20th Edition of BookMania! March 8, Stuart, FL

STUART, Fla. - Feb. 6, 2014 - PRLog -- Twentieth Edition of BookMania! Comes to Town March 8

Stuart, FL-- BookMania! is celebrating its 20^th anniversary on March 8 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with some new twists to the one-day event that features nationally prominent writers, debut and local authors. This is the first year that the event has been produced by the Library Foundation of Martin County rather than the Martin County Library System. The venue is new as well. Audiences will enjoy the spacious Wanda H. Yarboro Center for the Performing Arts at Martin County High School.  And for the first time, there will be a workshop for writers presented by Laura Atchinson at noon.  As always, the event is free and open to the public thanks to generous partnerships and sponsors. A complete schedule of events and authors can be found at www.libraryfoundationmc.org.

The first panel of the day is the “Fiction Panel” at 10 a.m. moderated by Dr. Edith Donohue, a perennial favorite among library patrons.  Debut authors Carol Andersen (A Chance of Snow) and Marjan Kamali (Together Tea), are joined by New York Times bestselling author,Jane Green (Tempting Fate), and Said Sayrafiezadeh (Brief Encounters with the Enemy), known as a writer of fiercely original fiction.

The 11:00 a.m. panel moderated by Scott Eyman, “Real People, Writers and their Stories”, includes Judith Barnes, Ph.D., (Kindness), Claire Bidwell Smith (Rules of Inheritance) and Dani Shapiro (Still Writing After All These Years).

A new feature this year is the “Writers Workshop: Fast Track to Publishing Success”, presented at noon by Laura Atchison.  Atchison is a sought after speaker, best-selling author and business advisor who also conducts an on-line, six-week course through her company Wisdom Learned, LLC.  Laura will share strategies, techniques and tools for aspiring authors to effectively write and market their books.

BookMania! attendees will have the opportunity to hear two keynote speakers. The first, Tom Clavin (The DiMaggios: Three Brothers, Their Passion for Baseball, Their Pursuit of the American Dream), at 1 p.m.  will enthrall the audience with insights into his latest book that reveals the untold story of three brothers and the Great American pastime that would consume their lives.

At 2 p.m., Rick Kogan, an award-winning journalist with the Chicago Tribune and the author of 18 books, will devote commentary on “A Life in Print: Reflections on Titans of the Typewriter”,  regaling highlights of notable icons like Studs Turkel, Ann Landers and Roger Ebert.  Kogan may be best known for his books, Sidewalks and Sidewalks II, collections of columns he has written for the Chicago Tribune, embellished by the spectacular photography of Charles Osgood.

The final author panel at 3:30 p.m. is devoted to “Young Adult Fiction”.  Audiences will step back in time with local author, Mary E. Dawson (The River Way Home) and journey into the future with Karen Thompson Walker (The Age of Miracles). This selection is moderated by well-known illustrator and author Janeen Mason.

Advance book sales are available through Barnes and Noble, the official bookseller of BookMania! with a portion of the proceeds benefiting The Library Foundation of Martin County.    Guests can meet the authors at their book signing immediately following each presentation.  Newly published books by the authors will be available for purchase that day.

Food and refreshments will be provided on-site in order to encourage attendees to “stay the day” and not miss out on any of the BookMania! authors.

Sponsorships are welcome and include priority seating for the daylong event. BookMania! would not be possible without the generous partnership of so many individuals and organizations like presenting sponsors, Meg W. Bradley and Shirley W. Bradley.  Other top tier sponsors include Robert and Jan Crandall, Robert and Noreen Fisher, May and Vincent Smyth, Ruth and Bill Hardin, Kramer, Sopko, and Levenstein, P.A., Northern Trust, Ethel Christin and the Robert P. and Patricia J. Bauman Family Foundation.  A sponsor appreciation event, Evening with the Authors will be held on March 7 at the Elliott Museum.

For more information about supporting BookMania!,  please contact the Library Foundation of Martin County at 772.221.1409 or diane.kimes@LibraryFoundationMC.org.

A complete schedule and author information can be found at  www.libraryfoundationMC.org.   Updates are available on Facebook at BookMania! 2014.