July 20 Payson Book Festival Day!

Payson Book Festival, Inc. received a proclamation from the Payson Town Council, signed by the mayor, making July 20,2019 Payson Book Festival Day.

Click on the link for a larger pdf version. Proclamation Town Council 2019

5th Annual Payson Book Festival

The fifth annual Payson Book Festival will showcase 90 Arizona authors who will sign and sell fiction and non-fiction books of many genres and promote literacy at a celebration of books for readers of all ages. Activities include: Kid Zone sessions for youngsters, author presentations, cowboy poetry and songs, and entertainment. Take a look at the 2019 Book Festival – Fact Sheet for more information.

2019 Pre-workshop for kids

Rosemarie Dombrowski, a professor at ASU and the first Poet Laureate of Phoenix, together with her assistant Sophia McGovern, worked with sixth-grade students at Rim Country Middle School on writing micropoetry and making their own microzines before the end of the school year. See more photos at our Publicity page.

Payson Community Kids will have the first book they wrote for sale at the Festival!

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4th Annual Payson Book Festival a big success!

This year’s family-friendly book festival was another success as a free literacy program for readers of all ages. More than 600 people came from throughout the state to meet and speak to 80 Arizona authors and enjoy a variety of activities at the event, which took place at Mazatzal Hotel and Casino, Payson AZ.

Kids enjoyed a Dr. Seuss storytime session with the Cat and the Hat plus other storytime events with librarian Elaine Votruba of the Gila County Library District. Meeting Story Monster was fun for everyone. “Buckshot Dot” shared her original western poetry and songs. Other presenters included: authors: Liz Warren, a nationally known storyteller who showed how to keep the art of storytelling alive in families; YA author Janette Rallison revealed how authors get book ideas; Patricia Brooks shared tips about writing memoir; science fiction author J.L. Doty and screenwriter Tom Morrissey spoke about writing for different reader audiences and using their own work background as part of book plots and research.

Many visitors came primarily to meet authors who signed their books. William Lee said, “It was wonderful being able to speak to several authors about their ideas. This event gives access to authors in a way most people don’t usually have available.”

THANK YOU to our sponsors and volunteers for their help in making this celebration of books and reading possible!