Mt. Airy Kids' Literary Festival 2015 -- April 23-26

The 9th Annual Mt. Airy Kids' Literary Festival -- four days of authors, illustrators, games, parades, parties, music, and more -- begins tonight, Thursday, April 23!

Schedule and event information:
- Festival schedule on our website (and summarized below).
- Facebook festival event page.
- Link to the bookstore's listing of events on Facebook, which includes most (though not all) of the festival's individual events.
- Link to our most recent events newsletter.

Interviews here on the blog with two of the attending authors:
- Amy Ignatow, author of The Popularity Papers
- Elisa Ludwig, author of Pretty Crooked.


Festival Schedule Summary:

All Weekend

Special Door Prizes! Winners will be randomly selected throughout the entire weekend to win free books, promotional goodies, and more. Stop by with your family and get a chance to go home with all kinds of special treats.

Thursday, April 23

7:00pm - Big Blue Young Adult Book Discussion with Jen Sheffield.
An open discussion group for adults who read YA and teens who like to talk about books.
April's book: the verse novel Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate.
We'll be joined by a special guest, former staffer and Writer-in-Residence Cordelia Jensen, whose own YA verse novel, Skyscraping, will be coming out at the beginning of June!

Friday, April 24

11:00am - Festival Storytime. Led by Monique Curry, author of In My Eyes.
(Ages infant-4)

6:30pm - Family Book Party! Music with Ecoman, pizza, fun and games, and bedtime stories!
(All ages)

Saturday, April 25

11:00am - Picture Book Celebration.
(Ages 2-6)

• Monica Carnesi, author of Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear
• Polly Kanevsky, author of Here is the Baby, Sleepy Boy
• Valerie Lang, author of Andy Takes Action

1:00pm - Middle Grade Author Panel.
A free-ranging discussion of middle-grade books and audiences!
(Ages 8-12)

• Amy Ignatow, author of The Popularity Papers
• Andy Myer, author of Henry Hubble's Book of Troubles

2:00pm - Mad Lib Treasure Hunt!
Led by Cordelia Jensen and kids from the Mt. Airy Musers writing community.
(Ages 8 and up)

3:00pm - Same Family, Different Colors. Join Tanya Hutchins, author of Born Beautiful Biracial: A Compilation of Children's Essays, and Mt. Airy author Lori Tharps, creator of ?RU! t-shirts (for sale in the bookstore!), as they lead a discussion with kids and parents on living in multi-racial families and answering the question "What are you?"
(Ages 6 and up)

7:00pm - Harry Potter Trivia Contest! Bring It On, Wizards and Muggles!
(Ages 8 and up)

Sunday, April 26

10:30am - Music with EcoMan.
(Ages 2-6)

11:00am - Picture Books!
(Ages 3-8)

• Artie Bennett, author of Belches, Burps, and Farts - Oh My!
• Nancy Viau, author of City Street Beat
• Alison Ashley Formento, author of These Rocks Count
• Jonathan Needham, author of Meet My Fantastic Friend Floyd

1:00pm - Magical Creature Costume Parade for Kids, Adults, and Pets.

1:00pm - The YA World, featuring six young adult authors!
(Ages 12 and up)

• Heather Anne, author of Escaping Wonderland
• Elisa Ludwig, author of Pretty Crooked Trilogy
• April Lidner, author of Love, Lucy
• Mya Kay, author of A Song for Jordan
• Victoria Leese, author of Invisible Stardom
• Alison Ashley Formento, author of Twigs

Hope to see you this weekend!