Spring comes early this year, with the South Carolina Book Festival moving to a new date in February, as well as to a new location. The Latino Book Festival expands its ambitious schedule to make a first-time stop in Phoenix. Time-honored festivals continue to spark the interest of book lovers: the 18th annual Printers Row Book fair takes place in Chicago, and the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival celebrates its 16th year.

The venerable New York Is Book Country was canceled last September. It has rescheduled two events, the Literary Brunch and Tea & Mystery, for April 21 (call 888-NYT-1870 for more information).

South Carolina Book Festival & Antiquarian Book Fair
Columbia, February 23—24
www.schumanities.org/bookfestival.htm, (803) 691-4100
With "Look Homeward" as its theme in its sixth year, this festival is moving to a larger home to host 10,000 visitors. According to festival director Bruce Lane, organizers decided to move to the more "festival-friendly" South Carolina State Fairgrounds, which necessitated changing dates. (Last year, it was held in April at the Carolina Coliseum.) "Since we've doubled the festival's budget and set out to increase its actual size, the move seemed prudent," Lane told PW. More than 60 authors will participate, including A. Manette Ansay, Clyde Edgerton, Kaye Gibbons and Joyce Carol Oates. Southern-themed panel discussions are planned on topics such as food, travel, women's fiction, politics, poetry and gay/lesbian writing.

The Latino Book and Family Festival
Phoenix, Ariz., March 2—3
San Diego, Calif., April 13—14
New York City, April 27—28
www.latinobookfestival.com, (760) 434-7474
Actor Edward James Olmos, this event's producer for the past five years, recently affirmed his lifetime commitment to this festival. The largest U.S. Latino book and cultural festival expands its schedule to debut in Phoenix at Civic Plaza. Later, it will travel to San Diego's Convention Center, and then on to New York City's Madison Square Garden. (From August through December, the festival will visit Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Bernardino/Riverside, California.)

Each festival hosts seven "villages." At Book Village, children and adults can attend readings, meet authors and browse through English- and Spanish-language books. Culture Village emphasizes culture in our daily lives; exhibitors include artists, jewelry makers and clothiers. Other "villages" focus on health, technology, careers and education, recreation/travel and home ownership.

Lee County Reading Festival
Ft. Meyer, Fla., March 9
(814) 479-4636
Last year's festival attracted more than 14,000 people. The third annual festival will be held in Centennial Park in downtown Ft. Meyer. "Celebrate the Power of Reading" is this year's theme; featured authors speaking and signing books include Elizabeth Berg, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, Lois Duncan, Robert Newton Peck, Evelyn Coleman and Peter Matthiessen, who will be awarded the Lee County Reading Festival Lifetime Achievement Award. Children and teens will enjoy a storybook parade, puppet shows, poetry slam, street theater and storytelling.

Border Book Festival
Las Cruces, N.Mex., March 17—24
www.zianet.com/bbf, (505) 524-1499
With the theme of "The Healing Road," the eighth annual Border Book Festival presents the work of healers from various traditions and cultures. This festival is committed to literature and storytelling in the U.S. and Mexican border region. Ha Jin, Naomi Shihab Nye, Richard Shelton and healer Chris Griscom are among invited writers and artists. Events include readings, performances and "Libros Y Más" (Books and More), a trade show of national, regional and local presses and writers. Selected writers from the BBF's Emerging Voices Program, a series of local writing workshops, will also take part.

The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
New Orleans, March 20—24
www.tennesseewilliams.net, (504)581-1144
In its 16th year, the Tennessee Williams/ New Orleans Literary Festival will introduce many "firsts" to its 8,000 visitors: a two-day poetry reading with a poetry slam, expanded tours of New Orleans, including the notorious Storyville Jazz District, and the presentation of two full productions of Tennessee Williams's plays Sweet Bird of Youth and Suddenly Last Summer. Writers such as Marie Arana, Jonathan Yardley, Rick Bragg, Melissa Bank and Roy Blount Jr. will teach master classes. Panel discussions cover topics ranging from "Tennessee's Women" to "Reporting Live: Journalists Cover the Twentieth Century." Activities take place at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré and at nearby sites such as the Louisiana State Museum.

Virginia Festival of the Book
Charlottesville, Va., March 20—24
www.vabook.org, (434) 924-6890
Grace Simpson, Virginia's Poet Laureate, will host the opening of the eighth annual festival. Among hundreds of literary events scheduled throughout the Charlottesville area, Marie Arana will discuss her memoir, American Chica (Dial), at the Festival Luncheon, and a Day of Mystery will explore suspense fiction with Jeffery Deaver, Anne Perry and others. At Publishers' Day, audiences will learn how to produce and market books using electronic media. StoryFest showcases storyteller Jim Weiss and illustrator Colin Bootman, as well as writing and art competitions, printing and bookmaking programs, and story readings. Nearly 16,000 people are expected to attend.

Small Press Center Book Fair
New York City, March 23—24
www.smallpress.org/bookfair, (212) 764-7021
As part of Small Press Month, a nationwide celebration of independent publishing, this 14th annual fair will bring together more than 2,500 visitors and 200 independent publishers. Four floors of books and magazines will be on sale. This year's fair will present a literary focus, featuring some of this country's best literary presses. There will be a forum with Florence Howe, Feminist Press founder and winner of the 2002 Poor Richard's Award for outstanding contributions to publishing. Zora Neale Hurston will be honored as Small Press Author of the Year.

