This document was last modified on Monday, 28-Aug-2006 10:35:42 EDT
Copyright © 1997, Virginia Festival of the Book, BITS
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (Feb. 1, 1997) - Bookworms have always known that Charlottesville, Virginia, home of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and The University of Virginia, is a community of writers and readers. But now the secret is out as more than 10,000 book lovers, 100+ authors and 150+ book-related events converge at the Third Annual Virginia Festival of the Book on March 20-23, 1997. The four-day festival, which has become the largest gathering of its kind in the mid-Atlantic region, truly showcases Charlottesville as a major book town. Consider:
PARTICIPATING WRITERS: Many of Charlottesville's resident writers - who in the past have included Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner - lend their support to the annual Festival with readings, signings, lectures, workshops, demonstrations, and panel discussions. This year's list of local participating authors includes: John Grisham (the country's #1-selling author and the keynote speaker at Friday's luncheon), George Garrett, Rita Dove, John Casey, Jonathan Coleman, Mary E. Lyons, Mary Lee Settle, and Charles Wright. (Other prominent authors and poets attending from outside the area include: Gay Talese, Louis Auchincloss, Madison Smartt Bell, John Gregory Brown, Nikki Giovanni, Gregory Jaynes, Donald Justice, Lois Lowry, Sharyn McCrumb, Barbara Parker, Anita Shreve, and Phyllis Theroux).
BOOK-TRADE & PUBLISHING PROFESSIONALS: As the site of several national publishers and the University of Virginia Division of Continuing Education's Publishing & Communications Program, Charlottesville (and the Virginia Festival of the Book) is a natural gathering place for publishing professionals. This year's Festival includes a book-trade emphasis with special seminars and activities for booksellers and publishers; a Book Fair that showcases publishers and authors; and the participation of noted publishing and communications personalities such as Edwin Barber (Vice-Chairman, W.W. Norton & Co.), Virginia Barber (Virginia Barber literary agency), Nina King (Editor, "Book World" section, The Washington Post), Brian Lamb (CEO & co-founder, C-SPAN Network), Owen Laster (head of worldwide literary operations, William Morris Agency), and Nan Talese (Senior Vice-President & Editorial Director, Doubleday). The Mid-Atlantic Publishers Association is even using the Festival as the site of several meetings.
READERS & BOOKSTORES: Writers need an audience and a way to reach them, and Charlottesville provides both. According to Standard Rate & Data's 1996 Lifestyle Market Analyst, Charlottesville is the #1-ranked ADI (Area of Dominant Influence) in the United States in the category of "Avid Book Reading." And the latest American Booksellers Association report of "Top U.S. Book Markets" ranks Charlottesville 8th in the country for "book stores per 10,000 households." Most of the area's major booksellers are involved with the Festival as sponsoring organizations or as event venues.
In just three short years, the Virginia Festival of the Book has grown from a small pilot project to a major regional - even national - event. In an age of ever-shorter attention spans, the ubiquity of television and the perceived turning away from the printed word, Charlottesville shines bright as a beacon for literacy and a love of books.
[VFOB Home Page / About VFOB / Program of Events / Special Function Tickets / Who's Participating?/ Participating Organizations / Sponsoring Organizations / Volunteering / C'ville Loves Books / John Grisham]