The schedule of events

Here's a look at some of the scheduled events for the Ohio River Festival of Books at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena Conference Center:

10 a.m. -- MadCap Puppets will perform at 10 a.m., offering guaranteed laughter for children of all ages.

10 a.m. -- Sharyn McCrumb, was best known for her series of Appalachian Ballad novels until a new-found interest in NASCAR prompted her to write "St. Dale," a modern-day reworking of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." Now she's followed that with "Once Around the Track," another novel with a NASCAR setting.

10 a.m. -- Joe Geiger and Jack Dickinson, "Researching the Civil War in Your Backyard."

10 a.m. -- Poets Laura Treacy Bentley, Mark DeFoe and John McKernan.

10 a.m. -- Award-winning columnist Dave Lieber grew up in Manhattan and now lives in Texas but says the years he spent as a reporter for the Charleston Gazette in the early 1980s were the most important and formative years of his life. "West Virginians changed me and helped me become a better person."

11:30 a.m. -- Ken and Melanie Light, "Coal Hollow: Images and Words from Southern West Virginia."

11:30 a.m. -- Michelangelo Altiere, "Most Sincerely Yours: A Look at Letters in Fiction Yesterday and Today."

11:30 a.m. -- Princeton native Kevin Stewart, a professor of English and creative writing at Potomac State College and the author of "The Way Things Always Happen Here."

11:30 a.m. and again at 2:45 p.m. -- Librarian-turned-author Shutta Crum. Born in Paintsville, Ky., she's written a number of award-winning books for children and young adults, including "Spitting Image," which is on the New York Public Library's list of Top 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing.

11:30 a.m. -- Mary Alice Mairose, curator at the Ohio Governor's Residence and the editor of "Our First Family's Home."

1:30 p.m. -- "Poetry Alive," a high-intensity poetry performance aimed at young audiences.

1:30 p.m. -- Allen Loughry, author of "Don't Buy Another Vote, I Won't Pay for Your Landslide: The Sordid and Continuing History of Political Corruption in West Virginia."

1:30 p.m. -- Debbi Dadey of Lexington, Ky., is author and co-author of more than 140 children's books. She grew up along the Ohio River and taught elementary school in Lexington, Ky.

1:30 p.m. -- Denise Wiles Adams will speak on "Restoring American Gardens: Ornamental Plans and Landscapes, 1770-1920."

1:30 p.m. -- Michelle Rubin, a senior agent with Writers House will speak to budding authors on "Book Publishing and Agents."

2:45 p.m. -- Chris Green, editor of "Coal: A Poetry Anthology," will talk about compiling the anthology and the contributing poets will read from their work.

2:45 p.m. -- Jean Edward Smith, the John Marshall Professor of Political Science at Marshall University, is the author of a dozen books, including acclaimed biographies of Ulysses S. Grant, Chief Justice John Marshall and Gen. Lucius D. Clay. He will discuss his latest book, "FDR," a biography of Franklin Roosevelt.

2:45 p.m. -- Jon Carloftis grew up in Kentucky where he began a love affair with nature that has culminated in his being recognized as one of the nation's premier gardening experts.

2:45 p.m. -- Gordon Simmons, Chris Hatton and David Owens have a combined 50 years of bookselling experience and will share that expertise in a panel discussion of how to identify valuable books. (They will not offer appraisals).