Author Meet-and-Greets Prelude Reading Festival

INFORMATION RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Karen Sloan, Library Development Specialist

Heather O’Connell, Community Relations Coordinator

Author Meet-and-Greets Prelude Reading Festival

FORT MYERS, Fla., February 19, 2008 – Southwest Florida Reading Festival fans can beat the expectant throng of event-goers to the punch and meet some of this year’s featured authors before the big event.

Author meet-and-greets preceding the Reading Festival will offer a foretaste of the area’s premier literary event – projected to lure about 18,000 people to the Fort Myers River District on Saturday, March 15. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Harborside Event Center and Centennial Park. It is free to the public.

More than 25 acclaimed authors from various genres are on the festival roster, including contemporary fiction icon Stuart Woods. Joining Woods are Florida crime novelist James O. Born and mystery author Bob Morris – who each will be on hand at activities leading up to the Reading Festival. The following prefestival happenings are slated:

o Writing Workshop With Prudy Taylor Board
2 p.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, March 9
Hampton Inn & Suites (619 S.E. 47th Terrace, Cape Coral)
Get tips from this award-winning Florida travel writer and 2005 Reading Festival author.
Costs $20 per person, call (239) 542-0363
Presented by the Library System Foundation of Lee County, Inc.

o A Night at the Museum: James O. Born
7 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 12
Southwest Florida Museum of History (2300 Peck St., Fort Myers)
Enjoy light fare and dessert at this author presentation and book signing.
Costs $15 per person, call (239) 332-5955

o Lunchtime Meet & Greet: Bob Morris
12 p.m.-1 p.m. Friday, March 14
Starbucks Coffee (1514 Broadway, Fort Myers)
Morris will sign copies of his books, which will be available for purchase.
Admission is free.

o An Evening With the Authors
6 p.m.-8 p.m. Friday, March 14
Royal Palm Yacht Club (2360 West First St., Fort Myers)
A gala meet-and-greet with authors and a presentation of the Reading Festival Lifetime Achievement Award to Stuart Woods.
Costs $45 and includes a buffet dinner. Purchase tickets online at www.lee-county.com/library or call (239) 461-2918.
Courtesy of RPYC members Commodore & Mrs. Robert Minahan

Organizers believe that these Reading Festival precursors act as 2-for-1 deals because attendees get to mingle with authors in settings that show off other great facets of the Lee County area.

“Visitors will enjoy a special evening and more time in a close-knit setting with featured author James Born as a natural extension of his appearance at the Reading Festival,” said Helena Finnegan, public relations and marketing manager of the Southwest Florida Museum of History. “What will be particularly fun for that author’s evening is that attendees will also be able to visit the newest traveling exhibit at the museum, Lucy: The Story of Human Origins.”

Each year, planners look for new supporting activities to augment the Reading Festival’s appeal.

“Feedback tells us the community loves the Reading Festival and they want more,” said coordinator Karen Sloan. “We look forward to working with more organizations in Lee and surrounding counties to offer more festival-related events in the future.”

For more information about the Southwest Florida Reading Festival or supporting events, call (239) 337-READ or visit