The 2008 New York Book Festival has named the first round of author appearances for its June 28 event in Central Park.

The free and open-to-the-public daytime festival, which features author readings and signing, book publishing vendors, food, live music, clowns and other special activities for kids, will be held in the lush setting of Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell area. The festival is preceded by an awards ceremony at the Algonquin Hotel honoring the winners of the 2008 competition.

Authors scheduled to appear at the event include:

*** Michael Teitelbaum has written more than 200 children's books based on such pop culture icons as “Men in Black,” “X-Men” and “Spider-Man.” His latest series is “Backyard Sports” (Grosset & Dunlap), a chapter book series based on the #1 sports video game franchise for kids.

*** Former New York Met hero Art Shamsky is the author of “The Magnificent Seasons,” a book about the magical 1969-1970 span when the New York Jets, New York Mets and New York Knicks won championships for the first time. The book follows the exploits of the three teams and chronicles the effect on the people of New York City and the country. “There isn’t a day that goes by that someone doesn’t want to talk to me about the 1969 Mets,” says Shamsky.

*** Brooklynite Nina Malkin is a cat person and author of “An Unlikely Cat Lady: Feral Adventures in the Backyard Jungle” (Globe Pequot), a memoir of her efforts to serve, protect and defend the cats in her backyard. She is also the author of juvenile fiction classics “Orange is the New Pink” and “6x The Uncensored Confessions.”

*** Michael Albert, author of “An Artist’s America” (Henry Holt), covers his noted collage career from the “cerealism” depictions of cereal boxes through his more recent explorations of large scale historical scenes.

*** Beth Schoenfeldt is the cofounder of the online networking and offline support system Women Who Launch, and has now brought her vision out in a new book, “Ladies Who Launch: How To Live Your Dreams and Love Your Life” (St. Martin’s Press), a holistic self-help manifesto.

*** David DeVries, award-winning creator of “Monster Engine,” has spent two decades illustrating for Marvel, DC, Lucas Films and Universal Studios, among others.

*** Abiola Abrams is the author of “Dare,” (Simon & Schuster, 2007), a romp through the world of two women who play by their own rules, and host of BET’s “The Best Shorts,” an independent film competition. Her extensive credits include numerous film and TV appearances.

New York Book Festival competition applications are available online at www.newyorkbookfestival.com until the regular registration deadline of May 25, 2008. Vendor applications may be e-mailed or faxed by contacting our office at NewYorkBookFest@aol.com.

Music performance slots for the 2008 New York Book Festival are being accepted through Sonicbids.com until the deadline.

The New York Book Festival is sponsored by the Larimar St. Croix Writer’s Retreat, Hollywood Creative Directory, eDivvy, Shopanista and Westside Websites # # #