The Daily Standard
Story Archive
Bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix, the writer of 50 books for children and teens, speaks to an audience at The Mercer County District Library in Celina Thursday night. She's one of 25 authors who will appear at the Grand Lake Area Literature Festival on Saturday.
CELINA - A merry band of authors from across the country will take over the Tri Star Career Compact facility Saturday to give presentations and readings, participate in panel discussions and engage with book lovers of all stripes during the fifth annual Grand Lake Area Literature Festival.
A total of 25 writers were selected from a pool of applicants, including 19 working in the children and teen genres and six who write books for adults.
The event is free and open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"It is amazing the quality of authors we are getting," said Chris Noble, president of the festival's board of directors. "Last year we had two Newbery Award winners and a Caldecott winner. This year we've got Margaret Peterson Haddix coming."
Haddix is an Ohio native with degrees in journalism, creative writing and history from Miami University and a New York Times bestselling author who has written 50 children and teen books. She made a stop at The Mercer County District Library in Celina Thursday night where she delivered a presentation, signed books and conversed with fans.
Bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix, the writer of 50 books for children and teens, speaks to an audience at The Mercer County District Library in Celina Thursday night. She's one of 25 authors who will appear at the Grand Lake Area Literature Festival on Saturday.
"She is extremely popular and just an award-winning, fabulous author for the middle grades, young adults," Noble enthused. "We have one author coming from Texas. We have authors from Michigan … basically the Midwest. We are getting more of a reputation and the word is spreading."
That's putting it mildly, as the festival went from drawing 250 attendees the first year to more than 1,100 in 2025. It also has earned nonprofit status, making it eligible for grants to help with marketing, publicity and promotion.
"This has grown beyond anybody's imagination. It really has become quite a remarkable event that we're holding every year," Noble said. "There is not, to my knowledge, anything similar, especially the focus on children, within a 100-mile radius."
But it takes a small army of passionate advocates to pull off such a well-received event.
"Our support from the community has just been outstanding, and we just can't thank our sponsors enough," Noble said. "We've had many local businesses, fraternal organizations and individuals who have really given and supported this tremendously. We have a group of volunteers, too, that helps out."
While the festival is naturally underpinned by the presence of acclaimed writers, the crown jewel of the day, at least in Noble's eyes, is the award ceremony honoring students from across the region who have made remarkable strides in reading.
"I think one of the main features of the day is the Reading Excellence Award," Noble said.
In fact, every second, third and fourth grade teacher in Auglaize and Mercer counties was invited to nominate one student from their classroom for the award.
"That's not every grade level, that's every classroom," Noble stressed.
All students regardless of academic achievement are eligible for the accolade, which recognizes significant progress in literacy.
"So not necessarily the highest achiever but somebody who's shown the most progress. This is open to everybody," she said.
This year, 214 students -up from 169 in 2025 - will amble up to the stage to bask in the limelight and take in waves of adulation from teachers, family members, peers and friends. They'll walk away with a certificate and a voucher for a free book.
"Then they're able to exit the stage and go down and talk to all the authors and choose their books," Noble said. Receiving the literary accolade can have a substantial positive impact on a child's self-esteem, confidence and motivation, as well as further nurture their love of reading, hopefully for life.
"The first year we did it a father emailed questions and then he ended by saying, 'My son is so excited,' and that's what we're all about," Noble said. "Last year we had a young man who has autism, and he came, walked across the stage, received this award, picked out a book, and of course, that was such a huge step for him. So students with disabilities are also included in this program. No one is kept out. We're very inclusive that way."
Underscoring the broad community involvement, Noble said the festival board also partners with Tri Star and Wright State University-Lake Campus.
"Those education students design and man, acquire all the materials for the craft room, and we had kids that line up waiting to get inside the craft room because it's a real joy for them," Noble. "In the past, they have created some crafts to go along with some of the books that the authors will have on display."
Tri Star, a $25 million, 101,170-square-foot, two-story complex on State Route 703, has proven to be a perfect venue to host the venue. Tri Star Director Tim Buschur will lead a tour of the facility at 11 a.m.
Awards ceremonies and author talks will unfold in the Student Union Common Room from 9:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and author panel discussions in Star Room No. 2.
Scheduled workshops are "Make and Take Puppets" and "5 W's Roll the Dice Game." Author panel discussions will center on hands-on illustration, STEM in children's literature, boys' interest in reading, and writing for middle school and young adults.
For more information, visit grandlakearealitfest.com.
