Authors at this year’s Berkshire Blueberry and Book Festival

This year’s 2024 Berkshire Blueberry and Book Festival, set for July 20, has several local authors who will share the day with guests; some returning, and some are new to the festival this year. 

One of the festival’s newest authors is Peter Gordon. Gordon, who has a BA in history, is the current Historian for the Town of Owego. He has spent 40 years in academic publishing, first with Macmillan Publishing, retiring as Senior Editor for Science and Engineering at Cambridge University Press, in America. 

Peter’s first writing venture was a set of 95 biographies produced for the Virtual Tour of Evergreen Cemetery, located in Owego, N.Y. This venture was then expanded to 165 and published in book form as An Evergreen Companion. 

He has published, through Amazon, nine books for local authors including reprints of local history. He is currently republishing the Western Novels of Apalachin writer Eugene Manlove Rhodes, “the Cowboy Chronicler.”

Another new author is poet Belknap, who resides in Central New York. Lisa visited the 2023 festival, liked what she saw, and decided to become a part of it. She describes herself is a Christian poet. She has degrees in music education and reading. Her poem, “Little Baby King”, was featured in the 2015 Christmas issue of the War Cry magazine with over 1.5 million copies. This poem is included in Unto Us: A Christmas Poetry Book, with 24 other poems and illustrations by the author and will be for sale at the Blueberry and Book Festival this year. Seasons of Love: Woodland Poems of God’s Love, a collection of 29 poems and original artwork by the author, will also be available.

After 35 years in engineering, returning author Lenora Riegel spends her time writing and drawing her ‘Finger Lakes Tales’ for children, where she exemplifies coping skills, mindfulness, authenticity, bravery, and a growth mindset. She feels reading together helps children deal with stress and anxiety. 

Pepper, in Pepper The Salt Potato, learns to accept himself for who he is. In Quaver Has a Feeling, Quaver explores his emotions through music in collaboration with Binghamton Philharmonic’s Wallenberg Legacy Project. 

Stuffie Sleepover at the Library was done in collaboration with her five-year-old grandson. He picked the topic, and they worked together! Her latest venture is collaboration with Randi Mahomes and Teresa Jane for “Play Together”, which is a story about faith, friends, and fun. You can check out all her picture books as well as her two middle grade novels at the Blueberry and Books Festival or online at siphrebooks.com. 

Fortunately for festival goers, Charles Yaple will be returning to our festival this year. After retiring from teaching environmental and outdoor education courses for 46 years at SUNY Cortland, Richford native Charles Yaple is the author of three books, Foxey Brown: An Adirondack Outlaw, Hermit, and Guide (2011); Jacob’s Land: Revolutionary War Soldiers, Schemers, Scoundrels, and the Settling of New York’s Frontier (2016); and The Tree of Us: Richford Boys Who Changed the World and What They Left Behind (July 2023).  

His latest work, The Tree of Us, follows the lives of three men from the steeply forested hills of Richford, N.Y. who changed the world. The course of each life is instructive, particularly to readers seeking a measure of happiness and a wish to leave behind a planet that will enable others the same opportunity.

This year will mark Berkshire native Pamela Morris’ fifth appearance at the Blueberry and Book Festival. This year she’s added a new title, Death At The Devil’s Elbow, to her growing library of Horror-tilted Murder Mysteries, a tale inspired by Tioga County’s very own Devil’s Elbow, just west of Owego. Alongside similarly themed titles, Pamela has a short story collection of twisted fairy tales, Not Your Grandma’s Fairy Tales, and several other haunting and horror-rich novels from beyond the grave such as Dark Hollow Road. 

Despite loving all things creepy and spooky, Pamela also writes and illustrates colorful and educational children’s books featuring the many adventures and friends of Bill, The Worm. All her titles will be available at the festival.

Award-winning author Carol Henry is a travel writer, local photo / journalist, and the Historian for the Town and Village of Candor. Her light romantic suspense adventures, “Connection Series”, are described as “Indiana Jones meets Romancing the Stone,” and reflect her own travels to various international locations.  

Her other novels repertoire includes American historical, holiday, and contemporary light romance novels. She has written several books on the history of the area, as well as an historical novel, Ribbons of Steel, with Candor history woven into it.  

At the festival, Carol will be featuring her Family Favorites Cookbook with several generations of family favorites and her latest release, Arctic Connection, as well as her other works.  

Visit her website at www.carolhenry.org to check out more of her work.

Also available for sale located in the lower level of the Community Center will be additional books by local authors Lynn Acton, photographer; Jerry Acton; Ray Hunt and Maurice Stoughton; Jerry Marsh; and Eileen Morock; as well as information on the eBooks of Ginny Osborn.