By Mark Caracciolo
The fourth annual Read It Write It Book Festival was held Saturday, June 14 at the Mall at Wellington Green.
This writing and literature festival, organized by author Heidi Hess, gathered writers to discuss and showcase their work to book enthusiasts.
Nearly 40 exhibitors — authors, poets and publishers — had booths with displays showcasing their various publications, such as novels, novellas, poetry collections, short stories and more.
Hess said that making the popular festival happen is a challenge, but worth the effort.
“It’s a lot of work,” she said. “Organizing the authors who will attend, planning workshops, coordinating with the venue, and then there’s the marketing and networking that is required to make this event a success.”
Among the activities was a scavenger hunt, Book Cover Bingo, where participants would check off spaces when they saw the corresponding cover. There were also several panel discussions and workshops on authorship and writing, poetry readings and a short story contest. The winner of the short story contest was Marta Oppenheimer. You can read more by Oppenheimer at www.thedatingdaysofmartao.com.
“One of my favorite things is seeing everyone and chatting about something I love — writing and books,” Hess said. “My goal is to inspire and get people excited about reading and writing. It’s a lot of fun to see people light up when they meet a new author or learn something new.”
Learn more about Hess and the festival at www.heidicreates.net.
