2008 Festival of Reading

Romancing the Book.

Romancing the Book is here! The Lake County Library System is proud to announce the most ambitious project to date with over 35 authors for the 5^th annual Festival of Reading.  We are featuring the 2007 RITA Award Winners Roxanne St. Claire, and Caridad Ferrer; 2006 Winner Linnea Sinclair; 2006 Reader’s Choice Award winner, Elizabeth Sinclair; Carolina Romance Writer of the Year, Leigh Greenwood; Holt Medallion Winner Nancy J. Cohen and Christian Romance novelist Angela Hunt who received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times Book Club.  Angela’s novel The Note was just released as a Hallmark Movie in December.  We also have 3 HarperCollins Mystery superstars, Claire Matturo, Jo Dereske and the only author ever to be awarded an Agatha in three different categories, Katherine Hall Page. 

In 2008 the events will take place March 29^th – April 5^th. Opening day will be held on March 29^th from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Lake Sumter Community College in Leesburg. Exhibits will include libraries, local chapters of the Romance Writers of America, Books-r-Fun Fair and free romantic dessert samples from the American Culinary Federation, Gulf to Lakes Chefs and Cooks Association.  Entertainment will feature Studio 19 Centre for the Performing Arts, the Leesburg Dance Company, Bay Street Players Young People’s Theatre and more. Writing workshops will feature authors Elizabeth Sinclair, Heather Waters, Aleka Nakis, Linnea Sinclair and Dr. Ron Moore. Youth Services will feature free crafts, authors Mark Newhouse and Susan Snyder.  The “I Love Books” Bookmark Design Contest winners will be announced.

For information on the Festival and our authors please go to our website at www.lakeline.lib.fl.us and click on Festival of Reading 2008.

Meet Michael C. White @ the Leesburg Public Library

The Lake County Library System is honored to feature New York Times Notable author Michael C. White in a special Author’s Reception at the Leesburg Public Library on October 1st at 7 p.m. Mr. White’s new novel, Soul Catcher, will be published by William Morrow in September 2007.

Mr. White has written four other novels, A Brother’s Blood, a New York Times Notable Book of 1996, The Blind Side of the Heart, The Garden of Martyrs and the acclaimed A Dream of Wolves, yet none have prepared us for the sheer scope and drama of this new Civil War era tale—an unforgettable tapestry of imagination and character, atmosphere and emotion. Richard Russo, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Empire Falls, has said of Soul Catcher, “The book will be compared to Cold Mountain of course, but White’s book is a more dramatic narrative and every bit as richly detailed and beautifully written… Slavery and its effects are clearly and effectively portrayed as the worm in the American apple. ”

Mr. White is a professor of English at Fairfield University where he teaches fiction writing and is on the faculty of Stonecoast, the University of Southern Maine’s low-residency MFA program.

This event is planned in conjunction with the 25th Anniversary of the Lake County Library System. Please join us for an enlightening evening with the author. Refreshments will be served and copies of Mr. White’s books will be available for purchase from Raintree Books. This event is free to the public but reservations are requested due to limited seating. Please call 352-253-6153 to reserve. Sponsored by the Lake County Library System, the Leesburg Public Library and HarperCollins Publishers.

Keep Reading –

Marian Dewey

Lake County Library System Celebrates 25 Years

Author and actress Victoria Rowell will be the guest speaker at a dinner celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Lake County Library System. This special event will be held at the Lake Receptions in Mount Dora on Friday, September 21^st at 6 p.m.

Victoria Rowell has played Drucilla Winters on CBS’s highest-rated daytime drama, “The Young and the Restless” for the past 10 years. She was featured as Dr. Amanda Bently on the CBS series “Diagnosis Murder” with the legendary Dick Van Dyke and as Paula on “The Cosby Show”. She appeared in feature films such as “The Distinguished Gentleman” with Eddie Murphy, “Dumb and Dumber” with Jim Carrey and “Eve’s Bayou,” starring Samuel L. Jackson and Diahann Carroll.

Born a ward of the state of Maine, Victoria Rowell spent her first 18 years in foster care. But her memoir, The Women Who Raised Me is no tragic lament. It is a tribute to the amazing mentors who nurtured, guided and challenged this remarkable young woman. She is the founder of the Rowell Foster Children Positive Plan.

Meet Ms. Rowell and celebrate with us. Tickets are $50 and are available by calling: 352-253-6153. Reserve your ticket now!

Keep reading –

Marian Dewey

 

Authors Galore!

Just in case you live in the central Florida area, let me fill you in on what you may have missed in mid-March. For a week in the middle of March, the Lake County Library System sponsored the Fourth Annual Festival of Reading! At our Opening Day Event at Venetian Gardens, the Leesburg Public Library Annual Author Dinner, the W. T. Bland Public Library Author Luncheon, and at all of our libraries, 4,700 attendees saw over 20 authors such as Tamar Meyers, Bob Morris, Elizabeth Becka, Charles Benoit, Nancy J. Cohen, Mary Anna Evans, Joe Moore, Lynn Sholes, and Gary Corsair.

Many of these authors have won awards for their published works. Folks traveled from some distance to attend these programs, and were treated to a mixture of practical information on how to write and get published, the latest information on new books, and humorous anecdotes about how the speakers became authors and what they wrote about. Kids heard stories, met authors, read books, make crafts, flew kites, and voted on their favorite pizza.

The theme this year was “A Taste of Reading” and included several cookbook authors, writers about food, and chefs sharing samples of their work with everyone. For more details about what went on this year, see our website:
www.lakeline.lib.fl.us/news_and_events/annual_events/festival_of_reading/default.aspx

The Program Coordinator for the Lake County Library System is already making plans for the Fifth Festival of Reading to be held in 2008. The theme is tentatively scheduled to be “Romancing the Book.” Will your favorite author be included? Who would you like to see appearing at your local library? Let us know!

Keep reading,

Marian Dewey