For a reader, meeting an author can be one of the greatest experiences ever. Many readers will even say it’s better than running  into a movie star at a local diner. Festivals of Books around the United States provide that chance to bring readers and writers together.

March 10 and 11, readers who visit the fourth annual Tucson Festival of Books at the University of Arizona campus will have 450 participating authors and presenters to see.

The festival “is designed to give visitors as many options as possible during the weekend,” Darrell Durham, Festival of Books marketing co-chair, said. “It represents not only a wide variety of literary genres – from children’s to teens, mystery to romance, non-fiction to culinary, and much more –  but many different individuals within those genres. What’s more, many of the presenters can be seen not only individually but in panel discussions, as well, so that attendees have more flexibility in their festival scheduling.”

The festival provides a unique opportunity to people who love to read cookbooks, as well. “The proliferation of cooking shows on TV, not to mention the success of the Food Network, would suggest that the Festival of Books’ culinary lineup is spot-on with the public’s interests,” Darrell said. “Tucson is, in fact, a great food town, full of great restaurants and chefs often singled out by national food writers, TV chefs and foodies. The Festival of Books reflects that.”

Ivy Manning, author of The Farm to Table Cookbook and The Adaptable Feast, will present on the culinary stage at 1 p.m.,  Saturday, March 10 and again at 4 p.m. in the Student Union. She has work in Sunset Magazine, Food & Wine, Cooking Light and Bon Appetit.

Some other crowd pleasers include author Alice Hoffman (The Dovekeepers, Here on Earth, etc.) speaking at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 10 and on a panel at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Elmore Leonard (Freaky Deaky, Killshot, Get Shorty, Maximum Bob) and Brad Meltzer will present at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Meltzer (The Book of Fate,The Zero Game , The Inner Circle, and host of the History Channel’s Decoded) talks about mysteries at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Tucson Festival of Books also offers a mobile app for both iPhone and Android platforms with a complete guide to the times and locations of festival events, a pocket guide to the 200-plus exhibitors and sponsors, the latest festival news and last minute schedule changes.

People attending with children will find more than just sessions, Darrell said. “Science City, a joint presentation of the University of Arizona Bio5 and College of Science and sponsored by the Helios Education Foundation, is a massively expanded version of the children’s science area that debuted at the festival last year.”

“For those with purely adult interests, I would suggest they study the schedule of presentations, where they will find any number of tops-in-their-field experts on topics ranging from Native American culture to Arizona history,” he said.

For more information on the festival, contact the Tucson Festival of Books online.