WS Chronicle

New York Times bestselling author Carl Weber will be among the headliners at this year’s Bookmarks Festival of Books.

He has penned more than a dozen short stories and books, including titles like “Torn Between Two Lovers” from his “The Big Girl Series,” “The Choir Director” from his “The Church Series” and his latest, “The Man in 3b.”

A lifelong reader, Weber began writing stories about ordinary people who have crazy things happening in their lives. When he is not on book tour or connecting with readers at his two bookstore chains, Urban Knowledge and Beach Reads, Weber scouts for new talent for his publishing company, Urban Books.

He earned an undergraduate degree from Virginia State University and an MBA from the University of Virginia.

This year’s free festival, sponsored by the literacy promotion nonprofit Bookmarks, will be on Saturday, Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the Downtown Arts District (centered around Trade Street) and will include workshops, forums, readings, youth attractions and more.

More than two dozen authors will take part. Other notables include “The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time” author Adrian Miller. A culinary historian and a certified barbecue judge, Miller is a Stanford University and Georgetown University Law School graduate who once served as special assistant to President Clinton.

Diana Lopez, who has penned titles for adults and young adults, will be on hand to tout her most recent book, “Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel.” She has been a guest on NPR’s Latino USA and is the winner of the 2004 Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Award and the 2012 William Allen White Award. Lopez teaches English and works with the organization, CentroVictoria at the University of Houston Victoria.

Jason Mott, an acclaimed poet and short story writer, will use the festival to help debut his first novel, “The Returned.” There are plans to turn the book into an ABC series called “Resurrection.”

Virginia writer/lawyer Rachel Renee Russell will also travel to Winston-Salem for the festival. Her “Dork Diaries” series dramatically chronicles the daily life of Nikki Maxwell as she struggles to both fit in and survive middle school. There are over 50 million copies of the Dork Diaries books in print in the United States and in 32 countries with translation into 28 different languages.

For a full list of authors and events, go to www.bookmarksnc.org.