The 8th annual Tucson Festival of Books kicks off

Published: Mar. 12, 2016 at 7:19 PM MST|Updated: May. 7, 2016 at 10:44 PM MST
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Tucson Festival of Books drew in thousands of people to the University of Arizona on Saturday for their annual event.

More than 130,000 Tucsonans and visitors attend every year. 

"I love it. I love books and seeing that there's so many types of things I haven't known before and so many different people who are interested in so many different things, it's great," said Destiny Mostella, a first time attendee.


"I've been to the Tucson festival of books but I've never actually had a one on one interview with an author so this was really cool and a different experience for me," said Keiko Tsuji, an attendee."

One look around the event and it's clear, this festival is more than just about books. 
"I love it. There's so many different booths and so many different avenues of art, music, religion, it's just really fun," said Cassie Poincelot, an attendee.

No  book festival would be complete without the authors themselves, hundreds attend the event every year. Some travel from all over the country, while others, like Nicholas Clement, are local.

"It's about the day I substituted for 2nd grade when I was the superintendent. And it was The longest day of my career," Clement said.

Clement, a retired superintendent  said writing a children's book was on his bucket list. With a little help from the community, "The Reading Pig Goes to School" became a reality. It's also a way for Clement to continue to help students.

"We're taking all the net royalties and we're donating it to 'Make Way for Books.' So we give the money back to schools to promote literacy it's all about getting kids to read. And that's my pay it forward plan," Clement said.

You can find more information about the book here: http://www.thereadingpig.com/

Parking will cost $5 for Cherry Avenue, 6th Street, Tyndall and Main Gate garages.

It runs from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm both days.

You can find more information about the festival here: http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/

Copyright 2016 Tucson News Now. All rights reserved.