What is the Southwest Florida Reading Festival?
The Southwest Florida Reading Festival is a fun, informative and entertaining one-day event that celebrates books and the written word. The Festival began in 1999 with a simple goal: The Reading Festival's mission is to: celebrate the importance of reading, bring the finest literary talent to the community of Southwest Florida, encourage in adults, teens and children an interest in and love of literature by providing quality events featuring popular authors in multiple venues, build continuing regional partnerships among libraries and between libraries and other community organizations by cooperatively presenting a large, quality literary event, promote public libraries as centers for recreational reading, information, technology, and the arts. The festival has enjoyed great success and now attracts more than 20,000 book lovers each year.

When is the Festival?
The Festival occurs annually on the third Saturday in March. The next Festival will be held March 17, 2012.

Where is it?
Harborside Event Center and Centennial Park in downtown Fort Myers, along the Caloosahatchee riverfront. Street address for the Event Center: 1375 Monroe St., Fort Myers.

Who attends the Festival?
People of all ages and from all walks of life visit from across Southwest Florida and even other parts of the country. The festival is a free public event, and includes exciting author events, Author signings, storytelling and demonstrations. The Festival also includes over 80 exhibitor booths representing local authors, educators, booksellers, literacy and cultural organizations.

Is the Festival outside?
The Children’s, Teen and outdoor exhibitor Marketplace are outside in Centennial Park. The adult authors and exhibitor Marketplace are inside Harborside. Harborside can be cool so bring a sweater

Is the Southwest Florida Reading Festival really FREE!?
Yes! Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors all the events at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival are free.

How is the Festival funded?
Festival costs are unwritten by the generous donations of individuals, corporations and the arts and literary funds in our community. Additionally there are two supporting fundraiser for the Festival: Chocolate & Spirits held the first Friday in December at the Bell Tower Shops and PugFest held the last Saturday in January at the Bell Tower Shops. For more information please contact the Festival Coordinator at 239-533-7826.

Is the Festival an all-ages event? Is it kid-friendly?
Yes. We have many programs geared specifically for children and teenagers, as well as adults.

Where do I park and do I have to pay to park downtown?
You can park along downtown streets for free on the weekends. The two City of Fort Myers downtown parking garages will have a Special Event Garage Parking flat rate fee of $4 that you pay on entry into the garage. They will accept cash or credit cards. The Main Street Garage is located at 2286 Main Street, with entrances at Main & Second streets. Map It!

What should I wear or bring?
Activities take place both indoors and out, so dress accordingly, wear comfortable shoes and bring a hat or visor, sunscreen, and/or an umbrella, a camera, and a tote bag for books, t-shirts and other festival goodies. Rooms in the Event Center tend to be cold.

Is the Festival A.D.A. compliant?
Yes.

What happens if it rains?
The Festival goes on rain or shine. We'll still be having a great time! The activities and booths are under tents, and there will be someplace to play no matter what. All the activities are under tents and the Marketplace vendors are also under tents. An umbrella will be needed to move from activity to activity or vendor to vendor.

Will books be sold at the Festival?
Yes. Books-A-Million, the official bookseller will be selling books for all of the authors at the Festival. They donate 20% of sales to the Reading Festival. Additionally, authors who are part of the Marketplace will sell their books. The book sales are located both inside Harborside Event Center and outside at the Book-A-Million Tent. Generally adult books are sold inside and children’s & teen’s books are sold outside.

Do the authors sit on panels or give seminars?
Generally we have few panels or seminars. Both our author presenters and our festival attendees love the fact that each program is devoted to one author and his or her work. Each author is free to communicate directly and intimately with the audience. The upshot: award-winning writers regaling their audiences with stories of their lives in letters.

Do the authors sign books?
A book signing is generally scheduled for the authors at the end of their program. The book signings occur inside the event center in room C2 and outside next to the Books-A-Million store. It is setup so that you may purchase your books, and then walk over to the author’s table to have them signed. You may have up to three books signed at once.

I heard there are free books for children, how does that work?
Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors we provide one book for every child that attends the Festival. There are thousands of age appropriate books for the children to choose from. Once they have selected their book their hand is stamped. We cannot give out books for children who are not at the Festival. Look for the Books For Every Child Tent.

Will food and drinks be available?
Yes, We have tasty lunch options, even vegetarian choices. There are approximately 10 different vendors selling a variety of food including Jason’s’ Deli sandwiches, hotdogs, hamburgers, ice cream, sno-cones, popcorn, pretzels, lemonade, Starbucks coffee, juice sodas and water.

