One hundred volunteers, two dozen writers and artists, endless cultural activities, hundreds of publications and thousands of visitors will make up the Fourth Annual International Book Fair in San Diego.

 For the fourth consecutive year the City College opens its doors to the largest book fair in the county with the aim of motivating the community to read.

 “We are very proud to have different writers who come not only to promote and sell their books, but to read their stories, tell them, and chat live with the audience. This surely can help us to promote love for literature among the community,” Virginia Escalante, organizer of the Book Fair said.

 “This year the fair will have a special space for Latinos for the exhibition of Spanish books and publications; the Hispanic artist performances; the participation of Mexico-Americans writers, as well as interesting lectures on Chicano movement, among other activities.

 One of the new features at the fair is that the event will take place in several campus facilities to allow comfortable mobility to the thousands of people that organizers expect to have at this free event.

 Some of the facilities that will host this event are the City College Seville Theater; the World Beat Cultural Center; the activities room, and the dining faculty room among other halls around the campus.

 “Last season nearly six thousand people visited the fair. For this show we wish even more visitors attend and enjoy our events. We are preparing many things, so there will be plenty to do and see,” Escalante said.

 According to the organizer, the most significant factor at the new fair is that attendees will not only find books on all subjects and genres, but also they will have the opportunity to meet authors and learn about contemporary issues as well as enjoy various artistic expressions.

 “This year we have titled the event “Fight Book” (“Lucha Libro” in Spanish) because it’s entertaining for the public and makes them curios. We want people who come to find a lot of entertainment and become familiar with arts: writing; music; painting and film, so it is the reason we have various artistic events,” she added.

 The organizer explained that this exhibition was born with the idea of opening space to the various literary activities that City College has been experiencing.

 “The fair was organized to make room for all creative writing students and teachers so they could release their works, and we open this space to the public. Therefore, we can encourage reading among our community,” Escalante said.

 Among the new features this year at the fair is the children’s section, divided by levels of reading and activities; besides, an area for storytelling in Spanish.

 “We believe ‘Lucha Libro’ will be especially fun for children, because there will be many activities for them, such as painting faces, reading books, crafts and even they could be able to write and create their own books,” Escalante described.

 Also, another attraction is the presence of renowned Mexico-American authors, and local artists like Rudy Acuna, renowned historian, which will present the conference “Chicano Studies: From Activism to Mainstream”.

 “We believe it is very important to have representation of Hispanic artists since the large number of Latinos is in our community. We (Hispanos) would like to see ourselves reflected, this identification is very important for us,” organizer said.

 The event will offer opportunity to speak with 25 writers including: Ana Castillo, Michael Ornelas, David Lucero, Reyna Grande, Gustavo Arellano, Olga Gracía Echeverria, Michelle Smith, Lucia Gbaya-Kanga, among others.

 “Also, we will have talented artists from Tijuana that will give bilingual lectures, concerts and will offer their music,” she added.

 Among the bilingual lectures are: Pablo J Sainz local author with “Crónicas Chuntaras” and “Mica Chueca in Spanish”; plus Jose Lozano with “Once Around the Block: Una Vuelta a la manzana.” Besides, there will be the presentation of the singer Ursula Tania and concerts with vocalist Perla Batalla, among other important presentations.

 “Lucha Libro” will take place from September 28 to October 3 with a number of activities and entertainment. For more information visit www.sdcitybookfair.com