More than 2,000 book lovers, some from as far away as New York, Maryland and Ohio, gathered in Doylestown on Oct. 13 and 14 to celebrate reading and meet their favorite artists and illustrators
The Times
More than 2,000 book lovers, some from as far away as New York, Maryland and Ohio, gathered in Doylestown on Oct. 13 and 14 to celebrate reading, meet their favorite artists and illustrators, and discover what is new in the world of publishing, podcasts and the art of cover design.
The Festival played host to 50 professionally published authors, more than 30 vendors and multiple illustrators, podcast producers and nonprofits with a literary focus.
On Saturday, Doylestown Fire Company opened its doors to the Shewell Avenue Fire House to celebrate the end of fire prevention week and host a number of children’s book authors and illustrators, several of them New York Times best-selling.
“We also held a writer’s workshop at James Lorah Memorial Home on Saturday morning. The auditorium was filled to capacity,” said Festival co-chair Elle Green. “We had four amazingly talented presenters that kept 125 participants riveted to their seats, thrilled to be honing their skills as writers and learning the ins and outs of the publishing business.”
On Sunday, the Festival took over Hamilton Street parking lot and a portion of Hamilton Street in Doylestown Borough to showcase visiting author interviews and conversations, podcast recordings, booths for all kinds of groups associated with publishing, literary nonprofits and local authors discussing their work.
The Festival concluded Sunday evening with a keynote presentation and conversation with a Pulitzer Prize-winning author facilitated by Tracey Matisak of WHYY, which partnered with the Festival, promoting it on the air and talking about WHYY on the ground during the event.
The Bucks County Book Festival is Discover Doylestown’s newest event. It was organized by Elle Green, Colleen Dunn, and a small group of volunteers including Larry Browne, Regina Fried, David Green, Eileen Lunny, Amy Mazzanti and Chanin Milnazik, who spent a year planning, fundraising and working with 18 sponsors and key partners. These include Bucks Fever Film Fest, the County Theater, VIA, Doylestown Fire Company, Doylestown Borough, Doylestown and Lahaska Bookshops, Visit Bucks County, WHYY and the Bucks County Herald.
“After we laid the groundwork and created the roadmap, moving the Festival to fruition was truly a community-wide effort,” said co-chair Colleen Dunn. “Our small founders committee put out a call for volunteers a few months ago, not sure what kind of response we would receive. Almost 200 people joined us to do the hard work of hanging banners, photographing the event, greeting authors and visitors, preparing venues, helping setup and tear down. We are proud of the job we did together.”
“The Bucks County Book Festival and its first-year success brought credit to our community and beyond,” said Borough Mayor Ron Strouse. “I expect this to be an annual event that gets better each year.”
