VIRGINIA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK TO SPONSOR BALDACCI CONFERENCE

Charlottesville, VA (Jan. 25, 1999) --The Virginia Festival of the Book and Phi Theta Kappa will hold a video conference with David Baldacci on Thursday, February 11, 1999 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. The conference will be broadcast from the Annandale Campus of Northern Virginia Community College and will be broadcast to five community colleges around the state of Virginia. Baldacci will talk about his bestselling novels and the writing process. Following his talk, there will be an interactive discussion with students at the five sites. The sites include Dabney S. Lancaster Community College (Clifton Forge), J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (Richmond), Lord Fairfax Community College (Middletown), Southside Virginia Community College (Alberta), and Thomas Nelson Community College (Hampton).

David Baldacci was raised in Richmond, VA and attended law school at the University of Virginia. After a career at a prominent law firm in Northern Virginia, Baldacci left the practice to write political and legal thrillers. His four bestselling books, Total Control, Absolute Power, The Winner, and The Simple Truth, have won him international acclaim. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and children.

Phi Theta Kappa, which is the International Honor Society of two-year colleges, is working in partnership with the Virginia Festival of the Book this year to hold book-related programs throughout the state.

The Virginia Festival of the Book is an annual public festival for children and adults to promote literacy and celebrate books. Produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, VA Book! will be held this year March 24-28 in Charlottesville. Now in its fifth year, the festival has become an integral part of the book-reading community and a pre-eminent festival in the Mid-Atlantic region. For more information visit our web site at www.vabook.org or call (804)924-3296.