LONG BEACH : Festival of Authors Canceled After 12 Years

The book has been abruptly closed on the Long Beach Festival of Authors, a conference that for 12 years has brought known and emerging women writers to local audiences.

Organizers canceled the festival, which had been scheduled Saturday at the Long Beach Sheraton Hotel, after being told last week that the hotel had been double-booked. The hotel selected a corporate conference instead of the festival, said Charlotte Goforth,president of Literary Women, which organized the event.

Cancellation notices were sent to 600 ticket-holders and the eight authors scheduled to speak.

The hotel’s general manager, Brian Connelly, could not be reached for comment. ITT’s director of media relations, Dolores Sanchez, said hotel officials were trying to save the festival. But a meeting Wednesday between an attorney for Literary Women and a hotel official failed to settle the issue, Goforth said.

The organization’s attorney, John W. Nelson, said Literary Women has lost more than $15,000 due to the cancellation. The group has pledged to refund $24,000 worth of tickets.

“There’s really a feeling among our members that we were bumped because these were, you know, just a bunch of women,” Nelson said. “I see this as a civil-rights issue.”