Screenwriter, playwright, and novelist Ayad Akhtar.

Attention all you book worms and word lovers, the annual Chippewa Valley Book Festival is coming soon!  This year, the festival will take place from October 15th to the 21st, with two pre-festival events on September 24th and October 1st.  The 2012 festival features more than thirty authors who are dying to share their work (and some writing tips if we’re lucky) with readers and writers. This celebration of writing began in 2000 and has blossomed into quite the event since then.  Each year, authors, some nationally known and others homegrown, come together with readers and aspiring writers.  Between then and now, the festival has hosted over 100 writers.  It is estimated that approximately 2,500 people are impacted by the festival and its many events.  It is sponsored by the Literary Arts Committee of the Eau Claire Regional Arts Council, and funding comes from grants, contributions, and in-kind support.  The festival also helps local libraries, book stores, businesses, and the arts scene. There are plenty of events to attend, including author readings and book signings, workshops, book discussions, school visits, and programs for the kids.  You can even eat with a famous author, with a reservation. And get this: there’s a writing contest for the kids!  The winners of the Creative Writing Competition for Young Writers will conclude the festival by reading their work in front of an audience.  So if youmake plans to attend the Chippewa Valley Book Festival this fall and you can celebrate the biggest stars of libraries…books.

You can check out a complete listing
of the 2012 festival events right here.