The NoVa TEEN Book Festival Committee announced the cancellation of its festival this year due to concerns over the spreading coronavirus. Below is the organization’s full statement to its attendees:
“Our priority, as a festival, has been to create a transformative, positive and safe environment for all of our participants. With the recent spread of COVID-19 to the Northern Virginia, Maryland and DC Metro areas, we are unable to ensure that all of our authors, volunteers, exhibitors, staff and attendees will be safe at the festival this weekend.
“To everyone who has made NoVa TEEN a yearly part of your lives, to everyone who has shared your excitement with us, we are so very sorry to cancel this year.
“Cancelling the festival is going to have a significant impact on all of our amazing authors. Conventions and festivals are a crucial part of an author’s chance to meet new readers and build new fans for their incredible stories.
“We’d encourage you to connect with our authors on social media and share their books as widely as you can. As readers and educators and librarians, our voices are a powerful tool in helping authors to continue to write and publish and share their incredible stories.
“Also, please buy their books! One More Page Books welcomes your orders, and the NoVa TEEN book festival ordering pages will stay up to help you to discover new authors and explore their fantastic books. One More Page will be giving away free ARCs and swag with NoVa TEEN orders as long as supplies last. Visit onemorepagebooks.com/preorder-nova-teen-book-festival-2020-books.
The festival plans to be back at Marshall High School next year on March 20, 2021.
