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Fort Myers, FL (November 1, 2006) – Thriller writer David Baldacci’s latest release, The Collectors, hit the New York Times bestseller list at #2 this week, just two weeks after its release on October 17. Baldacci is scheduled to headline the eighth annual Southwest Florida Reading Festival on March 17, 2007. Fans will be able to hear him speak, purchase books and have them signed at the Harborside Event Center in the Fort Myers River District.

A lawyer for nine years in Washington, D.C., Baldacci began his writing career with the publishing of Absolute Power in 1996. According to his online biography, “All of his books have been national and international bestsellers, translated into over 38 languages and sold in more than 80 countries. Nearly 50 million copies of Baldacci's books are in print worldwide.”

The Southwest Florida Reading Festival is a free community event presented by the Lee County Library System with the mission of inspiring attendees to read, write, and use their local public library. In addition to Baldacci, the March 2007 event will include novelist Laura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate), Florida favorite Les Standiford, a panel of audio book narrators, and more than twenty others who write for adults, teens and children.

Other libraries and non-profit organizations in Lee and surrounding counties are invited to become a part of the Southwest Florida Reading Festival. Sanctioned event status is open to these organizations for planning and implementing smaller events that support the mission of the festival and fall within the week after the March 17, 2007 main event.

For more information, please call the Lee County Library System at 239-479-INFO (4636) or visit the Lee County Library System online at www.lee-county.com/library and click on “Reading Festival.”

Press Release #2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Link to Publishers Weekly article referenced below:

http://publishersweekly.com/article/CA6402562.html

Audiobook Narrator of the Year Featured at Southwest Florida Reading Festival

Fort Myers, FL (January 8, 2007) – Audiobook narrator Scott Brick was named Narrator of the Year by Publishers Weekly magazine in their January 1, 2007 issue as part of their annual Listen Up awards.  The popularity of audiobooks is increasing all the time.  Coordinators of the Southwest Florida Reading Festival had this in mind when they contracted with Brick and two other Brilliance Audio narrators to give a presentation at the March 17, 2007 event presented by the Lee County Library System.

Brick is an actor and screenwriter, in addition to his work as an audiobook narrator.  After performing for years at playhouses across the country and on the big screen, Brick began narrating audiobooks in 2000.  To date he's won over 30 Earphones Awards for his narrating skills, including the 2003 Audie® Award for “Dune: The Butlerian Jihad.”  After recording some 250 titles in five years, AudioFile magazine named Brick "one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy," and proclaimed him a Golden Voice.  Brick currently is writing his first novel, a modern-day supernatural thriller based on an 18^th-century murder in New England .

Susan Ericksen, another Brilliance Audio narrator who will appear in Fort Myers on March 17.  Joing the two narrators will be Grammy Award-winning audiobook producer Paul Ruben.

The Southwest Florida Reading Festival takes place at the Harborside Event Center and Centennial Park in the Fort Myers River District.  This is a free community event presented by the Lee County Library System with the mission of inspiring attendees to read, write, and use their local public library.  In addition to the panel of narrators, the March 2007 event will include thriller writer David Baldacci (The Collectors), novelist Laura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate), Florida favorite Les Standiford (Last Train to Paradise), and more than twenty others who write for adults, teens and children.

For more information, please call 239-337-READ (7323) or visit the Lee County Library System online at www.lee-county.com/library and click on “Reading Festival.”

Press Release #3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Spider-Man™ to Swing Into Town for Annual Reading Festival

Fort Myers, FL (Feb. 19, 2007) -- Marvel¹s popular comic book character Spider-Man™ will soon deliver an important message besides his signature motto, "With great power comes great responsibility," to area fans.

When the web-shooting superhero makes his debut at the eighth-annual Southwest Florida Reading Festival on Saturday, March 17 in the Fort Myers River District, he will stress the value of an education to thousands of young admirers.

Spider-Man, a much-loved spokesperson for the New Jersey-based Marvel Characters Appearance Program Company, will be using his superpowers to raise awareness about literacy as he presents "The Importance of Education" program at 10 a.m. and 12:00 noon at the Shows for Kids tent in Centennial Park. An autographing session will immediately follow each program, where every child may receive a personalized Spider-Man card ­ free of charge. Interested youths should plan to arrive on time if they want to catch sight of Spider-Man's spectacular entrance to the action-packed presentations.

"Marvel Awareness Programs are highly interactive and encourage children to participate," according to a written statement from the Marvel company. "Spider-Man speaks to the students in a non-threatening way that gives them the courage to speak up during each awareness presentation."

The chance to meet the heroic web crawler is just one of many fun opportunities that await attendees of the Reading Festival, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The one-day event will offer a variety of adventure-filled programs for youths and families.

"Spider-Man's presentation on the Importance of Education is a perfect fit for the Reading Festival," says Karen Sloan, the event¹s coordinator. "It¹s a great message for kids to receive and we know they will listen because Spider-Man is the one delivering the message."

To get more information about the Reading Festival and its activities, please call 239-337-READ (7323) or visit the Lee County Library System online at www.lee-county.com/library and click on "Reading Festival."