Each year Charlottesville and Albemarle County hosts the annual Virginia Festival of the Book, a program of Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH). The Virginia Festival of the Book is an annual five-day celebration of books, reading, literacy, and literary culture. The Festival is the largest community-based book event in the Mid-Atlantic region and has attracted audiences of more than 20,000 from more than forty states for each of the past twelve years. Held in Charlottesville each March, the festival features readings, panels, and discussions, as well as a StoryFest day of children's literature. All programs are open to the public; apart from a few ticketed events, programs are free of charge.

Totaling more than 300 authors, illustrators, and publishing professionals, the list is comprised of speakers with new books that span all genres. While each year features a new and exciting list of authors, below includes just of few of the highlights from the 24th annual Virginia Festival of the Book, held March 21-25, 2018.

• Thi Bui, author of The Best We Could Do, one of The Washington Post's Ten Best Graphic Novels of 2017
• S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass, one of Amazon's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2017
• Lyndsay Faye, author of Jane Steele, nominated for the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Novel
• Monica Hesse, author of American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land, one of 100 Notable Books of 2017 from The New York Times
• Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers, the inaugural selection for the Carol Troxell Reader in the Festival and one of the Best Fiction of 2017 according to Los Angeles Times
• Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties: Stories, one of Chicago Review of Books' Best Fiction Books of 2017 and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle 2017 John Leonard Prize
• Charles Mann, author of The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World, and a three-time National Magazine Award finalist
• David Barclay Moore, author of The Stars Beneath Our Feet, one of Amazon's Best Children's Books of 2017 and one of Time magazine's Top Ten Young Adult and Children's Books of 2017
• Alisha Rai, author of Hate to Want You: Forbidden Hearts, one of Amazon's Best Romance Books of 2017

The full list of featured speakers is available at VaBook.org where it is searchable by genre and name.  Plan ahead for next year's literary treat by visiting VaBook.org early in the year to learn about featured speakers to come!

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About VFH: The mission of Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) is to connect people and ideas to explore the human experience and inspire cultural engagement. VFH reaches an estimated annual audience of 23 million through Community Programs, Digital Initiatives, Scholarship, and the Virginia Center for the Book. For more information, visit VirginiaHumanities.org

This event is one of many festivals hosted in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. To find more special events visit: www.virginiahumanities.org/events/