• July 31, 2003

The New York Times announced yesterday that it will sponsor a literary brunch as part of the annual "New York Is Book Country" (NYIBC) festival. As part of the event, which will be held on Sunday September 21 at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel, eight prominent authors will be featured on the literary panel. The list includes Mitch Albom (Tuesdays With Morrie), Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code) and Peggy Noonan (John Paul the Great). "With this annual brunch, The Times brings together lovers of great writing with great writers," said NYT vice president, marketing services Alyse Myers in a press release. "This year especially, we celebrate the unifying power that reading and books have - not just in our own community, but everywhere." Tickets for the literary brunch are $150 and can be purchased by calling (888) 698-1870. NYIBC's flagship event, The Annual Book Fair on Fifth Avenue, is open to the public and will include more than 300 exhibitions from publishers, bookstores and antiquarian booksellers. 2003 marks the festival's 25th year.