SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (SNN) — Get ready to unlock the secrets of literary success, as bestselling authors spill the beans right here on the Suncoast.
The “Off the Page” literary celebration, which kicked off on Nov. 1, promises more than two weeks of everything imaginable in the realm of literary arts.
Hosted by Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources, the event offers an extensive lineup of writing workshops, book signings, panels and more.
This is the debut year for “Off The Page” and every single county library is participating.
“Sarasota is seen as this wonderful art community and Libraries and Historical Resources really wanted literary arts to be part of that scene. So we thought we would bring in some really big name authors and then kind of just stir things up a bit,” said Marketing Coordinator for Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources Merab Favorite.
Over the next two weeks, “Off The Page” will take over all 10 Sarasota county libraries and it doesn’t stop there.
Off-site workshops and author talks will be held at Hermitage Artist Retreat and Ringling College of Art and Design.
Events range from teen writing workshops led by Ringling professor Ryan Van Cleave to a carnivorous plant sale hosted by botanist Kenny Coogan to an after-hours mystery night with Ocean View Publishing.
“We have author talks, writing workshops, book signings, anything you can think of that’s surrounding the literary arts,” said Favorite.
Thanks to contributions from Friends of the Venice Public Library, the William H. Jervey Jr. Endowment Fund, and the John Jakes Fund, this literary celebration and the authors that come with it have already made an impact on the community.
“The people that attended were very interested in starting to write. I heard from people who just had kind of like a writer’s block or maybe they’d been writing their whole life, they just didn’t know where to start with their book. And he just gave them a lot of tips to get going,” said Favorite.
Headlining authors include historic romance writer Sarah MacLean, illustrator and graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier, author of “The Lost Apothecary”, Sarah Penner, and science writer Sam Kean.
“It’s a really fun way to meet a famous author, get your book signed. I don’t know if you’ve ever had that experience. I did as a child and it was one that I’ll remember for my whole life. So come out, come to our events and I just really hope that everyone has a lot of fun with this,” said Favorite.
“Off The Page” events are open to the public and free of charge. No need to sign up in advance. Just show up and grab your seat. Attendance is first come, first seated.
The full event schedule is available on https://www.scgov.net/government/libraries/off-the-page.