Boasting nine pavilions and stages, this family-friendly festival promises to be another best-seller event for book, music and story lovers of all genres.

Besides FREE admission and plenty of FREE parking in nearby locations, here are 10 more great reasons to check out this year's celebration of story and song:

1. Meet and hear from dozens of writers, including a number of bestselling authors. Among them: Derek Bickerton (Adam's Tongue and Bastard Tongues), Duane "Dog" Chapman (Where Mercy Is Shown Mercy Is Given), Kaui Hart Hemmings (The Descendants), Dan Kois (Facing Future), Clark Little (Shorebreak), Kathleen Norris (Amazing Grace, Acedia), Dana Reinhardt (How to Build a House), Todd Shimoda (Oh! A Mystery of 'Mono no Aware')

2. Ongoing music, dance, drama and storytelling on several stages, including Hawaiian entertainment, two World Dance Concerts coordinated by Willow Chang and a Hawaii Chorus Showcase emceed by Shari Lynn.

3. Just for kids: The Target Keiki Stage and Keiki Activities Pavilion features nonstop entertainment, keiki authors and illustrators and free activities, plus a playground of jumpers for the keiki (nominal charge for jumpers and rides).

4. The Hawaii Council for the Humanities Pavilion presents more than 60 writers and thinkers in 14 panels on TELLING TALES: The Uses of Memory. They will visit issues as diverse as media memory, new visions for museums, Google, Wikipedia and digital libraries, revising history, memory as fiction and poetry, oral history, memory in plays, mythical memory, and nostalgic souvenirs.

5. Hawaii Sustainability & Carbon Offsets a panel discussion with Gov. George Ariyoshi, Erwin Hudelist of Hagadone Printing Co. (the first company in the U.S. to be Carbon-Neutral Certified), and Jeff Mikulina of Blue Planet Foundation. James Koshiba of Kanu Hawaii moderates.

6. The Festival's new ALANA (Awakening) Hawaiian Culture Program, features two full days of leading-edge panels and presentations focused on how Hawaiian culture is evolving, from the Akaka Bill, to the latest discoveries in the Hawaiian Newspaper Project, to contemporary chant, mele and hula.

7. New and used books for sale plus the Bank of Hawaii Book Swap and Outrigger's Hawaiian Music CD Swap.

8. Publishing Workshop, how to navigate the world of publishing and self-publishing.

9. The festival's open-air coffee bar and multi-ethnic food court will keep you fueled for two stimulating days of story and song, including a two-day line-up of story telling and music in the intimate setting of the food court's Caf Talk Story Stage.

10. Free Kani Ka Pila Sunset Concert, sponsored by Outrigger Enterprises Group on Saturday, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. In true island style, artists Mailani, Sean Na`auao, and Maunalua will take the Main Stage for an evening of jamming Hawaiian music.

With so much to do, you might plan to spend the better part of the weekend among fellow book and music lovers!

The non-profit Hawaii Book & Music Festival beneficiaries are Hawaii Literacy and Read To Me International.

For additional information and updates, visit the Festival website at www.hawaiibookandmusicfestival.org