By Jenny Dearinger, Writers Alliance of Gainesville
Started in 2020, the Sunshine State Book Festival has been providing Gainesville and the surrounding area with a much-needed service, providing access to books written by local authors to the people of the community.
While the over-arching theme of the festival is “Bringing Readers and Writers Together,” the 2025 festival’s sub-theme is “Climate Change in Literature.”
Two distinguished speakers on the subject will be Cynthia Barnett, author and director of climate and environment reporting initiatives at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications, and Terry Harpold, UF English professor and director of UF’s Imagining Climate Change Initiative. Harpold will moderate a panel of authors whose work focuses on climate and environmental issues.
Admission is free to these events, which are being held Feb. 1 at the Best Western Gateway Grand in Gainesville. The festival kicks off Jan. 31 with a writers’ workshop, which requires a fee and online registration, and an opening-night reception.
A creative writing contest with the School Board of Alachua County is also associated with the festival. The 2025 year’s theme is climate change. The winners will be awarded scholarships provided by Steve Spurrier’s HBC Foundation at the festival. The winners’ English teachers will also receive prizes donated by Gainesville Health and Fitness.
There is also a “children’s corner” featuring storytelling and activities.
Hosted by the Writers Alliance of Gainesville, many prominent Gainesville locals and Floridians have participated in the Sunshine State Book Festival. They include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jack Davis; prominent citizens such as Joe Courter, owner and editor of the Gainesville Iguana; civic leader Jon Reiskind and Carolyn Edwards of the Porters Quarter Freedom School and NAACP.
The festival has the support of the City of Gainesville, Visit Gainesville and Alachua County, the Florida Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Local supporters include The Lynx Bookstore, Gainesville Health and Fitness, Cox Communications and the HBC Foundation.
For more information, visit sunshinestatebookfestival.com.
Jenny Dearinger is president of the Writers Alliance of Gainesville. Banner photo: A stack of books (iStock image).
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