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Fort Bend County Libraries (FBCL) will feature this year’s “Community Reads” author Stacey Swann as the headliner at the annual Book Festival 2024, which takes place on Saturday, November 16, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, at George Memorial Library, located at 1001 Golfview in Richmond. The theme for the year is “Myths & Legends.”

The keynote address by Stacey Swann will take place from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, in the Meeting Room of the library. Additional presentations, workshops, author appearances, and a live dance performance are planned throughout the event.

In her author talk, Swann will read an excerpt from her debut novel, Olympus, Texas, released in 2021. She will talk about how the development of the characters’ unique voices and experiences helps to immerse readers in a specific culture and enables them to understand universal truths, widening their view of human interactions and family dynamics.

FBCL’s 2024 “Community Reads” selection, Olympus, Texas is set in a modern-day rural Texas town, where everybody knows everybody. The novel cleverly weaves elements of classical Greek and Roman mythology into a thoroughly modern family saga, rich in drama and psychological complexity.

When prodigal son March returns from a two-year, self-imposed exile after being caught sleeping with his brother’s wife, he is hardly met with welcoming arms, and the Briscoe family is once again the talk of the town. Within days of his arrival, someone is dead, rivalries flare, secrets explode, and marriages are upended. Even the strongest of alliances are shattered as powerful personalities collide.

Originally from Sealy, Texas, Swann is a longtime teacher and editor who now lives and writes in Lampasas County, Texas. She holds an MFA from Texas State University and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Her fiction has appeared in Epoch, Memorious, Versal, and other journals. She is a contributing editor of American Short Fiction.

The Book Festival will also feature workshops designed to encourage aspiring writers of all ages and genres. Creative and inspiring programs are planned for children as well as adults who dream of becoming published authors.

Readers will also have an opportunity to visit with local authors at a meet-and-greet area in the lobby throughout the event. From 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, interact with published writers Taki Zyngtara, Susan Nwokedi, Monica Vidalon-Wolf, Tiffany Obeng, and Dee Osah, who will all be available for questions, autographs, and photographs. Books will be available for sale and signing.

Games and activities will be on hand at a special Kids’ Book Carnival from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, in the Bohachevsky Gallery on the lower level of the library.

Anytime between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon, teens (aged 13 and up) and adults will have an opportunity to test their puzzle-solving skills in a “Mythic Mayhem Escape Room,” in the Meeting Room. In this come-and-go activity, teams of up to 8 members will enter through a virtual portal into another place and time, where they must solve puzzles to find their way through multiple mythical worlds to return to the present!

A “Polynesian Storytelling” performance will take place in the Jodie E. Stavinoha Amphitheater at 11:00 am. The performance will be repeated at 12:00 noon. Young Audiences of Houston teaching artist Malia’s Hula Hut will demonstrate the beautiful storytelling techniques that are woven into the song and dance of Polynesia, including the hula from the islands of Hawai’i, Tahitian from the islands of Tahiti, the Haka and Poi Balls of New Zealand, and fire-knife dancing from Samoa. Although these dances may often be seen performed together in a Polynesian show, they are unique and represent various cultures.

Readers who participated in Fort Bend County Libraries “Community Reads” initiative --  by reading Olympus, Texas and attending one of the library system’s book club meetings – were given raffle tickets for a drawing that will take place at 1:00 pm, in the Meeting Room, just prior to the keynote address by Stacey Swann. A second raffle will also take place for everyone who did not participate in the book-club meetings.

Fort Bend County Libraries’ Book Festival celebrates books, authors, and the importance of literature to the imagination. The complete schedule of events can be found on the Fort Bend County Libraries website or on the FBCL Facebook page. Participants may attend the whole day, or they can choose which individual session(s) they would like to attend.

Food trucks will be on hand, and visitors are invited to eat lunch while enjoying the festive atmosphere of a live dance performance in the outdoor amphitheater.

The event is made possible by the Friends of the George Memorial Library. Visitors may browse through the Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale, which will take place at the front entrance of the library throughout the Book Festival. Cash and checks are welcome; credit cards cannot be accepted. Proceeds from the book sale provide funding for special adult and children’s programs, cultural events, and staff development and continuing-education programs for library employees.

The Book Festival is free and open to the public. For more information, see Fort Bend County Libraries’ website (www.fortbend.lib.tx.us), or call the library system’s Communications Office (281-633-4734).

In conjunction with the “Fort Bend County Libraries Book Festival” on Saturday, November 16, the Friends of George Memorial Library will have a major Book Sale from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, at the front entrance of the library, located at 1001 Golfview in Richmond.

People who love books, people who love bargains, and people who need to get rid of some spare change will find low prices on books for children and teens, fiction and non-fiction books for adults, classics, graphic novels, inspirational books, romance novels, science fiction, and textbooks, as well as audiobooks, music CDs, movie DVDs, and even puzzles. The selection also includes large-print books and books in Spanish.

Cash or checks are accepted at the book sale; credit cards cannot be accepted. Money raised by the Friends of the Library Book Sale provides funding for special adult and children’s programs, cultural events, and staff development and continuing-education programs for library employees.

Donations of gently-used books, DVDs, and CDs are always welcome, and may be taken to the library during regular business hours. All contributions are tax-deductible. Membership applications will be available for people who would like to join the Friends of George Memorial Library.

The FBCL Book Festival celebrates books, authors, and the importance of literature to the imaginations of children and adults alike. Along with the Friends of the George Memorial Library Book Sale, the celebration will include an exciting line-up of authors, performances, and workshops. The schedule of activities for the FBCL Book Festival may be viewed on the libraries’ website, www.fortbend.lib.tx.us, or on the Fort Bend County Libraries’ Facebook page.

Made possible by the Friends of the George Memorial Library, the FBCL Book Festival and its activities are free and open to the public. For more information, call the library system’s Communications Office (281-633-4734).