We’re looking forward to hearing from Fred Dale at the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival on Saturday, October 13th.

Fred Dale has lived in the Riverside/Avondale neighborhood for the past fourteen years. The canopy of oaks and the architectural diversity of the old homes remind him of the Uptown section of his native New Orleans. Walks through these vibrant streets, accompanied by his wife, Valerie, and their dog, Earl, are all he needs to call this a great life. Fred is a member of the English faculty at UNF, and his poetry has appeared in Sugar House Review, The Summerset Review, Chiron Review, Crack the Spine, The Evansville Review, and various other journals. His manuscript, Good Walk, A Peripatetic, is looking for the right editor’s eyes.

We are delighted to have Tracy “Dot Com” Collins reading with us at the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival on Saturday, Oct 13th.

Tracy Collins has appeared on local television for years as the Official Funologist. Maybe you’ve seen her covering events around town for different media outlets.

Always with a smile and a bubbly personality, she’s known to many as Tracy Dot Com.

But behind the smiles and the packed social calendar, Tracy was dealing with a problem she kept hidden, one affecting millions of Americans. Alcoholism. Binge drinking nearly killed her. Heavy, daily drinking she hid from the public, from friends, from family. In her memoir Stumbling Into Sobriety, Tracy takes the reader on her journey of recovery and discovery, squelching stigmas and shame associated with the disease.

We are pleased to be reading with Keri Foster on Saturday, October 13th at the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival. Welcome, Keri!

Keri Foster is a poet and host of spoken word and open mic events in Jacksonville for 5 years running at venues like Bab’s Lab, CoRK, Yellow House, Coniferous Cafe, and currently Silver Cow. Keri’s first poetry chapbook Mind The Path was released through Happy Tapir Press earlier this year.

Tonn Pastore has lived at the beach for twenty-three years because that is where they keep the ocean. This time has allowed him to witness many changes. The influx of culture and the migration of people energized the slow pace of Jacksonville. The ocean breezes thinned not just the air around him but also the barriers around his heart. He married a third generation native who showed him the joys of Jacksonville and the love of a new family. His poems pull from the pain and the joy of life and loss.

Tonn’s new book, Mark My Words, will be available when he reads at the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival on Saturday, October 13th.