In order to qualify as an author for the festival, you must: have an Ohio connection (either born in Ohio or lived in Ohio for five or more years); your book must have been/be published after January 2010; your book must be traditionally published – we are not acception self-published authors at this time.

If you are interested in applying, click here for an application.

Please mail, email, or fax the application back to us with two copies of your book, a brief (120 words or less) bio, and a photo.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Authors will be notified no later than January 31 about participation in the festival.

The 4^th annual OHIOANA BOOK FESTIVAL is just around the corner – but even before the “Main Event” this Saturday (10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the State Library of Ohio, FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC), you can get a sneak preview by seeing and hearing some of our authors in these special appearances:

Wednesday, May 5:

11:00 a.m. – Noon
ALL SIDES with Ann Fisher (WOSU 820 AM)

In celebration of the 4^th annual Ohioana Book Festival, Ann Fisher hosts three authors as they reflect on writing and their Ohio roots:  poet and Ohio State University English professor Andrew Hudgins and children’s author Angela Johnson, and author and illustrator David Catrow.

4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.
DANNO TALK OF THE TOWN (WCRS-FM, 102.1/98.3)

Ohioana’s David Weaver and authors Laura Bickle and Dara Naraghi join host Dan “Danno” Thomas for a preview of the 2010 Ohioana Book Festival

7:00 p.m.  – 8:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble Lennox Town Center
1739 Olentangy River Road – Columbus, OH 43212

Young adult historical novelist Lisa Klein and horror and science fiction writer Lucy Snyder read from their works, talk with fans, and sign copies of their books at this first of two free events hosted at the Lennox Town Center by Barnes & Noble, the official bookseller of the Ohioana Book Festival

Thursday, May 6:

5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.            
Worthington McConnell Art Center (MAC)
777 Evening Street – Worthington, OH 43085

Meet and hear writer and Worthington resident Lucy Snyder at a free public reception in the beautiful new McConnell Arts Center

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble Lennox Town Center
1739 Olentangy River Road – Columbus, OH 43212

Cartoonist, author and illustrator David Catrow and poet Andrew Hudgins share their works, greet fans, and sign copies of their books at this second free event celebrating the Ohioana Book Festival

Friday, May 7:

Get a sneak preview of the 2010 Ohioana Book Festival and meet these featured authors at the following Columbus Metropolitan Library branches – all free and open to the public:

10:00 a.m.            DAVID CATROW
Northside branch
1423 North High Street – Columbus, OH 43201

11:00 a.m.            LORI FOSTER
Whitehall Branch
4371 E. Broad Street – Columbus, OH 43213

1:00 p.m.              ANGELA JOHNSON
Northern Lights Branch
4093 Cleveland Ave. – Columbus, OH 43224

1:30 p.m.              DAVID CATROW
Hilltop Branch
511 South Hague Avenue – Columbus, OH 43204

2:00 p.m.              LORI FOSTER
Gahanna Branch
310 Granville Street – Gahanna, OH 43230

2:00 p.m.              DAN CHAON
Dublin Branch
75 N. High St, – Dublin, OH 43017

We hope to see you at these events – and remember to join us Saturday, May 8 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the State Library of Ohio for the 4^th annual OHIOANA BOOK FESTIVAL – it’s FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!  No ticket required – no advance registration.  FREE parking, too!

The festival will take place at Ohioana and the State Library of Ohio on Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 10am to 4:30pm, which means we need volunteers in the afternoon on Friday, May 7 and ALL DAY (8am – 6:30pm) Saturday.

We ask for at least a 2 HOUR commitment from our volunteers, though if you are able to commit more time to the festival, we would appreciate it. All Ohioana Book Festival volunteers will receive an Ohioana Book Festival t-shirt, which we will ask you to wear during your shift. Food will be provided during the festival to volunteers who have committed to four or more hours.

The times we need you are:

Friday, May 7 (Day before the Festival)

1pm – 5pm: We may not be here that late, but we need help setting up tables inside and with any last minute things for Saturday.

Saturday, May 8 (Day of the Festival)

8am – 10am: Set-up of outside and any final adjustments
9am – 11am: Festival operation/information, etc
11am – 1pm: Festival operation/information, etc
1pm – 3pm: Festival operation/information, etc
3pm – 5pm: Festival operation/information, etc
4:30pm – 6:30pm: Tear-down of Festival

If you are interested in volunteering, please email Beth Poley at bpoley@ohioana.org.

The Ohioana Book Festival exists to showcase the talents of Ohio’s authors, increase awareness of their literary contributions, and to celebrate and encourage the love of reading.  We have ten great featured authors and more than 70 festival authors this year.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with you on the 2010 Ohioana Book Festival!

The 2009 Ohioana Awards are quickly approaching (this weekend!).  You can still make reservations until the end of business today (October 15), so we hope to see you there!

Applications are due by November 15, 2009!  Be sure to apply on time!

Photos of the cover shoot are on our flickr account, click here to see them!

Thank you, as well, to Barnes & Noble booksellers for all of their dedication and hard work. Alexa Reck and her team worked tirelessly to get the authors’ books and to keep them stocked throughout the day. At times it got a little hectic but Alexa and the Barnes & Noble crew always kept things flowing smoothly.

Big thanks, as well, to Vito’s Catering. Everyone enjoyed their fabulous food and great employees, both at the book festival itself and at the governor’s reception later that night.

Thank you to Ohio First Lady Frances Strickland for kicking off the festival, and for the lovely authors’ reception at the governor’s residence on Saturday night.

Check back to this blog for further updates and for reviews of the festival. Also head over to Ohioana’s Flickr account for photos from the outreach events and the book festival itself.

See you next year!

“Stine coming home for annual Ohioana Book Festival” by Jennifer Noblit, is a great feature about the Bexley native. In the article, Stine discusses writing for children and how much he loves his audience:

“I think they’re a much more fun audience. When you write for children you hear from them,” he said. “You have so much contact from them; they want to talk to you, they want to see you…”

Thank you to This Week News and Jennifer Noblit for all of their support of the Ohioana Book Festival