Heartland Writers Guild to host book festival Saturday

The Heartland Writers Guild will host the Heartland Book Festival on the Mississippi on Saturday.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Osage Centre, 1625 N. Kingshighway, and will be open and free to the public.

The event is designed to showcase and celebrate talented authors from the Heartland and will feature local writers who represent a broad range of genres, including fiction, Christian fiction and nonfiction, local history, young adult, picture books, cookbooks, satire, crime fiction and more.

Visitors can enjoy the opportunity to meet local authors who will be on hand to discuss their works and inspirations as well as sell and promote their books.

The Heartland Book Festival on the Mississippi is the first event of its kind in this area, promising to bring together more than 30 Heartland-area writers under one roof.

In addition to promoting writers from the area, the festival also will offer a variety of entertainment with musicians, singers, performers and storytellers, including Jerry Ford's Dixie Land Band, The Front Porch Players, Cathy Waggoner, Sarah Miller, GenX, Adrienne Ross, Chief Paul White Eagle, Steppin' Out (Ruth and Dean Winstead) and students from Scott City High School.

In addition, the festival will host booths from vendors such as Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Scentsy and more.

There also will be other craft vendors on display, selling everything from clothing and jewelry to chocolates and candies.

With storytelling, crafts and activities, Heartland Writers Guild president Mary Rechenberg said the event will be a great place to bring the children while enjoying some of the best music, writing and entertainment from the local creative community.

This first-of-its-kind event has been made possible by the efforts of the Heartland Writers Guild. The Heartland Writers Guild was founded in 1989 with the purpose of promoting and supporting the concept of professionalism in published and unpublished writers as well as aiding its diverse array of members in the goal of successfully marketing their work.

Since its inception, the Guild has been active in conferences, workshops and retreats.

Additionally, it organizes monthly meetings where members can talk shop, share advice and offer support.

To become part of the Heartland Book Festival on the Mississippi or the Heartland Writers Guild, look for more information at heartlandwriters.org.