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Corrected: Rochester Teen Book Festival Hits 12th Anniversary!

Hosted by Nazareth College May 20, 2017

Rochester, NY (05/01/2017) — Nazareth College is proud to present this year's Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival (TBF) now in its eleventh year. The event brings about 2,500 teens and adults, with all kinds of literary tastes, together to meet their favorite authors, as well as new ones. TBF this year is Saturday, May 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Nazareth College, located at 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, N.Y. 14618. This event is free and open to the public and kicks off with a parade led by members of the East Ridge High School Lancers Marching Band and met by the teens in a red carpet reception.

TBF 2017 features 31 authors including New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, local teen authors, and an audiobook narrator and kicks off with a panel including all authors and then continues with special breakout sessions designed to promote interaction with readers and writers. Teens will also have the chance to attend an autographing session at the conclusion of the festival.

Featured authors include Renée Ahdieh, Libba Bray, Michael Buckley, A.G. Howard, Nina LaCour (whose appearance is made possible through generous grant from Rochester's LGBT Giving Circle), David Levithan, Sarah J. Maas, Danielle Paige, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Sara Shepard, and 2013 Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women graduate, Sandra Uwiringiyimana, returning to Rochester as a debut author. Books for all the festival authors are available at local public or school libraries and for purchase by Barnes and Noble on-site. Special Festival T-Shirts and other merchandise will be available for purchase during the event, as will lunch, snacks, and beverages by many local Rochester vendors- including several food truck favorites.

The book festival works hard on fun and creative fundraising, of which the authors, and Rochester community are huge supporters. Through various fundraisers, participated by teens, the festival has been able to meet their fundraising goals.

Major supporting sponsors of The Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival include: Nazareth College, Barnes and Noble, Grid Marketing, Tops Markets, Monroe County Library System, I-Square, Overdrive, several publishers, and the Friends of Libraries across Monroe County.

TBF is also announcing the creation of the Victoria Brooks Memorial Scholarship, to be awarded annually at TBF each year beginning in 2018. The scholarship will be awarded to teens who demonstrate passion and show promise as emerging writers. The scholarship is named in memory of 2016 Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women graduate, Victoria Brooks, who was a teen author at TBF 2016. Victoria was pursuing a degree at Canisius College and still actively publishing her writing when she passed away in November 2016. Dixon Schwabl generously donated the foundation for the scholarship fund.

Founded in 1924, Nazareth College is located on a close-knit, suburban campus in the dynamic, metropolitan region of Rochester, N.Y. The College offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional programs in health and human services, education, and management. Nazareth's strong cultures of service and community prepare students to be successful professionals and engaged citizens. The College enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students.

SPECIAL NOTE TO MEDIA: Festival organizers are available for interviews as are some authors prior to the Festival.

For more information, including a complete list of featured authors and supporting sponsors, visit www.teenbookfestival.org or for interview requests; contact Stephanie Squicciarini at the Fairport Public Library at (585) 223-9091.

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