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St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading Announces Early Line Up of Authors
The 14th Annual St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. The free festival is an annual celebration of literacy, featuring nationally known authors, book signings, panel discussions, workshops and a variety of entertainment.The free festival, which annually attracts thousands of book lovers, will be staged in several University buildings, including the Campus Activities Center, Davis Hall, the Florida Center for Teachers, the nearby F.W.R.I .(C.W. “Bill” Young Marine Science Complex) and the Poynter Institute.
The first 500 persons who donate a new children’s book at the “Publix Books-for-Kids Tent” will receive a voucher for two tickets to the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens game on November 15 at the St. Pete Times Forum courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times. The donated books will be given to the YWCA Family Village and Community Pride.
To date, authors confirmed to appear at the Festival include political pundit and former California gubernatorial candidate Arianna Huffington; ABC’s 20/20 news correspondent Lynn Sherr; New York Times bestseller Steve Berry; Golden Globe winning actress Meg Tilly; Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter; Florida thriller writer Tim Dorsey; USF historian Ray Arsenault; poet Enid Shomer; bestselling erotica writer Zane, and political satirist Andy Borowitz.
In addition to appearances by renowned authors, there will be celebrity readers, an extensive Book Market, food and drink concessions and the Publix Children’s Story Land, which will offer kids’ music, arts and crafts, interactive games and costumed story-book characters, including Plato the Publixaurus and SPOT the News hound — the Times’ literacy mascot.
St. Petersburg Times book editor Margo Hammond said this year’s line-up will offer something for every reader. “We’ve got a diverse group of authors and speakers this year, which we hope will encourage a lot of interesting discussion,” she said. “And of course, we’ll continue to offer an assortment of educational activities to engage our very youngest readers.”
Sponsors of the St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading include The Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, Publix Super Markets, Barnes and Noble College Bookstores, USF St. Petersburg, All Star Limo, The New Magic 94.9 and Tampa Bay’s 10 News. Support also comes from the City of St. Petersburg, The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, the Florida Humanities Council, tbt*/Tampa Bay Times, WUSF Public Broadcasting and WMNF, the Kiwanis, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners.