LAKE PLACID — The Adirondack Family Book Festival returns to the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid this Saturday with 15 children’s and young adult authors and illustrators eager to mix and mingle with their fans and readers of all ages.

A free, day-long community event presented by John Brown Lives!, Lake Placid Public Library, the Bookstore Plus, and numerous other partners, AFBF is now in its second year.

New York Times best-selling author Kate Messner said that last year’s fest “was one of the most joyful events I’ve ever experienced, and I’m thrilled that the festival has become an annual event.”

“I can’t wait for our amazing local readers to meet this year’s authors and illustrators,” she added.

Other AFBF 2023 authors include: Sarah Albee, Jose Barreiro, Kalynn Bayron, Lesa-Cline Ransome, Loree Griffin Burns, Maxwell Eaton III, Debbi Michiko Florence, Amy Guglielmo, Angela Kunkel, Grace Lin, Emma Otheguy, Francesca Padilla, James Ransome, and Phil Stamper.

Find out more about AFBF 2023 authors at adirondackfamilybookfestival.wordpress.com/authors-illustrators.

Festival grounds will open at 9:30 a.m., giving everyone a chance to browse and visit authors stationed under the Main Tent where Lake Placid indie bookseller, The Bookstore Plus, will be handling sales throughout the day. At 10 a.m., John Brown Lives! Executive Director Martha Swan will be joined by festival author, advocate of Native community self-determination and Smithsonian Scholar Emeritus Jos Barreiro to formally open the festival with a welcome and land acknowledgment. From 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., authors and illustrators will participate in panel discussions and workshops under the presentation tent. Arts activities will be ongoing throughout the day, and young local writers who contributed to the Adirondack Center for Writing’s “Wild Words Teen Writing Anthology” will be staffing a table to talk about their writing, sign and sell copies of their anthology, and inspire other young readers. Communication boards will be available during

the festival for individuals with communication differences with core words pertaining to the Adirondack Family Book Festival. These boards will provide communication access to picture symbols for minimally verbal people. Tours of the historic house, self-guided exhibits and StoryWalk installations on the premises will be available to all.

The Adirondack Family Book Festival is open to everyone, and all children who attend will be gifted a blank-page souvenir journal. People are encouraged to pack an old-fashioned picnic and dress for the weather. In the event of inclement conditions, the festival will be moved indoors to the Lake Placid Middle-High School.

“The Adirondack Family Book Festival is a wonderful event that draws in crowds from across the entire North County,” said Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Chateaugay Lake. “It is a pleasure to support the festival that brings readers of all ages together to interact with award-winning authors and illustrators while promoting literacy and creativity.”