NC Literary Festival
Chapel Hill, N.C., April 5—6
www.lib.unc.edu/NClitfest, (919) 843-6807
The NC Literary Festival spotlights literature of the American South, with a focus on works produced in and about North Carolina. Sponsored by the libraries of the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University and Duke University, this festival is held in alternating years and takes place this year at UNC Chapel Hill. More than 5,000 visitors will meet more than 50 writers at readings, wor kshops, panel discussions and performances. Featured authors include Julia Alvarez, Lucille Clifton, Allan Gurganus and Randall Kenan, as well as regional, local and student writers. A key event is Family Tent, with performances by writers, illustrators and storytellers, and efforts to engage children in the writing and storytelling process. Killer Diller, based on Clyde Edgerton's novel, will be presented as a literature-in-performance piece with music.

Arizona Book Festival
Phoenix, April 6
www.azbookfestival.org, (602) 843-7532
Now in its fifth year, the Arizona Book Festival, will celebrate the state's vibrant literary tradition with more than 12,000 expected attendees and authors such as Sherman Alexie, Barbara Kingsolver, Diana Gabaldon, J.A. Jance, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Lois Lowry and Ana Castillo. The Margaret T. Hance Deck Park will be the site of readings, panel discussions, exhibits, a book sale and a children's area. There will also be live entertainment with an emphasis on southwestern influences.

Northern Arizona Book Festival
Flagstaff, April 12—14
www.flagstaffcentral.com/bookfest, (928) 774-9118
The fifth annual Northern Arizona Book Festival will feature T. Coraghessan Boyle, Rudolfo Anaya, Pam Houston, Judith Ortiz Cofer and others. Some 4,000 visitors are expected to attend readings, panel discussions and workshops. A Native American panel with Joy Harjo, Rex Lee Jim and Esther Belin will discuss the physical and spiritual journeys of Native peoples. Mary Sojourner will host a panel on how women reinvent themselves. A related event will be a community-wide reading of Anaya's Bless Me Ultima (Prentice Hall), which will spawn discussions at schools and book clubs.

Southern Kentucky Festival of Books
Bowling Green, April 19—20
www.sokybookfest.org, (270) 745-5263
Dedicated to its mission to encourage reading and to help reduce illiteracy, the fourth annual Southern Kentucky Festival of Books will occur during National Library Week at the Bowling Green/Warren County Convention Center. On the first day, designated Children's Day, students will meet 50 children's authors and illustrators, including Jared Lee (the Black Lagoon series) and Jessica Harper. The following day will feature more than 200 authors at presentations, signings, discussions and readings. To commemorate National Poetry Month, Kentucky's Poet Laureate James Baker Hall and others will read their works. New this year: the Kentucky Reading Association will announce the winners of the Kentucky Bluegrass Awards for children's authors. More than 8,000 visitors are expected.

African American Children's Book Festival
New York City, April 20
(203) 359-6925
With the theme of "Make Books Come Alive," the fourth annual African American Children's Book Festival will bring children together with authors, illustrators and storytellers. The purpose of the festival is to promote literacy, encourage reading and make available the rich resources of African American and other ethnic children's literature. The daylong festival will take place on the grounds of Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The event is organized by Kids Cultural Books, which presented the Multicultural Children's Book Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., last November.

Mid-Atlantic Literary Small Press Conference and Book Fair
Bethesda, Md., April 27
www.writer.org/bookfair, (301) 654-8664
The Writer's Center, which supports writers, publishers and community members year-round, will present its ninth annual Small Press Conference and Book Fair. Attendees can discover publications and meet writers and editorial staff from small presses and independent publishers. Returning will be the popular Dime-a-Pound Used Book Sale, where visitors can browse and buy from the center's enormous collection. There will also be readings, live jazz and children's events.

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Los Angeles, April 27—28
www.latimesevents.com, 1-800-LATIMES
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will bring together some 120,000 book lovers and nearly 400 authors at readings, literary panels and signings. Robert Bly, Ray Bradbury, Julia Child, Quincy Jones, Ruth Reichl, Jane Smiley, Thomas Kenneally and Annie Proulx are among the authors slated to participate. Now in its seventh year, the festival will take place at UCLA and run six different stages for Poetry Corner, Cooking Stage and other events. A highlight will be the 22nd annual Los Angeles Times Book Prize award ceremony, recognizing achievements in biography, history, fiction, poetry and other categories.

Printers Row Book Fair
Chicago, June 1—2
www.printersfair.org, (312) 987-1980
Five tented blocks in Chicago's historic Printers Row district will be the setting for the 18th annual Printers Row Book Fair, the largest free outdoor literary event in the Midwest. More than 75,000 book lovers will browse new, used and antiquarian books, and attend the 70-plus literary programs, including readings, signings, panel discussions, nonstop poetry readings, a Writer's Marketplace and children's events. At a dinner on May 30, the Harold Washington Literary Award will be presented to an author whose creative use of the written word addresses the issues of contemporary life; last year's winner was playwright August Wilson.

Central Coast Book and Author Festival
San Luis Obispo, Calif., June 8
www.ccbookfest.org, (805) 546-1392
Some 5,000 book enthusiasts and 120 exhibitors will make their way to the tree-lined, historic Mission Plaza for the third annual Central Coast Book and Author Festival. Catherine Ryan Hyde, Christopher Moore, Earlene Fowler and Sara Backer are among invited authors. The popular children's area, sponsored by the San Luis Obispo YMCA, will return, and there will be a raffle of books contributed by participating writers. New this year is a series of readings by regional historians.