On Saturday, October 17, the 9th annual Books by the Banks: Cincinnati USA Book Festival will take place downtown at Duke Energy Convention Center from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Once again, UC Libraries is an organizing partner of the literary event that allows readers to meet and greet favorite authors.

The day-long festival will feature over 100 regional and national authors, book signings, author panels and activities for the entire family to enjoy. The popular “Writing and Getting Published” series returns this year with panel discussions covering hot topics for writers and workshops to help hone the craft of writing. All events are free and open to the public.

At the festival, attendees will have the opportunity to meet authors and to purchase signed copies of their books. Books by the Banks features writers in various categories, including fiction, non-fiction, cooking, children’s literature, local travel, sports and more. Nationally known authors such as Rainbow Rowell, Sharon M. Draper, Anthony Marra, Cleary Wolters, Tad Hills, and James and Kimberly Dean will join local favorites Will Hillenbrand, Molly Wellmann and Paul Daugherty to celebrate the joy and reading of books.

Several authors at the festival have a UC connection, including:

• Leah Stewart, associate professor and area director of creative writing in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, will be in attendance with her most recent book, The New Neighbor.
• Mark Palkovic, senior librarian emeritus and former head of the College-Conservatory of Music Library, will sign his book Wurlitzer of Cincinnati: The Name That Means Music To Millions.
• Janice Schulz, former university records manager and archives specialist in the Archives and Rare Books Library, will present her book, Cincinnati’s Celebrity Criminal Defender: Murder, Motive and the Magical Foss Hopkins.
• Margo Taft Stever will sign copies of Looking East: William Howard Taft & the 1905 Mission to Asia, a book she co-authored with Hong Shen originally in Chinese. The University of Cincinnati and Zhejiang University Press, Hangzhou, China, collaborated to publish an English-language version in 2015 edited by Kevin Grace, university archivist and head of the Archives and Rare Books Library with messages from UC President Santa J. Ono and Zhejiang University President Lin Jianhua along with an afterward by Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian.
• Numerous UC alumni will also be authors at the festival, including David Bell, PhD in American literature and creative writing; Christopher Bennett, BS in physics and a BA in history, Jeff Howe, who graduated in 1985, and Molly McCaffrey, PhD in creative writing.

A commemorative Book by the Banks poster with artwork created by David Michael Beck will be available for purchase at the festival for $15.

The 2015 Books by the Banks presenting sponsor is Ohio Humanities. It is organized by UC Libraries, The Mercantile  Library, The Public Library of  Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Joseph-Beth  Booksellers, Northern Kentucky University W. Frank  Steely Library, Clermont County Public Library, The Lane Libraries, the MidPointe  Library System and Gateway Community and Technical College.

The Books by the Banks website has information on the authors scheduled to appear at the event, a schedule of panel sessions, activities scheduled in the Kids’ Corner and Teen Scene, as well as directions and parking information for Duke Energy Convention Center. For more information, visit www.booksbythebanks.org.