Best-selling authors Lisa See and Paula McLain will serve as a keynote speaker at the sixth annual Literary Orange on Saturday, April 14, 2012, 9am - 4pm, at the UCI Student Center. They will be joined by over 50 award-winning authors participating on panels covering a variety of genres including fiction, non-fiction, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, memoir, war, and law.

In her beloved New York Times bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, Shanghai Girls, and Dreams of Joy, Lisa See has brilliantly illuminated the potent bonds of mother love, romantic love, and love of country. She has always been intrigued by stories that have been lost, forgotten, or deliberately covered up, whether in the past or happening right now in the world today. Most recently, she has expanded her success to film, with the release of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan as a major motion picture in the summer of 2011.

Literary Orange offers attendees the opportunity to engage with an exciting array of authors, ask questions, purchase books and have them signed, and learn about the writing process.

In contrast, Cleveland author Paula McLain has only recently tasted best-seller success with "The Paris Wife," her second novel and fifth book overall. For years, McLain struggled to make a living as a writer. And then, in 2011, "The Paris Wife" was published, and sales took off. The book, a fictionalized first-person account of life with Ernest Hemingway by first wife, Hadley, has been on The New York Times best-seller list for many weeks. It has been a tortuous journey for the former Paula Solley, from a fractured childhood in her native Fresno, Calif., to the great achievements of 2011. She and her two sisters lived in foster homes after being abandoned by their parents -- a life detailed in her memoir, "Like Family." Until her recent success, McLain was on welfare her whole life, below the poverty level, and then on student loans.

Presented by the UCI Libraries and the OC Public Libraries, Literary Orange offers attendees the opportunity to engage with an exciting array of authors, ask questions, purchase books and have them signed, and learn about the writing process. Close to 500 book lovers attended Literary Orange 2011 to hear from keynote speakers T. Jefferson Parker and Ron Hansen, and over 50 award-winning authors who participated on 15 panels of all genres.

Slideshow From Literary Orange 2011

Volunteer and sponsorship opportunities are available for companies and individuals who would like to support this valuable event for the campus and the community. For more information, please visit www.literaryorange.org or contact Julie Sully at jsully@uci.edu or 949-824-4658.