Do you think you are a good speller?
You can test your abilities by spelling a word given to you by one of the best spellers around — 12-year-old Ananya Vinay— at Saturday’s sixth annual Great Valley Bookfest.
The free event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley, Union Road and the 120 Bypass.
Vinay is the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion. The Fresno seventh grader will be at the Word Challenge booth near the Author’s Alley at this year’s event. Those attending can accept a challenge to see if they can spell a word. If they can, they will win a free prize.
“It’s a fun touch that we were able to add,” said Toni Raymus, who founded the Great Valley Bookfest. “When we contacted Ananya she was more than thrilled to be a part of the Bookfest.”
Ananya is a three-time California spelling bee champion. She won the national competition this year by outlasting 290 other spellers. Her win came in the 21st round when the other remaining contestant failed to spell “marocain” correctly but she did. Marocain is a French word describing a fabric used in dresses consisting of silk and rayon.
More than 70 authors are involved in this year’s Bookfest that includes the Author’s Alley where you can meet authors one-on-one as well as buy their books. There is also a separate Children’s Pavilion here authors will interact with kids throughout the day.
There are also two authors all day in the Comic Con tent.
The event also features assorted vendors, a children’s play area with bounce houses and such provided by New Life Church, Barnes & Nobles book sales as well as used book sales.
The bookfest has three stages with events — the Main Stage, Poets & Art, and Writers Nook.

Main Stage
10 to 11 a.m. — Junior Chef Chop-Off featuring fifth and sixth graders
11:10 to 10:50 a.m. — The Children’s Panel featuring six authors
Noon to 12:45 p.m. — Young Adult Panel featuring five authors
12:50 to 1:30 p.m. — Mystery & Thriller Pane featuring six authors
1:40 to 2:10 p.m. — Romance Panel featuring four authors
2:20 to 3 p.m. — Non-fiction panel featuring five authors
3 to 4 pm. — Junior Chef Cop-Off featuring seventh and eighth graders.

Poets & Arts
10:30 to 11:20 a.m. —Arts & Poetry featuring four speakers
11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. — New Poets Panel featuring five poets
12:30 to 1 p.m. — Featured Poet Indigo Moor
1:10 to 2 p.m. — Poet Laureates featuring four honored poets
2:10 to 3 p.m. — Slam Poetry/Youth Poetry

Writers’ Nook
10:30 to 11:30 a.m. — Memoir Making Panel featuring three authors
Noon to 12:30 p.m. — From Manuscript to Publication Panel featuring five authors
1:15 to 1:45 p.m. — Panel on Crafting Convincing Characters featuring three authors
2:15 to 2:45 p.m. — Panel on Getting the Details Right featuring five authors