Local and National Authors kick off the Inaugural Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books

On Saturday, May 14, Book lovers of all ages headed to East Liberty for the first ever Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books – an all-day free event, highlighting Pittsburgh's amazing literary heritage and talent, presented by KDKA.

From 10 AM to 5 PM, GPFB highlighted 30+ nationally renowned authors with ties to Pittsburgh; 25 poets; 12 kids' authors and illustrators, plus DJs, booksellers, and even some jazz. Authors will talk about their books at six venues in East Liberty: Bakery Square, 6425 Penn Avenue; Carnegie Library (East Liberty), 130 S. Whitfield Street, Pittsburgh; Duolingo, 5900 Penn Avenue; East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Penn Avenue Entrance; Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Avenue; and The Maverick, 120 S. Whitfield Street.

GPFB includes a stellar list of authors and poets including Toi Derricotte, Nathaniel Philbrick, Jennifer Haigh, Stewart O'Nan, Neema Avashai, Maxwell King and Louise Lippincott, Katie Booth, Kelly Starling-Lyons, Eliza Griswold, Kris Maher, Cameron Barnett, Soledad Caballero. For a complete list, visit www.pittsburghbookfestival.org.

Exciting activities for kids and families are endless! – including a WQED puppet show, story times, chalk art, hands-on activities, braille machines, printing presses, bookmaking plus The Biggest Bedtime Story presented by Fred Rogers Productions.

Guests will be able to buy books and get them signed by the authors – just adding to the fun.

A shuttle will be available every 30 minutes to connect Bakery Square and the venues around the library - from 10 AM to 6 PM.

"I'm so excited that we have over 2,000 people already registered; we encourage people to just drop in. I appreciate all who have worked tirelessly to make this a success," says Marshall Cohen, Founder and Co-Chair of Festival.

"The dream of having a high-quality, creative gathering around literacy is actually going to happen; the festival will highlight the vast amount of creativity generated in our region," says Laurie Moser, Co-Chair.

The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books is made possible through the following sponsors: KDKA TV 2, Lamar, Google Pittsburgh, The Heinz Endowments, Bakery Square, Duolingo, The Grable Foundation, University of Pittsburgh Library System, Visit Pittsburgh, Bodine Perry, Giant Eagle, First National Bank, UPMC Health Plan, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney PPC, Richard Snodgrass and Allegheny County Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund.

SOURCE The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books