What is the Evening with the Authors and who is invited?
The Evening with the Authors is our way of thanking the many writers, panelists and sponsors who contribute their talents and resources to make the festival possible. They've all been invited as our honored guests and we invite you to join them. The evening affair includes a cocktail reception, dinner, recognition of the Southwest Florida Reading Festival’s Distinguished Author Recipient and, most importantly, great company! This is open to the public space available. For reservations click here.

Are there ATM’s available?
There is an ATM located within a short walking distance at Edison National Bank located at 2105 1st Street in Fort Myers.

Are Pets allowed? A; No, pets are not allowed in the Harborside Event Center or Centennial Park unless they are assistance dogs, per the City of Fort Myers.

Where do I find a program guide?
The program guide will be available online beginning March 1, 2012 at Lee County Libraries. As always, it will contain a full schedule of programming, exhibitor listings, maps, author bios and more. Guides will also be available at the information booths at the Festival.

How long does each Author program last?
Most of our adult programs are scheduled in half hour time periods including time for Questions & Answers. The Children’s programs are scheduled in 15 minute time periods. Book signings, are generally scheduled at the end of their program near the Books–A-Million books sales store unless otherwise indicated.

How are the Featured Authors selected?
There is an Author Committee who works year round to recruit nationally acclaimed authors to attend the Southwest Florida Reading Festival. The Festival does not pay an honorarium, however it may pay for their airfare, hotel and ground transportation to and from the Festival. The authors that usually choose to participate at the Festival are those who have recently released a new title and the date fits with their book tour schedule. The benefit of the weather in southwest Florida in March is a bonus. The committee contacts over 100 authors each year being careful to invite authors representing all genres, age ranges and ethnicities.

How can I support the Festival?
You can support the Festival in two important ways: By volunteering or by donating.

Donations The festival welcomes and appreciates your donations, which help ensure that everything at the event remains free and open to the public. If you would like to support the event, please CLICK HERE to make a donation. Please share your enthusiasm for the Festival with your friends.

Volunteer The success of the festival is largely due to the contributions of its volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering for the 2012 Festival, please call 239-533-4815 of e-mail Catherine Vaughn at cvaughn@leegov.com and leave your name and address, or apply online at insert link here. If you have volunteered in the past, please note your prior assignment and indicate if you would like to work in that area again.

What is involved in putting on the festival?
It takes nearly 250 people to put on the Southwest Florida Reading Festival. There are people devoted to the following areas: Adult Author Recruitment, Children's and Young Adult Author Recruitment, Festival Books Sales, Event Evaluation (surveys), Volunteer Coordinator, Festival Volunteer Hospitality, T-shirts Design & Ordering, Festival Store, Fiscal & Fundraising, Author Hospitality, Evening with the Authors, VIP Terrace, Information Booths, Indoor Operations, Outdoor Operations, Publicity, Marketplace Exhibitors, Adult Author Stages, Adult Book Signing, e-Library, Adult Programs, Teen Stage, Kids' and Young Adult Author Book Signing, Writing Contest, Teen Programs, Children's Authors & Illustrators Stage, Storytelling Stage, Shows for Kids Stage, A Book for Every Child, Kids Activities and Crafts.

What is different from last year besides the authors?
We make adjustments to the event every year in order to ensure attendee, sponsor & exhibitor experiences are continuously improved. This year we hope to have live streaming video online of all the Festival Authors.

Who exhibits in the Marketplace?
Local and regional authors, booksellers, educators, literacy and cultural organizations sell and promote books and book-related merchandise and distribute related information.

How can I exhibit?
If you are interested in exhibiting at the 2012 Southwest Florida Reading Festival to be held on Saturday, May 17, 2012, please contact Debbie West at 239-533-4826 or dwest@leegov.com

How do local or regional authors participate?
The Festival Author Committee invites select nationally recognized authors to participate in presentations and panel discussions. Edison State College will host Edison Writes! A Florida Authors Conference as a partner event to the Southwest Florida Reading Festival. Edison Writes! will feature presentations, book sales and signings with Florida authors on Saturday, March 24, 2012 from 9:00 to 2:00 p.m. at Edison State College, Lee Campus, Building U.
If you are a local author interested in participating, contact Dr. Eileen DeLuca at 239-985-3498, or ecdeluca@edison.edu.