Author/comedian/poet/radio guy Maurice Jovan and Tara Richter, president of Richter Publishing, will be at the Fifth Annual Book Festival on Nov. 2. The free event is open to the public. Credit: Tara Richter

Local stand-up Mike Rivera is one of the comedians who have authored books for Richter Publishing. Credit: Tara Richter
You can see local comedians at comedy clubs and other venues that host stand-up performances. You can hear them on satellite and terrestrial radio, or on one of their podcasts.

Thanks to a local publisher, you can read them as well. 

Richter Publishing, a Clearwater-based company, has a stable of diverse authors with a variety of backgrounds and careers. One of those careers is stand-up comedy, and two well-known talents (Mike Rivera and Maurice Jovan) have published books under their banner. Jovan will be at the company's Fifth Annual Book Festival, held on Nov. 2 at Station Square Creative Suites in Clearwater. 

While writing a book affords a comedian a new medium to reach an audience, it also allows them to branch out beyond the traditional setup/punchline format fans see on stage. For example, Rivera's book, From Stand-Up Comedian to Stand-Up Teacher, fuses the disciplines of teaching and comedy to present new methods for reaching students in the modern classroom.  

Author/comedian/poet/radio guy Maurice Jovan and Tara Richter, president of Richter Publishing, will be at the Fifth Annual Book Festival on Nov. 2. The free event is open to the public. Credit: Tara Richter
Jovan, who is also a radio personality on 102.5 FM The Bone, has written two books. And they might surprise you: They aren't funny at all. A Portion of the Eternal and This Plane is Going to Crash deviate about as much as possible from stand-up comedy. One is a novel, and the other a collection of poetry. So, no, not comedy — but they allow readers to see them as more than folks who tell jokes. 

The festival will feature nearly two dozen authors who have published memoirs, novels, advice, humorous anecdotes and serious stories. It's free, although you should bring money for books. The event will include live music, street performers, food and drinks. It's also a chance to meet authors like Jovan. He's not there to perform, though. So handshakes are fine; heckling is not.  

Fifth Annual Book Festival | Station Square Creative Suites, 628 Cleveland St., Clearwater | Nov. 2: 5:30-8:30 p.m. | Learn more about the book festival. 

This article appears in Oct 25 – Nov 1, 2018.