The Triangle area, as might be expected with our concentration of universities and highly educated people, exhibits a tremendous attachment to literature and to books.

It also is haven to countless authors, from writers of dense but pathbreaking academic prose to rhapsodic fiction, from niche novels to towering biographies and histories.

What then, is a more appropriate event for us than a Festival of the Book - as it was called three years ago at Duke University -- or a North Carolina Literary Festival, as it will be called starting today at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The intent of the book celebration is that it would rotate among the Triangle's three major research universities (including N. C. State University in Raleigh). It is supported by the three universities; libraries, and gets additional support from N. C. Central University.

Budget difficulties slowed the cycle some, and this year's festival at UNC was delayed from last year.

By all accounts, this year's iteration has been worth waiting for.

The more than 100 authors featured in this year's event will include John Grisham, Elizabeth Edwards, Douglas Blackmon, Rick Bragg and Elizabeth Strout. Local luminaries on tap will include Will Blythe, author of the college-basketball-rivalry classic, "To Hate Like This is To Be Happy Forever" and novelists Doris Betts and Clyde Edgerton.

Festival director Amy Baldwin suggests that the lineup of artists "will offer something for everyone. With poets to novelists and genres ranging from thrillers and memoirs to romance and award-winning literature, the festival will be a landmark event for the Triangle that no one will want to miss."

You'll have lots of opportunities beginning today and through the weekend to sample the festivals varied offerings, which extend to young people and adults alike.

The events are free, they are a great opportunity to sample some of this region's strongest cultural offerings, and they're readily accessible. A complete schedule is at www.NCLiteraryFestival.org. You'll also find biographies of festival participants there.

Peruse the opportunities, consider what's enticing for you - and enjoy the festival. It is a signature event for our region.