Mar 9

Mar 9 Celebrate the Lexington Book Festival today

Community News - Contributed

Arts & Entertainment, Community Events, Culture, Education

It’s an exciting day in Uptown Lexington as the Lexington Book Festival gears up for a second year .

This year’s festival is bringing some very noteworthy authors to Lexington including a few New York Times best sellers.

Here is the list of the authors that are participating in this year’s free event being held at 202 North Main Street.

For more information please visit their website at lexingtonbookfestival.org.

Jeffrey Dale Lofton's debut novel, Red Clay Suzie, is a fictionalized memoir written through his personal lens as an outsider. It was longlisted for The Center for Fiction 2023 First Novel Prize.

Crystal Smith Paul attended Spelman College and received her master's in journalism from NYU. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is her first novel.
Robert Gwaltney is an award-winning author of Southern fiction.The Cicada Tree is his debut novel and winner of the Somerset Award for Literary Fiction.
Sara Johnson Allen was raised in North Carolina. Her debut novel, Down Here We Come Up, winner of the Big Moose Prize from Black Lawrence Press, was released in August 2023.

Phoebe Zerwick is a journalist, narrative writer, and documentary maker who teaches writing and journalism at Wake Forest University. She is the author of Beyond Innocence: The Life Sentence of Darryl Hunt, shortlisted for the 2023 Southern Book Prize in nonfiction.
Laura Whitfield has been an advertising copywriter, newspaper columnist, staff writer for an international relief agency, travel writer, teacher, and communications director for nonprofits.
Dawn Crawford is the founder and leader of BC/DC Ideas, a creative agency that has worked with nonprofit organizations to build better communications strategies and tactics.

Young Adult

Amber Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels for young adults, including the international bestseller, The Way I Used to Be, as well as her critically acclaimed sophomore novel, The Last to Let Go, award-winning Something Like Gravity, and most recently, The Way I Am Now, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling sequel to The Way I Used to Be. An advocate for increased awareness of mental health, gendered violence, and LGBTQIA+ equality, she writes in the hope that her books can help to foster change and spark dialogue.

Chrystal D. Giles is a champion for diversity and representation in children’s literature. Chrystal made her debut with Take Back the Block. Her latest middle-grade novel, Not An Easy Win, was named an ALA Notable Children's Book.
Scott Reintgen is a New York Times Bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy books. Scott is the author of the Nyxia trilogy, the Celia Cleary series, and instant bestseller: A Door in the Dark.
Stacy McAnulty has written over 30 books including the middle-grade novel, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl , an Indie Bestseller, and the picture book, Excellent Ed, a 2017 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor book.

Lori Degman is the award-winning author of seven picture books, including 1 Zany Zoo (winner of the Cheerios New Author Contest) and Cock-a-Doodle Oops (International Literacy Association Honor Book).

Dan Yaccarino is the author and illustrator of more than fifty books for children and has had the honor of being invited to the White House to read his books. Dan is also the creator and producer of the animated series Doug Unplugs, Oswald, and Willa’s Wild Life, as well as the character designer behind the series, The Backyardigans.
Ashley Belote is the author-illustrator of numerous titles including THE ME TREE, LISTEN UP, LOUELLA, and WITCH & WOMBAT. Her forthcoming titles include DON'T WASH WINSTON and SHEEPWRECKED.
Kelly Starling Lyons's mission is to center Black heroes, celebrate family, friendship and heritage and show all kids the storyteller they hold inside. Many of her books, including My Hands Tell a Story, have won accolades.