4th ANNUAL OHIOANA BOOK FESTIVAL: CELEBRATING OHIO’S AUTHORS – MAY 8^TH

COLUMBUS, OH – The greatest literary event in the state, the 4^th annual Ohioana Book Festival will be held on Saturday, May 8^th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Readers of all ages and interests will have a wonderful time at the Festival, which will be held at the Ohioana and State Library of Ohio’s facility in the Jeffrey Mining Center at 274 E. First Ave., in the historic Italian Village and Short North Arts District of Columbus. The event is free and open to the public; no tickets or advance registration required.

Festival activities will include panels, roundtables, author readings and discussions, a book fair, book appraisals, food, and a special area for children’s programming.

“We are so excited that nearly ninety nationally recognized authors – all of them Ohioans by birth or residents with books that have been published in the past year – will participate in our fourth festival,” said Linda R. Hengst, Ohioana’s Executive Director. “They represent every major literary field and genre – fiction (mystery, romance, fantasy, science fiction, horror, and literary fiction), nonfiction (memoirs, history, essays, and cook books), poetry, and books for children and young adults.”

Ten writers – the festival’s featured authors – will come to Columbus early to participate in outreach programming at schools and other community venues, as well as media interviews and book signings.

COSCBWI Member, Lisa Klein is a featured author. Lisa Klein, a Columbus resident, was an assistant professor of English at the Ohio State University for eight years. She is the author of three highly acclaimed historical fiction novels for young adults including Two Girls of Gettysburg and Lady Macbeth’s Daughter.

“Celebrating Ohio’s Authors” is the festival theme – more than 80 nationally-known writers will participate at this event chaired by Ohio First Lady Frances Strickland