West Virginia Book Festival scheduled for October 10 & 11; preliminary list of authors released

A comic book editor, a best-selling legal thriller author, graphic novel author and the founding member of the Affrilachian Poets are among the headliners for the ninth annual West Virginia Book Festival, scheduled for Oct. 10 and 11 at the Charleston Civic Center.

Topping the headliners for the weekend is best-selling author William Bernhardt, whose 27 books have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. His most recent novel is Capitol Conspiracy, which takes attorney Ben Kincaid to Washington, D.C., for a high-profile case involving controversial anti-terrorist legislation, political skullduggery and murder. His forthcoming novel, Nemesis: The Final Case of Eliot Ness, solves the mystery of America’s first serial killer, whose identity has eluded investigators for decades. Bernhardt’s novels are renowned for their unexpected twists, breathless pace, humor and insightful consideration of issues confronting contemporary American society.

Andy Schmidt has edited popular comic books like X-Men, X-Factor, Alias, Secret War, Captain America: The Chosen, Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War, Avengers Classic and the Annihilation saga. As an assistant and associate editor, Schmidt worked on nearly every major character in the Marvel canon, from Spider-Man to the Avengers and Fantastic Four. He is currently the Senior Editor at IDW Publishing where he is in charge of such popular franchises as G.I. Joe, Star Trek and Terminator.

“We’ve lined up a wide variety of speakers whose books include general fiction, mysteries, local history, children’s titles and many more,” said Pam May, festival chairperson. “There should be something for everyone on the schedule.”

Along with these headliners, the Book Festival continues to offer the Festival Marketplace, featuring book vendors, publishers, authors and others; Word Play, an area with hands-on activities for children; a two-day used book sale presented by Kanawha County Public Library; and programs and readings presented by dozens of authors.

Among those authors are poet Frank X Walker and graphic novel author and illustrator Mark Crilley.

Frank X Walker is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets, editor of America! What' My Name? The “Other” Poets Unfurl the Flag and Eclipsing a Nappy New Millennium and the author of four poetry collections: When Winter Come: the Ascension of York; Black Box; Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York, winner of the 35th Annual Lillian Smith Book Award; and Affrilachia, a Kentucky Public Librarians' Choice Award nominee.

He has appeared on television in PBS's GED Connection Series, Writing: Getting Ideas on Paper, in In Performance At the Governor's Mansion and in Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky. He contributed to Writing Our Stories: An Anti-Violence Creative Writing Program Curriculum Guide developed by the Alabama Writer's Forum and the Alabama Department of Youth Services. He co-produced a video documentary, Coal Black Voices: the History of the Affrilachian Poets, which received the 2002-2003 Jesse Stuart Award presented by the Kentucky School Media Association, and produced a documentary exploring the effects of 9.11 on the arts community, KY2NYC: Art/life & 9.11. His visual art is in the private collections of Spike Lee, Opal Palmer Adisa, Morris FX Jeff, and Bill and Camille Cosby.

“Walker is a multi-disciplinary artist who believes that artists aren't the only creative people,” said Vic Burkhammer, chair of the festival's poet selection committee. “He says that all of us – kids, parents, cooks, janitors, people of all sizes and colors and ethnicities – keep the artistic tap open as we find solutions to living creatively every day."

Mark Crilley began drawing almost as soon as he could hold a pencil in his hand. Upon graduating from college in 1988, he embarked upon a series of jobs teaching English in the Far East. It was while living in Japan, in the fall of 1992, that he invented Akiko and fashioned her first adventure, a 33-page comic book story entitled Akiko on the Planet Smoo. Sirius Entertainment published the story as a one shot in December of 1995, and launched a new series entitled Akiko the following spring. In 2000 Random House Children's Books invited him to write and illustrate a series of novelized adaptations of Akiko for young readers. The first in the series, Akiko on the Planet Smoo, was published in March of 2000; the tenth, Akiko and the Missing Misp, hit stores in November of 2008. In 2004 Random House published his first new creation since Akiko, Billy Clikk: Creatch Battler. The second book in the series, Billy Clikk: Rogmasher Rampage, hit stores in the fall of 2005.

Crilley’s latest creation, the four-volume manga series Miki Falls, was published by HarperCollins over a period of just eight months from 2007 to early 2008. Kirkus reviews called it "stellar" and the American Library Association put it on their official list of recommended graphic novels. It has since been optioned for film development by Paramount Pictures and Brad Pitt's Plan B production company.

Additional authors and poets include: Denise Giardina, John Michael Cummings, Frances O'Roark Dowell, Roxie Munro, M. Glenn Taylor, Josh Weil, Rob and Miranda Walker and several others. Check the festival website at www.wvbookfestival.org for additional information.

The West Virginia Book Festival is presented by West Virginia Humanities Council, Kanawha County Public Library system, The Library Foundation of Kanawha County, The Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail.