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Panels at tomorrow's Grand Lake Area Literature Festival will include authors Cynthia Argentine, "Night Becomes Day"; Jessica K. Foster, "Andy and the Extroverts"; Kimberly Nixon, "Rock Bottom Rising; and Carmella Van Vleet, "Frozen in Time."
CELINA - The fourth iteration of the Grand Lake Area Literature Festival being held Saturday at Tri Star promises a band of authors and illustrators from across the country who will give talks, take part in panel discussions and engage fans.
As many as a thousand lovers of the written word are expected to descend on Tri Star for the star-studded event that will also honor elementary students from the area who have demonstrated reading excellence during the school year.
The event is free and open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"It's a very family-friendly day. There's something for everybody, every age," enthused Lucy Staugler, the festival's executive director. "Last year we had 20 authors, and this year we increased it to 25, and they have to go through a selection process."
Among the accomplished and celebrated writers chosen for the festival are children's book authors Andrea Wang, who counts among her accolades a Newbery Honor, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, and Kirby Larson, winner of the New York Public Library Best Book and Teachers' Choice Award.
"Kids can get around to all the authors, and the authors and illustrators are coming at their own cost to be part of it, to come to our rural area to bring their great literature and talk to the kids," Staugler said.
Working closely with schools, the festival aims "to enrich lives through engaging children, teens and adults with authors, literature, ideas and imagination to explore their creative spirits."
Activities will include a craft room for children, book signings, author presentations and readings, visual storytelling workshops, panel discussions, and book sales, according to Staugler.
"It's everything," Staugler said about the bibliophiles who come out for this homegrown literary gala centered on authors and books for children, teen and adults. "It's groups of women that want to shop. It's whole families, and especially the reading awards, because the grandparents, the parents … get to celebrate and see the kids on the stage."
Every second, third and fourth grade teacher in Auglaize and Mercer counties was invited to nominate one student from their classroom who has demonstrated significant progress in reading. A total of 169 children will be called to the stage to receive their Reading Excellence Award.
"I shake their hand, they get a certificate and they get a voucher for a free book from any of the authors that day," Staugler said.
Tri Star, a $25 million, 101,170-square-foot, two-story complex on State Route 703, has proven to be a perfect venue to host the venue.
"When they walk in, they get to see everything. They get to see families together loving books, kids loving books, the whole atmosphere of Tri Star, the whole atmosphere of Wright State across the road," Staugler said. "It kindles the love of what books can do for anyone of any age."
Some child sitting in the audience who gets called up to the stage will get a book that may change their lives.
"We know there's going to be some authors and some illustrators in these young students," Staugler said. "If you see it, you can be it, and it sparks that imagination and that love of reading and the love of words and the magic that it brings to everybody. One book can change a life."
Since its beginning just a few years ago, the festival has attained nonprofit status, making it eligible for grants to help with marketing, publicity and promotion.
"We have authors coming in today (Thursday) already," Staugler said. "We have nine presentations (at local schools) through author visits."
It has also grown into a premier event, drawing nearly 800 attendees in 2024. Organizers aim to break the 1,000-person mark on Saturday.
"I just want to thank all the sponsors, all of the people that have donated, and we have tons of volunteers that are coming and helping throughout the day, and I want to thank all the parents that are coming and bringing their students and all the people that have the love of literature and books and keep enhancing that love of literacy," Staugler said. "We know reading is used in every single occupation. … We need technology, but we also have to have literacy."
For more information, including the full list of authors and the festival schedule, visit grandlakearealitfest.com or the festival's Facebook page.
