"I cannot live without books," Thomas Jefferson famously wrote.
Luckily for area bibliophiles, April 9 could supply them with several years' worth — autographed, as well.
The fifth annual Literary Orange festival at the UC Irvine Student Center will give up to 500 well-read participants a glimpse into the lives of some of their favorite local and famous authors.
"We are thrilled with the caliber and depth of this year's lineup of authors, starting with our fabulous keynote speakers," Assistant County Librarian Paula Bruce said.
This year's keynote speakers will be author and professor Ron Hansen, whose "Atticus" was a finalist for the National Book Award, and T. Jefferson Parker, who launched a successful career as a fiction author while working as a reporter at the Daily Pilot.
Hansen's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and was made into a film starring Brad Pitt.