Maine Festival of the Book!

The Maine Festival of the Book will begin on April 1 in Portland and continue to April 3, offering more than 75 authors, artists, and performers at locations throughout the city. The event is free (with the exception of Opening Night) and there is programming for ages 3 to 100!

Presenters include Paul Harding, winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Sarah Braunstein, a winner of the 2010 National Book Award 5 under 35, Julia Glass, winner of the 2002 National Book Award for Fiction, bestselling novelist Stewart O'Nan, Lily King, winner of the 2010 New England Book Award for Fiction, Tom Allen, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, Margaret Roach, AWaytoGarden blogger and former editorial director for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and many others.

Opening Night, Friday, April 1 at 7:30 pm at Hannaford Hall, Abromson Center, University of Southern Maine, will be an evening with Stewart O'Nan and Julia Glass. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 after March 28. Seats are limited and unreserved. Doors open at 7 pm.

For more information go to: http://www.mainereads.org/MaineFestivaloftheBook.asp

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, look no further than the Festival of the Book in Portland.

The fourth annual Maine Festival of the Book will take place in Portland April 9-11, with a full day of free programs Saturday, April 10 at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Center. Programs are unticketed, with the exception of Opening Night: An Evening with Tess Gerritsen and Anita Shreve on Friday evening, April 9 at USM.

The festival is designed to appeal to readers with a range of interests and gives the public the chance to learn what goes on behind the scenes when producing a book. The festival is presented by the nonprofit Maine Reads, in collaboration with organizations statewide and is chaired by First Lady Karen M. Baldacci.

The festival’s goal is to encourage a dialogue between authors and readers through programs. Many of the programs will feature two authors engaged in a discussion that captures an aspect of their writing; these subjects may include memoir, biography, gardening, architecture and fiction writing. Question and answer periods, as well as book signings, follow.

Free, unticketed programming for all ages and interests starts Saturday, April 10 at 9 am and runs through the weekend. Concurrent programs will run from 9 am to 5 pm at the Abromson Center at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

Visit the Maine Reads website for all the details of this weekend's event.