N.C. Literary Festival a community success

Kudos to all those who brought the 2009 N.C. Literary Festival to life on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. Festival leaders, organizers and volunteers did a wonderful job of helping more than 10,000 writers and readers enjoy Orange County.

This year UNC spotlighted the love of the word, especially words that wriggle their way into books. And in keeping with Orange County's mission to bring young readers inspiration, a key component of the festival was the children's stage and activity area, which catered solely to the interests of youth.

Thank you, UNC Libraries, for taking the lead and thanks to the town, area sponsors and avid readers. This festival would not have been possible without the University Library System's Sarah C. Michalak and Michele Fletcher. And a special thanks goes out to festival director Amy Baldwin for flawlessly and calmly executing so many details.

Orange County's literary heritage is such that we should be celebrating all genres of creative writing on an annual basis. From a tourism standpoint, the festival successfully engaged the greater community and region in Orange County's rich and diverse literary culture.

Thank you to all those who made this possible.

Laurie Paolicelli

The writer is executive director of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau.