Kansas Book Festival in Topeka on Saturday

After a three-year hiatus, the Kansas Book Festival is back, and this time it's in Topeka. The festival is Saturday at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka.

The festival's goal is to celebrate the best of Kansas literature, and will feature presentations by various Kansas authors, including David Eisenhower, grandson of President Eisenhower, who will speak with David Nichols of Winfield, a historian who has written extensively on the Eisenhower presidency.

Also appearing will be Wichita's Clare Vanderpool, whose "Moon Over Manifest" won the Newbery Medal and was named a 2011 Kansas Notable Book. The 2011 Kansas Notable Book winners will be presented as part of the festival, in a ceremony at noon.

Also on the festival slate are panel discussions, book-signings, vendor booths and a tent with projects for children.

Kansas first lady Mary Brownback organized the event, which she said "will promote literacy and encourage a life-long love of reading by bringing authors, publishers and illustrators together with the people of Kansas."

For more information, including a map and a schedule of events and author presentations, visit http://kansasbookfestival.com/about.

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Stephen Fried, author of "Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West," will be in Wichita this week for a reading and book-signing. The free event is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, 204 S. Main. Books will be available for purchase.

"Appetite for America" is a 2011 Kansas Notable Book.

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Award-winning young-adult fantasy author Cinda Williams Chima will be in Wichita on Monday to read from and sign her latest book in the Seven Realms series, "The Gray Wolf Throne." The event is at 6 p.m. at Watermark Books, 4701 E. Douglas.

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September's a full month: More author events are scheduled for next week. On Sept. 26, Scott Phillips will read and sign his latest book, "The Adjustment," at Watermark Books at 7 p.m. On Sept. 28, children's book author Jon Scieszka will be at Watermark at 7 p.m. for a reading and signing for his "Spaceheads" series. Scieszka is also the author of "The Stinky Cheese Man."

And on Sept. 29, the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum hosts Candice Millard, author of "Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President," at 7 p.m. for a presentation and book-signing. "Destiny of the Republic" explores the shooting and eventual death of President Garfield and the machinations and medical technology involved. Look for a full review of "Destiny of the Republic" on next Sunday's Books page.

This story was originally published September 18, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Kansas Book Festival in Topeka on Saturday."