The Austin Page Turners will announce their chosen author for the Citywide Book Read Thursday at the Austin Public Library during a media event at 11:45 a.m.

This will be the Page Turners’ eighth year for the read.  They started in 2002 with author Sandra Benitez and have since featured Tim O’Brien, Erin Hart, Patricia Hampl, Larry Engelmann, Lorna Landvik and Will Weaver.

Bonnie Rietz, co-chairperson of the 2009 Planning Committee, said the author was chosen one of the five best of the year by Time magazine and was featured on the New York Times Best Seller List.  He is a Minnesota author, like all previous selections.

According to their Web site, Austin Page Turners was formed in 2001 by then-mayor Rietz. The initial planning committee consisted of community members who enjoyed reading and discussing books, and a committee decided to focus on choosing a Minnesota author’s work that would have broad appeal and bring the community together for a great discussion.

Each year the featured author comes to Austin for a series of activities culminating with a community presentation in the evening. All events are free unless otherwise indicated.

For more information about the Austin Page Turners, visit www.austinpubliclibrary.org/apt/apt2.html.