Early Signers for the 15th Anniversary
Virginia Festival of the Book

(Charlottesville, VA…Dec 4) The Virginia Festival of the Book is pleased to announce a selection of “early signers”—those who have committed to appear in its 15th anniversary celebration of books and literacy, March 18-22, 2009.

Fiction luminaries include John Grisham (The Associate), Stephen L. Carter (Emperor of Ocean Park, Palace Council), Mary Doria Russell (Dreamers of the Day), Jean Hanff Korelitz (Admission), Alan Cheuse (To Catch the Lightning), Katherine Neville (The Fire), and emerging writers like Virginia Literary Award winner Helon Habila (Measuring Time) and New South novelist Inman Majors (The Millionaires).

For vampire fans, the Festival is featuring two well-known genre writers Kim Harrison (White Witch, Black Curse), Mario Acevedo (Jailbait Zombie) and recovering pop culture critic Eric Nuzum (The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula).

Launching poetry books at the Festival will be Rita Dove (Sonata Mulattica) and Gregory Orr (How Beautiful the Beloved). Irish poet Paul Muldoon (Horse Latitudes) and English-Australian poet Kevin Hart (Night Music) will read, as will a host of poets with Virginia ties: John Casteen (Free Union), Michael Chitwood (Spill), Ted Genoways (Anna, Washing), Sarah Kennedy (Home Remedies), Debra Nystrom (Bad River Road), R.T. Smith (Outlaw Style), and Lisa Russ Spaar (Satin Cash).

Virginia Civil Rights icon John A. Stokes will return to the Festival with his young adult book Students on Strike. Featured photographers will include Sam Abell (The Life of a Photograph) and Robert Llewellyn (Remarkable Trees of Virginia).

Writers with Charlottesville connections include constitutional lawyer John Whitehead (The Change Manifesto), +memoirist Peach Friedman (Diary of an Exercise Addict), science historian Eric Vettel (Biotech: The Countercultural Origins of an Industry), New York Times crossword puzzle creator Arthur Schulman (Websterisms: A Collection of Words and Definitions Set Forth by the Founding Father of American English), and public health professor Jeff Goldsmith (The Long Baby Boom).

The Virginia Festival of the Book, produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, is a celebration of books, authors and reading, most of its 200 events free and open to the public.

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Early Signers for the 15th Anniversary Virginia Festival of the Book

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Early Signers for the 15th Anniversary
Virginia Festival of the Book