October 4 & 5, 2019
Charleston Coliseum
& Convention Center

Authors

We are proud to annouce the following exciting lineup of authors for the 2019 West Virginia Book Festival. Don't forget to visit us on Facebook.


  James
  PATTERSON
James Patterson
James Patterson is the world's bestselling author and most trusted storyteller. He has created many enduring fictional characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women's Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, and I Funny. Among his notable literary collaborations are The President Is Missing, with President Bill Clinton, and the Max Einstein series, produced in partnership with the Albert Einstein Estate. Patterson's writing career is characterized by a single mission: to prove that there is no such thing as a person who "doesn't like to read," only people who haven't found the right book. He's given over three million books to schoolkids and the military, donated more than seventy million dollars to support education, and endowed over five thousand college scholarships for teachers. The National Book Foundation recently presented Patterson with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, and he is also the recipient of an Edgar Award and six Emmy Awards. His presentation will be Saturday, Oct. 5 at 3 p.m.
×

  Salina
  YOON
Salina Yoon
Salina Yoon is the award-winning and bestselling author and illustrator of over 160 books for children, with over 4.5 million books sold worldwide, ranging in novelty board books, early readers, and picture books with Penguin, Scholastic, Random House, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and many more. Her awards include the 2018 Geisel Honor for My Kite Is Stuck and Other Stories (A Duck Duck Porcupine! Book), the Award for Excellence in a Picture Book for Found, the New York State Reading Association Charlotte Award for Penguin and Pinecone, Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award for Duck, Duck Porcupine, and many more. Yoon presents at the West Virginia Book Festival on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m.
×

  Orson Scott
  CARD
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an award winning science fiction novelist best known for, Ender’s Game, Ender’s Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead. Card has also written in many different forms and genres. His most recent series, the young adult Pathfinder series and fantasy Mithermages series, take readers in new directions. Card also writes biblical novels, frontier fantasy, poetry, plays, and scripts. His prolific writing has kept fans wanting more from the Washington state native. He will be presenting on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 11 a.m.
×

  Anthony
  HARKINS
Anthony Harkins
Anthony Harkins is a professor of history at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he teaches courses in popular culture and twentieth-century United States history and American studies. He is the author of Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon.
×

  Meredith
  McCARROLL
Meredith McCarroll
Meredith McCarroll is the director of writing and rhetoric at Bowdoin College, where she teaches courses in writing, American literature, and film. She is the author of Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film.
×

  Denise
  KIERNAN
Denise Kiernan
Denise Kiernan is the New York Times bestselling author of The Girls of Atomic City, the true story of young women living in a secret government city during World War II while unknowingly working on the first atomic bomb. Kiernan has been a writer for more than 15 years, having been published in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice, Ms. Magazine, Saveur and many more. She will be presenting the annual West Virginia Humanities Council McCreight Lecture on Friday, Oct. at 7:00 p.m.
×

Charter Presenters and Sponsors

Many organizations and individuals work together to make the West Virginia Book Festival a reality. Our charter presenters and sponsors are listed below.

Charter Presenters

Sponsors


Schedule

This is where you can stay up-to-date on all the happenings of this year's Festival.

Friday, Oct. 4
10 a.m. • Writing Workshop
Editing, Vital to a Book's Acceptance: Tips from a Pro with Andrea Brunais
10 a.m. • Writing Workshop
Forming the Future: Building a World of a Fictional Tomorrow with Brett Armstrong
1 p.m. • Writing Workshop
So You Want to Write a Children's Book? with Robert Fouch
1 p.m. • Your Life Is a Story
Presented by Stewart Goodwin
3:30 p.m. • Reading & Discussion of Feminine Rising: Voices of Power and Invisibility
Presented by Andrea Fekete, Llewellyn McKernan, Dreama Pritt, Cathy Lentes, Tuesday Taylor, Marged Dudek, Rachel Hicks and Jessica Waggoner
3:30 p.m. • Spirit Lives!
Presented by John Muciacca
7 p.m. • McCreight Lecture in the Humanities
Presented by Denise Kiernan
Saturday, Oct. 5
9 a.m. • Writing Workshop
Where Do You Get Your Crazy Ideas? with Valerie Nieman
9 a.m. • Appalachian Ghost Stores & Ballads
Presented by Susanna "Granny Sue" Holstein
11 a.m. • An Afternoon with Orson Scott Card
Featuring Orson Scott Card
11 a.m. • Appalachian Reckoning
Presented by Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll
1 p.m. • Bringing Characters to Life in Picture Books
Presented by Salina Yoon
1 p.m. • The Evolution of the West Virginia Movie Theatre
Presented by Kelli Shapiro
3 p.m. • An Afternoon with James Patterson
Featuring James Patterson

Word Play

Activities for children. Don't miss the Storybook Costume Parade!

