The Virginia Festival of the Book wrapped up its weeklong run Sunday having appeared to draw consistently large crowds despite the economic climate.

Charlottesville writer Roulhac B. Toledano’s latest book — a biography of French perfume magnate Francois Coty — was originally meant to focus mainly on fragrance.

A panel discussion about the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday afternoon was dominated by talk of term limits, caseload volume and speculation of whom President Barack Obama might nominate when the next seat on the court opens up.

An infamous 1920s U.S. Supreme Court case that forever ties a Charlottesville native to the practice of forced sterilization has intrigued Paul Lombardo for the last 30 years.

If the movie had been called “My Big Fat Stone Gap Wedding,” it probably would have starred Adriana Trigiani, the author and comedian who’s operating as the funny bone to this year’s Virginia Festival of the Book.

Those conversations paved the way for “Law Touched Our Hearts: A Generation Remembers Brown v. Board of Education,” a book of 40 essays chronicling how people around the nation were affected by the desegregation of schools.

The Virginia Festival of the Book has announced a list of authors who’ve already committed to appear during the 15th annual festival from March 18 to 22.

Karon, one of the Charlottesville area’s best-known and most popular writers, was one of the biggest draws of the 14th annual book festival. She spoke over lunch at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel before hundreds of elegantly attired women mostly of a certain age, with just a few husbands in tow.

The problem with all these newfangled TV journalists, veteran newsman Roger Mudd says, is their look-at-me mentality and their emphasis on soft news about subjects like health, dog training and lifestyles.