Literary Orange Draws Hundreds of Book Lovers to UCI
On Saturday, April 10, over 400 campus and community members attended the fourth annual Literary Orange, Orange County’s premier literary event, where authors, readers and libraries join together for a celebration of literature. Literary Orange offers attendees and fans the opportunity to engage with an exciting array of authors, ask questions, purchase books and have them signed, and learn about the writing process.
“This is a fantastic event for the campus and community to come together and enjoy,” said Julie Sully, Associate Director of Development for the UCI Libraries, and one of the event’s co-organizers. “As members of the UCI community and the surrounding region have become more aware of this dynamic literary festival, which includes the opportunity to spend quality time with authors, it is no surprise to see an even higher turnout of devoted fans this year. We anticipate the event will be one of UCI’s marquee events very soon.”
The keynote speakers were Dean Koontz, one of the best-selling authors of all time and an Orange County resident. Described as “a master of our darkest dreams,” by The Times (London), and “a superb plotter and wordsmith,” by USA Today, Koontz has sold as many novels as J.K. Rowling, an astounding 400 million worldwide over the course of his 40-year career. He was joined by Karen Joy Fowler, who has developed a legion of admirers after the success of The Jane Austen Book Club novel and film.
Over 50 award-winning authors participated on 15 panels covering a variety of genres including Fiction, Non-Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction, Journalism, Romance, Children’s Books, Graphic Novels, Memoirs, and Poetry, along with new panels on OC Noir, History, and Motivation. The lineup of authors featured many UCI faculty and writing program alumni, including professors Vicki Ruiz, Gregory Benford, Mark LeVine, and William Lobdell, along with novelists Vicki Forman, Maile Meloy, Varley O’Connor, Andrew Tonkovich, and Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop.
For more information about Literary Orange please visit www.literaryorange.org or contact Julie Sully (jsully@uci.edu or x44658).