Attention book lovers: Your summer event is literally around the corner! That’s right, Books In Boothbay returns on Saturday, July 9 at Boothbay Railway Village Museum, 586 Wiscasset Road/Route 27 in Boothbay. And as you may remember, admission is free. The event has two sessions again this  year: 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m., and will have 20 Maine authors and their latest works.

2022 Maine Literary Award recipients Ellen Booraem and Jennifer Dupree will attend. Booraem won the Book Award for Young People’s Literature with “River Magic,” a middle-grade fantasy about a girl battling a temperamental wizard. Dupree received the Short Works Competition award in nonfiction for “Care and Keeping” and is among the authors on the afternoon roster. Both awards were announced at the May 24 Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance’s awards ceremony.

Here’s the Books In Boothbay lineup as of press time: Morning (9 a.m. to noon) – Hilary Bartlett, Ellen Booraem, David Brook, Sarah Carlson, Laurie Chandler, William Chanler, Katina Currin, Hillary Dow, Irene Drago, Gail Donnovan, Justine Dymond, Kate Flora, S.G. Grant, Kristy Lagaroos, Cynthia Langdon, Elizabeth Miller, Sandra Neily, Jim Nichols, Anne Britting Oleson, Maria Padian, Terri Blen Parker, Jule Selbo and David Sloan.

Afternoon session (1 to 4 p.m.) – Charlotte Agell, William Anthony, Danielle Bannister, Cheryl Blaydon, Rae Chalmers, Matt Cost, Ed Crockett, Charlene D'Avanzo, Luca DiMatteo, Jennifer Dupree, Carol Ekster, Tory Gates, Vaughn Hardacker, Julie Lane, Lincoln County Historical Association, BJ Mangnani, S. Lee Manning, Len Mattano, Shawn McCarthy, Hunter Nichols, Lynne Schmidt, Robert Spencer, Kevin St. Jarre and Alexandra Thompson.

New authors include Julia Lane – maybe with Fred Gosbee – of Castlebay with “Bygone Ballads of Maine, Volume 1 - Songs of Ships and Sailors.” Between the covers are lyrics, melodies and historic notes, so, you don’t have to be a musician to appreciate it!

The Village’s Town Hall will be set up like last year, the first event post-COVID, designed to make authors and book lovers feel as comfortable as possible in these COVID times: Three rows of tables at least six feet apart with two authors at each, except for a table for four in front of the stage area.

Started by Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library (BHML) in 2004 as “Books in Bloom” the event was first held at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. The event grew each year, and a new venue was soon needed. In 2009, Books In Boothbay moved to Boothbay Railway Village Museum. Two-thirds of all the profits from book sales are donated to Boothbay Railway Village Museum and BHML. For more information, visit booksinboothbay.blogspot.com and Facebook for updates.