Celebrating books that bring Florida to life

Historic City News reminds our readers that the Florida Heritage Book Festival scheduled for September 12th through 13th offers a great opportunity to meet and learn from dozens of authors.

A September 12 Meet the Authors reception at the beautiful Markland House in St. Augustine will provide an outstanding opportunity for attendees to meet forty award-winning and bestselling authors from throughout Florida. The reception provides the perfect ending to a day filled with informative workshops for aspiring writers – key events in the Florida Heritage Book Festival scheduled for Friday and Saturday, September 12-13 in St. Augustine.

The Meet the Authors reception will be held on Friday from 6-9 p.m. at the historic Markland House on the campus of Flagler College. In addition to mixing and mingling with festival authors, the event will feature a heavy hors d’oeuvre buffet, wines, entertainment (including historical portrayals) and music blended with literary company and conversation. Tickets are $25 each and reservations are a must.—no tickets will be sold at the door. For reservations, call Marie Cashat at 904.940.0890.

The festival’s Craft of Writing workshops will be conducted on Friday from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Presented by distinguished writing and publishing professionals, the 12 workshops provide aspiring authors with the ideal opportunity to learn about topics such as scene structuring, pacing, marketing, working with an editor, overcoming writer’s block – even the intricacies of entertainment law. The fee for the full day of workshops is only $45 and includes lunch with photographer/writer and keynote speaker Gary Monroe, breaks and all conference materials. For a complete listing of workshops, go to www.fhbookfest.com/events.html. For reservations and more information, contact Dianne Ell at (904) 825-0861.

The Florida Heritage Book Festival will feature a wide array of events and activities promoting reading and literacy. These will include workshops, readings and book signings by popular authors, as well as hands-on programs to be conducted in local schools. All genres will be featured including history, nature, mystery, culture and children’s interest. Except for a few ticketed events, including a motorized tour of the city’s literary landmarks to be conducted on Saturday at 11 and noonw, all of the festival’s events will be open to the public and provided free of charge.

All proceeds from the Florida Heritage Book Festival will benefit the Friends of the Libraries of St. Johns County and Newspaper In Education which provides free newspapers each day to local teachers and students. Key festival supporters include Artists by Timothy Priano; The St. Augustine Record; Flagler College; Anastasia Books; Casa Monica Hotel; Herbie Wiles Insurance Agency; Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront Hotel; Historic Tours of America; Inns of Elegance; Jalaram Hotels Inc.; Sagaponack Books; Northrop Grumman; Pierre and Shirley Thompson; Pineapple Press; PIP Printing; St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and the Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau; Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village; Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach; St. Johns Art Council; St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce; Stetson Kennedy Foundation; Winn-Dixie; WJCT and WSOS 94.1 FM.

For more information on the Florida Heritage Book Festival, go to www.fhbookfest.com or call Kathy Dvornick: 904.940.0194.