FIFTH ANNUAL VIRGINIA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK PROMISES TO BE BEST EVER

Charlottesville, VA (Dec. 11, 1998) -- The 1999 Virginia Festival of the Book will be held March 24-28 in Charlottesville. This annual public festival for children and adults features authors and book related professionals in over 150 programs. Produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH), VABook! Is held in Charlottesville each March to promote literacy and celebrate reading and books. In its five years VABook! has become an integral part of this book-reading community and a pre-eminent festival in the Mid-Atlantic region. As one attendee put it, "The Festival is exhilarating--sort of like Mardi Gras with brains."

Best-selling author John Grisham, former Poet Laureates Rita Dove and Robert Pinsky, National Book Award Winner John Casey, Oprah Book Club authors Jane Hamilton and Sheri Reynolds, plus a cast of internationally-known authors head the list of past participants. The 1999 festival promises to be great with early signers like Alice McDermott, 1998 recipient of the National Book Award, David Baldacci, Linda Pastan, Tami Hoag, James McBride, Marita Golden, Jonathan Yardley, James McBride, Sharyn McCrumb and Mary Lee Settle. Programs range from traditional author readings and book signings to a children's parade of storybook characters; from a panel on how to publish a novel 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 and free of charge with the exception of the Friday Luncheon and Saturday Evening Reception.

Located in the heart of Virginia, Charlottesville is a city for book lovers. Southern Living says, "Charlottesville draws writers the way Nashville beckons musicians" (February 1998). And according to Standard Rate & Data's 1996 Lifestyle Market Analyst, Charlottesville is the number one-ranked ADI (Area of Dominant Influence) in the United States in "Avid Book Reading." Additionally, the American Booksellers Association ranks Charlottesville eighth in the country for "book stores per 10,000 households."

Please visit our web site at www.vabook.org to learn about past festivals. Information about the 1999 program will be posted in late December. If you would like to participate in the programs or be placed on our mailing list, please call (804)924-3296 or write to the above address.