FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Karen Scholz, Library Development Specialist, 239.461.2914, email kscholz@leegov.com

LEE COUNTY READING FESTIVAL AUTHORS RECEIVE NATIONAL RECOGNITION

FORT MYERS, Fla., January 29, 2004 - For Immediate Release 

            FORT MYERS, Fla., January 29, 2004 – Distinguished authors Douglas Brinkley and Robert Macomber, scheduled to attend the Lee County Reading Festival on Saturday, March 13, 2004 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., are making national news.

            Dr. Douglas Brinkley’s new book “Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War,” has received national coverage as a result of John Kerry’s presidential campaign. Brinkley recently appeared on NBC’s “Today” show to discuss this top-selling book and was interviewed on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.” The author was also featured in a January 15 article in USA Today.

            Robert Macomber, author of “At the Edge of Honor,” and “Point of Honor,” was selected as the featured guest author aboard the newly commissioned Queen Mary II on her maiden voyage to the Caribbean.

            The fifth annual Lee County Reading Festival is a unique celebration of reading and the only event of its kind in Southwest Florida.  An estimated 20,000 people attended this free, one-day event last year. The Festival takes place in Centennial Park, along the
Caloosahatchee River in downtown Fort Myers, Florida. International best-selling authors appear in panel discussions and presentations, and sign books for fans, alongside popular local authors and writers from around the state.  Brinkley’s Reading Festival presentation is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Harborside Event Center Room A.  Macomber will appear along with Joe Weber, author of “Assured Response,” at 10 a.m., also in Harborside Event Center Room A.

Other highlights of the Reading Festival include adult programming seminars on popular interest topics, teen writing contest results, storytelling, a storybook character parade, crafts, puppet shows, street theater performances, and music for all ages. Community organizations and a variety of vendors will be on site.  Every child attending the Reading Festival will receive a free book and every teen will receive a free magazine!

For more information on the Lee County Reading Festival, a free event presented by the Lee County Library System in partnership with The News-Press, WINK-TV, and the Foundation for Lee County Library System, please call (239) 479-4636 or visit the Web site www.lee-county.com/library/ReadingFestival2004.htm.

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