Schedule
Friday, Oct. 4
11:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 5
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Friday & Saturday
Children's Activities

Storybook Costume Parade

 


Used Book Sale

Great deals on thousands of books, movies, music CDs and more.

Saturday, Oct. 5
Saturday Only!

8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Regular Prices

3 - 3:30 p.m.
Closed for Setup
of Reduced Price Sale

3:30 - 5 p.m.
Sale Pricing


An image of a crowd of people looking through used items at the used book sale.
Don't miss this huge sale.

Marketplace

The Marketplace is where you will find book sellers, publishers, individual authors and other literary vendors. Here, you can purchase books to be signed by Festival authors, meet local authors and find a variety of books and book-related items.

Schedule
Friday, Oct. 4
11:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 5
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Festival Marketplace
Applications

All spots in the 2019 Festival Marketplace are filled.

If you are a vendor and would like to be placed on the Marketplace waitlist, then please submit a 2019 Marketplace Vendor Application form.

If you are an author or vendor and have questions about the 2019 West Virginia Book Festival, then please read the 2019 Information for Authors and Marketplace Vendors document.


Writing Workshops

Interested in attending one of our writing workshops? All the details about this year's workshops are on this panel.

Friday, Oct. 4
10 a.m. • Writing Workshop
Editing, Vital to a Book's Acceptance: Tips from a Pro with Andrea Brunais
10 a.m. • Writing Workshop
Forming the Future: Building a World of a Fictional Tomorrow with Brett Armstrong
1 p.m. • Writing Workshop
So You Want to Write a Children's Book? with Robert Fouch
Saturday, Oct. 5
9 a.m. • Writing Workshop
Where Do You Get Your Crazy Ideas? with Valerie Nieman

Where to Stay and Dine

The annual West Virginia Book Festival is held at the Charleston Civic Center. If you plan to stay while visiting the city for the event, there are a number of local hotels and restaurants you may find convenient and appealing.

Hotels

Embassy Suites
300 Court St.
Charleston, WV 25301
Tel: +1-304-347-8700

 Charleston Marriott
200 Lee Street E
Charleston, WV 25301
Tel: +1-304-345-6500

 Holiday Inn Express
100 Civic Center Dr.
Charleston, WV 25301
Tel: +1-800-315-2621

 Click here for a more
complete list of local hotels.

Restaurants

Black Sheep Burrito and Brews

Charleston Town Center Mall

The Chop House Charleston

Panera Bread

Sahara Catering & Restaurant

Sitar of India

Tidewater Grill

Click here for a more
complete list of local eateries.

Locations

Charleston Coliseum
& Convention Center
200 Lee Street E
Charleston, WV 25301
Tel: +1-304-345-1500
www.charlestonwvciviccenter.com

 West Virginia Culture Center
1900 Kanawha Boulevard East
Charleston, WV 25305
Tel: +1-304-558-0220
www.wvculture.org


Volunteer

Volunteers are needed to help in a variety of ways, including set-up, break-down, assisting authors and presenters and assisting with the used book sale, Festival Marketplace, children's programs, crafts and information tables.

Applications

Applications to volunteer
at the upcoming Festival
will be available starting August 1, 2019.



In the News

This is where the lastest news of the West Virginia Book Festival can be found. Check back for news releases and other bits of important information.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail

- Sept. 9, 2017: WV Book Team: West Virginia Book Festival Announces 2017 Lineup

- Aug. 11, 2017: Goosebumps author, Stine, to headline WV Book Festival

- July 24, 2016: This year’s Book Festival to feature more authors

- Oct. 19, 2015: WV poet laureate looks forward to meeting Neil Gaiman at Book Festival

- Oct. 19, 2015: Jodi Picoult to unveil the facts behind her bestselling fiction

- Oct. 18, 2015: W.Va. Book Festival returns

- Oct. 18, 2015: Dawn Miller: Poetic memoir connects across race, time

- Oct. 18, 2015: Homer Hickam visits WV Book Festival to talk new book on family legend

- Oct. 17, 2015: Pulitzer-winning historian to discuss the march to civil rights from the Civil War

- Oct. 4, 2015: CoRAYline: Scare up some new reads at the book festival

- Oct. 4, 2015: WV Book Team: Must-reads before the West Virginia Book Festival


Images of Charleston provided by David T. Stephenson.