Bill Gates, April 11, 1996
Danny Glover and Felix Justice, Feb 25, 1998
President and Mrs. Bush, October 25, 1999
Ray Bradbury, October 22, 1997
Walter Cronkite, October 21, 1999
The Novello Festival of Reading ran from 1991 to 2009.
The Novello Festival Press was founded in 2000.
Maya Angelou
James Earl Jones
Ken Burns
Shelby Foote, March 25, 1999

From Bill Gates at the opening of the Virtual Library to Caroline Kennedy on ImaginOn’s opening day, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has hosted an impressive number of award-winning authors and celebrities for speaking engagements, special events, and yes – even to check out books.

No history of your Library would be complete without mention of the Novello Festival of Reading. The annual literary extravaganza began in 1991 and continued for 18 years, bringing nationally recognized and local writers for adults and children to Charlotte for more than a week of public events, most of them free. The Novello Festival was wildly popular and quickly became such a recognized brand that the Library launched its own publishing house. Novello Festival Press produced several major award-winning titles and published the work of more than 300 writers.

The tradition of a fall literary festival was revived in 2013 with the Library Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Verse & Vino and a year later the introduction of EpicFest for young readers, teens and families.

This audio tour was created using resources from your Library’s Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room.

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