The 23rd Annual Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading garnered crowds of readers, writers and over 50 published authors to the USF St. Petersburg campus.
Authors Judy Blume, Ann Dunwoody, Roy Peter Clark and more, draw large crowds to the 23rd Annual Times Festival of Reading.
Around 11 a.m. on Saturday, hundreds of fans stood in a line that stretched outside USF St. Petersburg’s Student Life Center, each with a fresh new book in hand, waiting to meet author Judy Blume.
The 23rd Annual Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading once again brought together avid readers, writers and more than 50 renowned authors of all genres to the USFSP campus and Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
Blume, beloved author of 28 best-selling books, headlined the festival as part of her book tour for her new novel, “In the Unlikely Event.” The public was invited to sit in on an interview conducted by contemporary fiction author Lisa Unger in the USC Ballroom.
Barnes and Noble was a primary vendor selling books written by authors.
Her books have collectively sold over 85 million copies and have drawn a fanbase of cross-generational admirers. Though her new book is geared toward adult readers, Blume recognized that many of the adults in the crowd grew up reading her novels.
“I am your childhood,” Blume said with a smile before the interview began.
Unger, a longtime fan of Blume’s work, said she had been preparing for the event in her own “Judy Blumiverse,” and let the author do most of the talking.
Blume said the idea to write “In the Unlikely Event” originated at the 2009 Key West Literary Seminar. At the seminar, she listened to an up-and-coming author discuss the inspiration behind her book –stories her mother told her from growing up in 1950s Cuba.
Blume wouldn’t reveal the author’s book or name, just adding, “she’s very famous now.” (We think it’s Rachel Kushner).
By the end of the seminar, Blume said she remembered she had her own 1950s story to tell – one that she had never told before.
In the early ’50s, and in the span of just 58 days, three airplanes crashed in Blume’s hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, killing over 100 people and shocking the community. Blume spent five years researching the tragedies, unearthing old newspaper articles and connecting with people she grew up with so she could finally tell the story.
Veteran elementary school teacher Kristi Theurer was elated to have the opportunity to meet her literary idol. As a fan of Blume’s work in her childhood, Theurer has continued to share that love with her students.
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“I use it to inspire my fourth graders and instill a love of reading,” said Theurer. “Even after reading (the Fudge series) 30 times, it never gets old. Each time, you are experiencing it through new eyes and see the excitement they have for the books.”
Although Bume did draw in a large crowd, she wasn’t the only author garnering eager fans.
Roy Peter Clark, teacher and best-selling author of writing and journalism books, held a talk down the road from USFSP in the Poynter Institute for Media Studies amphitheater.
But Clark is no stranger to the institution.
Clark has taught writing at the Poynter Institute since 1979, and has served as dean, vice president, senior scholar and member of the board of trustees. He is the founder of the National Writers Workshop, and has appeared on radio and television talk shows around the country to speak about issues in writing such as ethical journalism.
His public appearance was prompted by his books “Help! For Writers and How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times,” but Clark called the session “Writing with Roy Peter Clark: Twerks and Quirks from his Greatest Works.”
The event lineup also featured Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists: Lane DeGregory, a Tampa Bay Times feature writer, and Anne Hull, a reporter for the Washington Post. The two presented the anthology “Newswomen: 25 Years of Front-Page Journalism” at the Poynter Institute, where Hull serves as a trustee. DeGregory has taught at USFSP and at journalism conferences and newsrooms around the country.
Amy Hill Hearth, a traditionally non-fiction author, was joined by 140 people at a session based on the sequel of her debut fiction piece, “Miss Dreamsville and the Lost Heiress of Collier County: A Novel.”
On her Facebook page, Hearth expressed her admiration for the festival.
“Tampa area people, you are so lucky to have the Tampa Bay Times as your local newspaper. Not many daily newspapers still have a full-time book reviewer, not to mention an annual Festival of Reading, which attracts authors from all over the U.S.A.
Thank you, Tampa Bay Times, for your support of books and authors.”
