expand the role of women — and the long-term consequences for women in the American workplace.
A great storyteller, Lee is a BookFestPA favorite.

For the kids - and all kids at heart!

Artie Bennett, author and highly entertaining speaker, will present storytimes at Schlow featuring his two terrific books for pre-schoolers, The Butt Book and Poopendous. In clever, comical verse, these charming books relay the necessity and usefulness of their highly-popular-with-young-audiences subjects.

Join the BookFestPA Fun!

There is always lots to do at BookFestPA:
* visit the Book Tent
* buy books for yourself or as a gift
* get autographs
* learn about writing and getting published
* meet the authors
* have fun!!

Interested in reading something by every author between now and July? Complete lists will be available by early May. For more details about this exciting day, visit bookfestpa.org.

Also, be sure to check out the Local Authors page.