Celebrate the printed word and join thousands of area booklovers at the second annual Northwest Bookfest, to be held Sept. 22-23, 2012 in downtown Kirkland.

This year’s festival will include all genres of fiction and nonfiction, children’s books, young adult offerings and live performances. Among the highlights will be award-winning authors Ivan Doig, David Guterson and Elizabeth George along with a special performance by Jack Prelutsky, the first U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate.

This family-friendly event offers something for everyone. Authors will discuss their work and lead writing workshops. Writers can attend critique groups and panel discussions. Readers can learn more about book clubs and library services, and young festival-goers are entertained by musicians, puppets and storytelling in several languages.

Once again this year, Kirkland wine shops and retailers team up for a special evening of author presentations called “Wine and Words,” which will be held Sat., Sept. 22.

All events will be in Peter Kirk Park (202 3rd Street, Kirkland) and surrounding buildings. Events will run 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. both days. All events are free and open to the public.

During last year’s inaugural event, nearly 100 authors drew about 3,000 people to Bookfest 2011. There were 50 author panels, 63 writing workshops and a dozen family-oriented performances.

This year, exhibitor booths and food vendors will be on hand throughout the weekend. As the anchor bookstore, Kirkland’s Park Place Books will supply the merchandise for the book-signing events. Community partners to date include the City of Kirkland, King County Library System, Book Publishers Northwest and Kirkland Performance Center.

For more information on this year’s event, or to apply to be a presenting author, exhibitor or volunteer, go to: nwbookfest.com