Upshur County residents Lynda Coker and Gay Ingram are two of the more than 50 Texas authors and 12 speakers featured at the first East Texas Book Fest, set for Friday, 10 am to 4 pm, in Tyler at the Ornelas Activity Center, 3402 Old Omen Road.

After retiring from her profession, Lynda Coker, Ore City, decided to start a second career. She says that this time she followed a dream—a dream of writing the type of stories she loved to read, character-driven stories that speak to what Coker calls the "princess in her heart” and the "warrior in her soul.” Her romance titles are among two other romance writers featured at the event.

Gay Ingram, Big Sandy, was named 2009 Inspirational Writer of the Year by the Texas Christian Writers’ Association August 1 in Houston. Publishing credits include numerous articles in national magazines such as Backwoods Home, Writers’ Journal, Texas Gardener, and Texas Highways. She has several published books to her credit including: ’Til Death Do Us Part; Tracks on the Sand; Troubled Times; A Stirred Pot; and Living With A Depressed Spouse She is an active member of Northeast Texas Writers Organization, Inspirational Writers Alive! (Tyler Chapter) and East Texas Writers Association.

Organizers of the East Texas Book Fest, free to the public, have planned the event to give book lovers a chance to meet featured authors, and also provide information and discussion for budding writers, as well as the general public. “We hope that there is something for everyone,” says Dee Brock, event chair. Among the 50 featured writers, others include eight inspirational writers, a dozen children's book authors, eight historical writers, two poets, ten fiction writers in a variety of genres, and several cooking and how-to specialties.

At the Book Fest, author talks and two break-out sessions are scheduled throughout the day-long event:

10-10:30 a.m.: Registration and exhibit browsing. Lunches are available for $3 on first-come, first-served basis.

10:30-11:15 a.m.: Breakout Discussion One, including "So You Want to be an Author?" by Nancy Bell; "Writing History" by Bob Bowman; and "Putting Yourself on the Market" by Patti Ramey.

11:20-noon: Authors Talk One: Welcome and introduction of honorary chairs Smith County Sheriff J.B Smith and Nancy Crawford; and talks by Don Graham and Jim Ainsworth.

Noon Lunch and browse.

1:15-2 p.m.: Authors Talk Two, including Joe Lansdale, John Foxjohn and J.B. Smith.

2:15-3 p.m.: Breakout Discussion Two, including "Creating Writing" by Robert Stevens; "Keeping Score-Sports Writing and Research" by C. Paul Rogers; and "How to Sell Yourself and Books" by Laura Krantz.

3:15-3:45: Authors Talk Three, including Sylvia Dickey Smith, Jory Sherman and R. Clay Reynolds.

4 p.m.: Door Prize Drawings

Organizers of the event are the Muntz Library at UT Tyler and the public libraries of Smith County. The East Texas Book Fest is funded by generous grants from the Friends of the Arts at UT Tyler and Humanities Texas, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Other sponsors include Southside Bank, Target Distribution Center, Friends of the Lindale Library, Friends of the Troup Library, Friends of the Tyler Library, and Friends of the Whitehouse Library.

To learn more about the East Texas Book Fest and other authors and speakers, go to etxbookfest.weebly.com