The chance to meet authors of popular books is soon coming to Wisconsin residents, as the first ever Wisconsin Book Festival will take place in downtown Madison Oct. 9-13.

The event, a program of the Wisconsin Humanities Council, will bring over 50 authors from Wisconsin and across the nation to celebrate reading, writing and books.

Dean Bakopoulos, director of the book festival, said he is excited for the Friday Night Festival of Fiction.

Friday night will feature readings at the Orpheum Theater by authors such as Paul Auster, Lorrie Moore, Mark Winegardener, Charles Baxter and Dave Eggers.

Eggers, author of the “You Shall Know Our Velocity,” will also be at Canterbury Booksellers Friday.

“A lot of students are really going to be excited about Dave Eggers,” said Canterbury Booksellers’ Stephanie Good.

Good said she is also hopeful that writers such as Howard Zinn (“Bringing Decmocracy Alive”), Rabbi Howard Kushner (“Living a Life that Matters”), and Tim O’Brien (“July, July”) will be big hits with attendees, but she notes that there are many other great authors involved as well.

“I hope book lovers come away from the festival not only inspired by their favorite authors but also having discovered some wonderful new writers at the beginning of their careers,” Bakopoulos said.

The festival will also include storytelling, readings, lectures, discussions, book signings, exhibits, children’s events and other entertainment for people of all ages.

Speaker Rep. Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, initiated a $50,000 start-up grant from the state’s Department of Public Instruction.

First Lady Laura Bush is also an advocate of book festivals. She helped to start the Texas Book Festival and is now active in Washington, D.C. with the National Festival of the Book.

“I think that literary events like the book festival help to foster discussion among diverse groups of people so that anytime you have a book fest, what you essentially have is a festival of ideas and dialogue,” Bakopoulos said.