Preview of the 2008 Festival

Now in its third year, the Carolina Mountains Literary Festival is scheduled for September 12 and 13. Once again regionally and nationally known authors will convene in Burnsville to give readings, lead workshops, answer questions, and sign books.

Unlike many festivals and book fairs, this event is not about selling or buying and is geared for those who love to read as much as it is for the aspiring writer. For this reason, the great majority of events are free and open to the public.

Organizers have received an overwhelmingly positive response from authors and nearly 60 are scheduled for this fall's festival. Included among them are former North Carolina Poet Laureate Fred Chappell, novelist John Ehle, poet MariJo Moore, novelist Pamela Duncan, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen, local favorite Peggy Poe Stern, novelist Ron Rash, teen novelist Alan Gratz, mystery writer Vicki Lane, and best-selling authors Jeff Biggers and Neal Thompson.

The theme for the 2008 Carolina Mountains Literary Festival is "The Beloved Community," a phrase made famous by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as expanded by the distinguished Georgia novelist and short story writer Anthony Grooms (who will attend the 2008 festival).
Writers and artists, Grooms believes, can and should play a vital role in advancing understanding, reconciliation and redemption among the nation's many racial, ethnic and cultural interests.

At last year's festival, panelists examined the American Revolution, which began the process of defining America's civil rights and freedoms. The 2008 festival will focus on the ways the country has been working to broaden that definition to include Native Americans, African Americans, people with other distinctive cultures such as found in Appalachia, women, immigrants from all nations. This work, which of course remains far from finished, cries out continually for more positive action, especially from the writers and artists whose highest responsibility is to invoke a contemplation of truth and the creation of the beloved community.

Festival organizers want to recognize those of our own community who have become early sponsors of the festival: Young & McQueen, the Design Gallery, Garden Deli, the Grapevine, Yummi Mud Puddle, the Rotary Club, and the Parkway Playhouse.

To become a sponsor and benefit from our web advertising, to volunteer, or to simply learn more about the festival visit cmlitfest.org.