The second week of October, Milwaukee will be crawling with literary authors, speakers and workshop teachers. The third annual Milwaukee Book Festival, held Oct. 5-14, coordinates readings, workshops, talks and panels, all centered around national and local literary figures.

The festival welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winners Richard Russo and Junot Diaz as well as Wisconsin authors Isabel Sharpe, Lesley Kagen, Sandra Kring and others. Teen and child workshops run at both the Public Library and Redbird Studios and the UWM Continuing Education Department offers several writing sessions for adults.

"The collaboration between the presenting partners is one of the greatest assets of the Milwaukee Book Festival. Each group brings their own expertise and enthusiasm to the table," says Anne O'Meara, UWM Book Festival Program Director. "We see Milwaukee as a literary city and we want to build on that excellence."

Marquette University, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, Carroll University, the Milwaukee Public Library and Harry W. Schwartz bookstore each sponsor several in-house events of which, the majority are free of charge. The Milwaukee Book Festival is followed by the Wisconsin Book Festival held in Downtown Madison, Oct. 15-19.

"Books are such a great way to create dialog between people. We are thrilled that the Festival offers a wide range of genres, venues and types of events to people in the region," O'Meara explains.

The Milwaukee Book Festival events are held throughout the city and registration is required in some cases. Visit the festival's Web site for more information.