OLD FORT, N.C. (828newsNOW) — McDowell County is officially home to its very own book festival. The first ever McDowell Literary Festival will be held on April 25 in Marion, Old Fort and Little Switzerland, just in time for Independent Bookstore Day.

The festival, which will be free and open to the public, will feature three different bookstores, several regional authors and the McDowell Literary Festival Passport, which rewards festival-goers who visit each bookshop with a raffle ticket for a festival prize basket.

Participating independent bookstores include:

• Bigfoot Books & Brews, 24 E. Court St., Marion

• B Side Bakery & Books, 43 Catawba Ave., Old Fort

• Little Switzerland Books and Beans, 9426 N.C. Hwy. 226-A, Little Switzerland

The central node of the festival will be the Local Author Book Fair, uniting over a dozen writers from around the region from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Parish Hall at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 339 S. Main St., Marion. Find the full line-up here.

The McDowell Literary Festival was engineered as a celebration of the local vitality of independent bookstores.

“This festival grew out of conversations between local booksellers who all believe that independent bookstores are more than retail spaces,” said Stephen Knight, co-owner of Bigfoot Books & Brews, in a press release. “They’re gathering places. They’re creative spaces. And they’re deeply connected to the communities they serve. This felt like a natural way to celebrate that – together.”

Find more details at www.bigfootbooksnc.com/mcdowell-literary-festival.