2008 Statistics & Report
Fourteen’s a Crowd: VABook! 2008 Draws Attention
The14th annual Virginia Festival of the Book in March was among the best attended in Festival history—23,580 in attendance—with crowds surging to 900 for a single event. The VFH was pleased to see its five day celebration of books and literacy doing exactly what it is meant to do: bringing readers together with authors to discuss the topics that touch and inform our lives.
Reactions to the Festival
“The Virginia Festival of the Book… [They] really know how to throw
a five-day, nonstop bookish bash that caters to a variety of interests.”
--Susan Stevens Huckle, The Roanoke Times, April 13, 2008
“At the end of the day, the Virginia Festival of the Book is great for people
who love to read, but even better for people addicted to buying books.
Maybe that is why the Festival is hosted by Thomas Jefferson’s hometown.”
--Mike Lecaroz, Virginia Law Weekly, April 4, 2008
Statistics
Source: Returned program evaluations. Percentages tabulated from total number of respondents to each question. Sample size 4,122.
| Festival Rating - "Great" or"Excellent" | 96% | |
| Number public events and programs | 170 | |
| Number of youth/school programs | 54 | |
| Average attendance | ||
| At an adult program | 89 | |
| At a youth & family program | 154 | |
| Number of participants | 373 | |
| Authors and writers | 342 | |
| Publishers, editors, and other professionals | 31 | |
| Total audience | 23,582 | |
| Audience profile | ||
| From Charlottesville/ Albemarle | 70% | |
| Other Virginia | 20% | |
| Out-of-state — from 41 states (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV) |
9% | |
| Other countries and U.S. territories (Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, France, U.K.[England and North Ireland]) |
>1% | |
| Out-of-area audience staying overnight in hotels | 29% | |
| Percent of attendees buying at least 1 – 5 books | 68% | |
| How Festival information obtained (multiple responses per survey possible) |
||
| Received Advance Program | 14% | |
| Newspaper/Magazine | 22% | |
| Word of mouth | 23% | |
| Web site | 15% | |
| Radio/TV | 5% | |
| Email Newsletter | 8% | |
| VFH Newsletter | 7% | |
| Other (friends, school, co-worker, etc.) | 6% | |
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Virginia Festival of the Book is a program of the
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
phone: (434)924-6890 | fax: (434) 296-4714 | vabook@virginia.edu