The inaugural event, held last September, featured New York Times Best Seller Jay Bonansinga, author of ‘The Walking Dead’ novel series. The festival boasted 21 published west Kentucky-based authors and drew over 250 visitors to the small community of Providence.
“I’m hoping to build on last year’s success,” said Hughes. “This event started as a way to promote our local writing talent, but its come to mean a lot more than that to me.”
Hughes explained that last year, one festival goer nearly brought the room to tears.
“A young man came in carrying a stack of Jay Bonansinga’s books,” he said. “My wife, Shanda, had the idea of handing him the microphone. He started talking about how meeting one of his heroes right here in Providence was a dream come true, and I was inspired.”
That inspiration led him to contacting Keplinger’s agent. Keplinger is an author of young adult (YA) novels. Her most successful novel so far has been ‘The Duff’, which was a major motion picture released earlier this year.
“There has been a lot of talk in Webster County about literacy problems in both adults and our young people,” Hughes said. “I wanted to bring in an author that are larger group of kids are familiar with. Someone who might inspire those kids to pick up a book and start reading. Reading is where it all begins.”
Festival goers will have the unique opportunity to browse the selections of the various authors in attendance, and spend time getting to know the authors. It’s also a good chance for many would-be authors to learn about the business.
“For those of us in the writing business at any level, networking means a lot,” said Hughes. “Most of us are looking to help each other. I’m to this point in my career because another author helped me early on, and I like to pay that forward as much as possible.”
The 2nd Annual Providence Literary Festival will be from 10:00 a.m. til 4:00 p.m. at the VFW event hall in Providence. There is no charge for entry, although authors will be selling their books and other merchandise.
“I just want to thank the Providence Tourism Commission for making this possible,” Hughes said. “They’ve backed me since the beginning and I hope they will continue to do so.”
The staff here is actually competent and friendly, unlike other places with their pretentious staff guys. The place was magnificent and modern, and the seating was comfy. Truly, the food at party halls in Bay area was heavenly and as a visitor I am glad for finding this one.
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