Celebrate books at Rhode Island Author Expo on Dec. 3

The Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA) has announced that the 4th Annual Rhode Island Author Expo will be held on Saturday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston.

This year, the Expo will feature a record 130 published Rhode Island authors headlined by Ann Hood (The Book That Matters Most), Jon Land (Strong Cold Dead), Anika Denise (Monster Trucks) and Sean Fay Wolf (Minecraft: The Elementia Chronicles). Books on display from participating authors will be from a wide variety of genres including romance, mystery, horror, history, biography and children's. Hundreds of autographed books will be available for purchase and a list of all participating authors is posted on ARIA's website, www.RIAuthors.org/riexpo. Parking and admission to the expo will be free. "I believe our Expo is the largest gathering of authors anywhere in the northeast, and it's amazing to think they are all from our state. Rhode Island is known for its creative arts, and our authors are showing they are an important part of that community," said ARIA President Steven R. Porter. In addition to book signings, the expo will feature several presentations. At 2 p.m., Ann Hood will be hosting a special discussion of her latest novel, and presentations on memoir writing, horror writing, self-publishing, and other topics are scheduled throughout the day."We have expanded our presentation offerings this year, adding panel discussions on writing, publishing and other topics. The highlight, of course, will be Ann Hood's presentation at 2. She's wrapping up her national tour for her new book, The Book That Matters Most, and we're one of her last events. We're grateful to have such an iconic Rhode Island writer join us this year," said Porter. Rhodes on the Pawtuxet is located at 60 Rhodes Place in Cranston's historic Pawtuxet Village just minutes from Routes 10 and 95. The Rhode Island Authors Expo is co-sponsored by Motif Magazine, Pawtucket Credit Union, AAA of Southern New England, Airport Taxi, Cardi's, Wakefield Books and Mrs. Henry Sharpe. The Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization of local, published writers of both fiction and non-fiction committed to raising awareness of the outstanding written works crafted by writers in Rhode Island. More information about the group can be found on its website www.RIAuthors.org."We are thrilled to be bringing this event to Rhodes this year. In the past, we've used smaller venues around the state and instantly outgrew them. We expect as many as 2,000 book lovers and readers to visit us that day. Most people are unaware how many published writers we have in our tiny state. Our state's writers are our largest hidden asset, and we wanted to create one single event that celebrates that. In just five years, our association (ARIA) has grown from a handful of writers to now almost 300 published authors. The depth and quality of the work our authors produce is amazing. We'll have about 135 authors signing and selling this year, and we already see a need to expand again in 2017," said Porter.