Books Alive is Friday and Saturday

Books Alive! Weekend

When: Presentations Friday 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; book sales Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Where: Bay County Public Library, 898 W. 11th St., Panama City

PANAMA CITY — The area’s writers and authors gather for a local celebration of literacy in the Bay County Public Library’s inaugural Local Books Alive! event Friday and Saturday.

Friday’s session will focus on presentations by these authors: Gloria Dale Skinner (Amelia Grey), romance author; Cate Nobles, mystery writer; Bruce Gamble, speaking on “True Stories: The Art of Nonfiction Writing”; and Michael Lister, speaking on “Writing the Region: North Florida is my Beat.” There will be no book sales Friday.

Saturday, the meeting room will be filled by authors and their books. Alongside the folks named above will also be the News Herald’s online content editor, Tony Simmons, debuting his new collection of short stories, “The Best of Days.”

Other regional authors participating Saturday include: Charles Bryant, Norma Bowen, Sam Homola, Ed Offley, Mike McKinny, Gloria Walters, Paul Lowery, Marlene Womack, Dean Minton, Jean Mallory, Ron Frazer, Michael Brim (writing as Michael Goldcraft), Sharla Shults, Jeannie Weller, Bill Hash, Wanda Goodwin, T. Marie Smith, Chuck Waldron, Laurie Elberle, Ann Houpt, Kay McClucken, Anne Ake, Ytearie E. DeValt-Stevenson, Paul McAuliffe, Dr. John A. Ramsey, Jack Saunders and Bob Farsky.

“It is very important to me that the library be supportive of our local authors, artists and the citizens of Bay County who make Panama City such a wonderful place to live,” said library spokeswoman Bettina Mead. “The library does not take a commission or charge for any events held at the library.”

Mead also extended an early invitation to the library’s main event of the year, Books Alive!, which will be at Gulf Coast Community College on Feb. 5, 2011, and will feature keynote speaker Carl Hiaasen.