BY LANDI RUTLEDGE
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — On Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m., Sarah Penner will be the keynote speaker for the Third Annual Opelika Book Festival.
Sarah Penner is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of “The Lost Apothecary” and “The London Séance Society.”
“The Lost Apothecary” is her debut book that has sold over one million copies worldwide.
Held at the Opelika Public Library in the Cooper Auditorium, the event will have an Author Talk highlighting Penner’s newest book released in April 2025, “The Amalfi Curse,” and will include a book signing.
Tickets will be $35 and include a signed copy of “The Amalfi Curse.” Free tickets are limited and will not include the book — and may only be used for admittance to the event.
Doors for the event will open at 5:30 p.m. and Penner’s talk should last around an hour, with the book signing running around an hour and a half. The expected attendance is around 100 people and there will be a Question and Answer portion.
Anna Jones, community relations specialist, shared how the festival has grown since its beginning.
“The Opelika Book Festival has grown and changed over the years to try and make sure that we are meeting the needs of the writers and readers we are trying to reach,” Jones said. “This year we have spread the festival over multiple days to hopefully give more people the opportunity to participate. We have also expanded our Writer’s Workshops to a full day of sessions to give writers more time to hear from our speakers.”
Jones shared that while the target audience of the talk are the fans of Sarah Penner, she hopes the event will bring new readers, local book clubs and that attendees will walk away enriched by the experience.
“It is not every day that people get to interact with their favorite author,” Jones said. “It is always special for us when we get to hear a reader tell a visiting author how much their work means to them.”
Penner will lead the Writer’s Workshops along with several panels and a special session with author, Rachel Hawkins.
The Opelika Book Festival will close on Saturday, Feb. 28 with the Author Fair, which will feature over 40 local authors.
