San Diego County Book Festival
By Diane Y. Welch
Despite the recent technical leaps in digital readers and ebooks, the concept of a good story, no matter what form it is in, is still alive and well and continues to draw readers. On Saturday, October 9, from 10 am until 4 pm, the Encinitas Library will host, “A one-day celebration of the written word and those who write it,” said Liz Hildreth, La Mesa branch librarian, who with librarian, Barbara Sutton, co-chaired the free family-friendly event.
It is the second annual festival organized by the San Diego County Library, which, last year, attracted hundreds of book lovers, authors, and vendors with activities at four locations. This year the event will take place at one venue and of all the countywide libraries Encinitas was chosen, “because it's a really gorgeous facility,” said Hildreth. “And we wanted to concentrate all our efforts into showcasing San Diego's best authors at a large venue that will be fun for the whole family.”
Richard Dreyfus, best known for his acting roles in the movies, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, is the event keynote speaker. “He's going to be talking about The Dreyfus Initiative, a program which aims to get kids interested in civic matters, in the democratic process, and teaching them how government works and how each child may have their voice heard,” said Hildreth. “This is a great concept and we're anticipating a tremendous response to his talk.”
A children's stage in an adjacent park will feature Gretchen Wendel, who will appear with her brother, television host, Adam Schomer, and will read her “Becka and the Big Bubble” books. D.J. MacHale, former director and writer of the children's television show, “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” will present his young adult genre books, the Pendragon series; and Shelley Moore Thomas, author of the award-winning Good Knight series, will share folktales from around the world with the help of her puppets.
In addition, Pulitzer Prize poet, Rae Armantrout, will read poems from her award winning book, “Versed”; children's author, Edith Hope Fine, will share her love for gardening with her newest children's book release, “Water, Weed and Wait”; and Justin Halpern, who created the Twitter page "Sh*t My Dad Says," and is currently co-writer and co-executive producer of a sitcom adaptation for television, will talk about his rise to success.
The day's line-up of events includes author panels. A panel of fiction authors, Laurel Corona, a historical novelist; Naomi Hirahara, a mystery writer and biographer; and Ken Kuhlken, author of the Hickey family mystery series, will discuss the writing process and what it takes to become a dedicated fiction writer.
A book review panel with Robert L. Pincus, former reviewer and art critic for The San Diego Union-Tribune; Christie Ridgway, award winning romance novelist and reviewer; and mystery author, Alan Russell, book reviewer for the North County Times, will discuss how a good review or a bad review may make or break the success of a newly published book. Each panel will be open to audience question-and-answer participation.
As to the future of the physical book versus the rise in popularity of the digital book, Ridgway had this to say, “I think for avid fiction readers like myself, there won't actually be any impact. For us, paper or digital is just the platform. Story is what we're after and we'll take it any way we can--even on the back of the cereal box!”
Throughout the day local authors will be on site to sell and sign their books, there will be refreshments, face painting for kids and more. Visit www.sdcl.org for more information on the festival. The Encinitas Library is located at 540 Cornish Drive, Encinitas, CA 92024
