Tucson Festival of Books 2015

 March 13 -14

  
For the first time, the Tucson Festival of Books will not coincide with the Salpointe Spring Break.  I'm hoping this encourages more teens to attend the festival.  They always have a very eclectic group of authors for teens to choose from every day.   This year I am excited to attend talks featuring young adult authors E. Lockhart, Andrew Smith and Jonathan Maberry.  The Salpointe Book Club is reading Heist Society by Ally Carter, hoping to get answers from the source.  

It's a great volunteer opportunity for teens and adults.  I've been a driver for R.L Stine and Lisa Lutz and a moderator for Arizona authors Erin Lange and Tom Leveen.  As a volunteer you get a parking pass and a t-shirt, almost enough incentive by itself.  Salpointe's own Marcy Euler marshalls her volunteer army and runs the whole show.

This year the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band of authors, featuring Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Scott Turow and Dave Barry will be providing a night of entertainment, raising funds for literacy organizations.  Since its inception in 2009 the TFOB has given more than one million dollars to organizations providing literacy education. 

You go to see specific authors, but you get so much more.  One year while wandering through the booths I stopped to listen to J. A. Jance and Janis Ian (singer, songwriter) discussing writing and their lives that had me rolling on the ground with laughter.  This year I intend to get to the presentations by Leonard Pitts and Amy Tan among others.  The National Parks area is always one of my favorites with native American music, naturalists and a great book display.  The Science Alive area is very popular as are the chef/cooking venues.  They will be instituting a system to circumvent the waiting times at author venues so you can see more of the presentations.

Join the fun! Help your kids understand the importance of literacy and dedicate themselves to lifelong learning through reading.