The Virginia Festival of the Book is an annual public celebration of
literature and literacy held each March in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, VABook! has
almost doubled in size each year since its inception in 1995. 
In 1997
VABook! featured over 150 writers in 187 programs; 13,725 attended
programs of the 1997 Virginia Festival of the Book. With its emphasis
on programs, the Virginia Festival of the Book is neither a book sale
nor an exclusive literary event, but has something to offer for
everyone. In four years VABook! has become an integral part of the
Charlottesville book-reading community, and a pre-eminent book festival
in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Fourth Annual Virginia Festival of the
Book will take place in Charlottesville from March 18-22,1998.
VABook! is produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities in partnership with many local organizations, which reflect a range of book-related interests and a variety of writers. Participants in 1997 included: John Grisham, Gay Talese, Rita Dove, Sharyn McCrumb, John Casey, Lois Lowry, Nikki Giovanni, Louis Auchincloss, Mary Lee Settle, George Garrett, Donald Justice, Anita Shreve, Madison Smartt Bell, Jonathan Coleman, and Charles Wright among others. Programs range from traditional author readings and book signings to a children's parade of storybook characters; from a panel on how publish a novel to how to a discussion on running a bookstore; from a workshop on book-binding to a discussion on freelancer's rights. All programs are open to the public; with few exceptions (noted in the schedule) programs are free of charge.
Charlottesville is a city for booklovers. 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 "Avid Book Reading." Additionally, the American booksellers Association ranks Charlottesville 8th in the country for "book stores per 10,000 households." The Festival is widely supported by the more than 20 bookstores located in the area. The Virginia Festival of the Book is also fortunate to enjoy the support of Charlottesville's many resident writers. We hope you will join us in our celebration of books, March 18-22 1998.
Please look through our website for further information on past festivals and advance information on the 1998 program. The toolbar to the left will aid you in your exploration of this site.
If you would like more information about the Festival, or if you would like to be placed on our mailing list, please feel free to contact us. You can reach us by phone at (804) 924-3296 or by post at 145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville VA 22901-3207. If you have any comments about our website, please address them to lfl2k@virginia.edu. Your comments and ideas are greatly appreciated.