Bob Greenwald co-chairs grand writing event in 2009

LITERARY SHOWCASE COMING TO HENDERSONVILLE

The Blue Ridge Book & Author Showcase is set to assemble a substantial cross-section of highly regarded writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children's books, many of them residing here in the North Carolina western mountains. Event dates are May 8-9, 2009. The gala celebration of authorship and creative writing will be staged in the magnificent new Technical Education & Development Center on the campus of the Blue Ridge Community College.

Free and open to the public, the event is planned and staffed entirely by volunteers. A diverse program of presentations by literary luminaries will be headlined by Henderson County native son and honorary chairman, Robert Morgan, along with keynoter Sharon McCrumb, North Carolina Poet Laureate Kay Stripling Byer, and widely applauded author, storyteller and balladeer, Sheila Kay Adams. Some 15 other popular authors and playwrights will present their works and discuss their writing experiences as they made their way on the typically long and challenging road to successful publishing.
There will be program components appealing to children, students, and their families. There will be lots of opportunities for shop talk, networking and socializing. Ample time during the program is set aside for the reading public to engage authors in one-on-one interaction.
Of special interest to commercially published and self-published authors who are not presenters is a display table program to accommodate a limited number of applicants who will be able to sell and sign their books and to interact with the reading public. The exhibit spaces will line the perimeter corridors of the venue's huge conference hall. All book sales will be channeled through a central point of purchase station operated by Malaprops Bookstore of Asheville.
The event is being financed in part through grant applications and in part through individual and business sponsorships. Principal sponsoring partners in early support of the program include the Henderson County Travel & Tourism Department, the Blue Ridge Community College, the Henderson County Education Foundation, and the area's daily newspaper, the Times-News. Other cooperating partners include the North Carolina Writers' Network and the NCWN West chapter of that organization, the Writers' Network of Asheville, and the Together We Read program to promote reading in the state's western counties.
Detailed information is available on request by contacting Bob Greenwald, Co-chair, 154 Timber Creek Road, Hendersonville, NC 28739; 828-698-1550, or email to patnbob2@gmail.com.