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Read all about it: Tucson Festival of Books needs volunteers

The Tucson Festival of Books will return to the University of Arizona’s campus on March 12-13. It will mark three years since the event has been held in person. 

Executive director Melanie Morgan said the volunteer-led festival needs about 2,000 people to answer questions, provide directions and help the event run smoothly.

“It’s, you know, one shift. If you want to have more than one shift of course you can, but it’s one weekend,” she said. “If you’re coming down from Phoenix, it’s a great way to be part of our festival and see how it runs.”

The nationally recognized event is among the largest book festivals in the country — attracting an estimated 140,000 visitors. Morgan said about 280 authors are expected and the festival will have about the same number of sessions.

“It’s actually a great way to make sure that you get into your favorite sessions or get to meet your favorite authors because we have author campus escorts who walk the authors to their sessions and then we have venue monitors who are in the sessions the entire time,” she said.

In addition to featuring authors from diverse genres, there will be a science city for kids, literary circus performers, and hundreds of exhibitors. The festival will follow the same public safety measures and COVID-19 protocols as the UA. The most current policies can be found on the Tucson Festival of Books website.

People interested in volunteering can  also find a list of jobs on the website. Training sessions, which are encouraged but not required, will be held on Sunday, Feb. 27, or Saturday, March 5, outside the UA bookstore.

As a senior field correspondent, Christina Estes focuses on stories that impact our economy, your wallet and public policy.