The Tucson Festival of Books, a community-wide celebration of literature that exists to improve literacy among children and adults, will observe its 10th anniversary this year. Attendance for the two-day March event on the University of Arizona campus now exceeds 100,000, and the festival is believed to be the third-largest book festival in the country.

Scott Turow, Mitch Albom, Dave Barry and Amy Tan are among the nationally prominent authors scheduled as presenters at the festival, which also includes the popular Science City, sponsored by the UA's BIO5 Institute and College of Science in association with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and in partnership with the Arizona SciTech Festival.

Science City's six themed "neighborhoods" include the Science of Everyday Life, Science of the Natural World, Science of Tomorrow, Science of Food, Science of You, and Science in Art. In those areas, more than 90 unique participant groups will represent various campus units, local businesses, and industry and nonprofit organizations. This year, in celebration of the festival's 10th anniversary, visitors can experience the "Power of 10" by earning a mini magnifying glass upon completion of a scavenger hunt through Science City.

Faculty, students, staff and volunteers from a host of UA programs — including Biosphere 2, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and the School of Mind, Brain and Behavior — will be on hand in Science City to share their passion for science, technology and innovation. In addition, the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium and Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research will be open to the public for tours.

UA researchers will share their work through interactive presentations on the Science Café stage, and panels of renowned science authors will talk about their books and trending science topics on the Science Stage. Highlights will include:

• "Mind Over Matter: Exploring Inner and Outer Spaces" with Leland Melvin, Mark Nelson and Jennifer Swanson

• "The Science of First Impressions" with Alexander Todorov

• "Woman-Ochre, A Stolen De Kooning Painting Comes Home" with Nancy Odegaard

• "Conquering Pain" with Rajesh Khanna

• "Animals and the People Who Love Them" with Theodore Fleming, Elena Passarello and Brandon Keim

• "The Minds of Machines" with Mihai Surdeanu

• "Finding the Silent Killer – Imaging Cancer" with Jennifer Barton

Also at this year's festival, the tent for the UA's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences will showcase a variety of SBS and guest authors, including noted feminist scholar bell hooks. The scheduled time for hooks' appearance is 1 p.m. Sunday (with UA English professors Fenton Johnson and Stephanie Troutman).