Listen to the UVA Today Radio Show report on this story by Anne Bromley:

December 15, 2009 — The 2010 Virginia Festival of the Book is a work in progress, but the special events that require tickets usually sell out quickly.

Tickets are still available for the festival luncheon with Michael Malone, the Crime Wave luncheon with Julia Spencer-Fleming, the Business Breakfast with Michael Gelb, and the Authors Reception.

To order tickets and for information, visit the Web site at vabook.org.

Event details:

• Business Breakfast with Michael Gelb
March 17, 7:30 a.m. Omni Hotel
The author of "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci" will speak on "Thinking Creatively In Tough Times." A pioneer on creative thinking, accelerated learning and innovative leadership, he will be a Batten Fellow at the U.Va. Darden School this spring.
Tickets: $30 or $350 per table

• Festival Luncheon with Michael Malone
March 18, 11:45 a.m. Omni Hotel
Malone is the author of "Four Corners of the Sky: A Novel," "Foolscap: Or, The Stages of Love" and "Handling Sin," among other novels, collections of short stories and non-fiction works. He has received an Edgar Award for mystery writers, an O. Henry prize for short stories and an Emmy for his work as head writer in the 1990's for the daytime drama, "One Life to Live." He currently teaches at Duke University.
Tickets: $50

• Crime Wave Luncheon with Julia Spencer-Fleming
March 20, Noon - 1:30 p.m. Omni Hotel
Spencer-Fleming is an Agatha award nominee and author of seven mysteries, including the most recent, "One Was a Soldier," the latest novel of the Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne series. Her award-winning mysteries have been picked as "community reads" in New York and Maine, where she lives.
Tickets: $50

• Authors Reception
March 20, 6 p.m. CitySpace
This is a reader's chance to rub elbows with some of the writers participating in the book festival. The reception will be held at "CitySpace," the Charlottesville Community Design Center, on the second story of the Market Street Parking Garage overlooking the east end of the Charlottesville Downtown Mall.
Tickets: $35