Take a look, it’s in the returned Sedona Book and Arts Festival.

Organized by Executive Director Mary Pallais, the festival will be held beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, at the Yavapai College Sedona Center.

Sixty-six tables may hold 120 authors — as there may be two per table at some — for three days. Patrons can talk shop, find local books and attend one of the many workshops.

“We have 36 workshops, which is incredible,” Pallais said.

Among those are two workshops aimed at authors who have just finished their work. A publication company representative will give pro tips and will also work on pitches during 15-minute interviews.

For those who prefer reading, there will be plenty of new books to check out, Pallais said.

“A lot of self-help authors are coming in,” she said.

There was a call to artists of other media to join the event, but Pallais said the interest just wasn’t there.

Pallais said that due to the prior year’s cancellation, there were several challenges that arose.

In 2014, Pallais was checking in to see if the previous book organizer would still have the reins for 2015, but by the time she found out he would not, she felt the time frame was too narrow, so she called it, preferring to put on a larger festival the following year.

“I couldn’t put it together in three months. I did try,” Pallais said.

This has led to trouble getting and keeping volunteers, as Pallais said there were issues of faith in whether or not the event would happen this year.

That same doubt crept through some of the participants, but Pallais said the event is firm now.

Handling the event with few volunteers meant taking on 300 emails a day, as well as figuring unexpected hurdles, such as insurance costs which the typical patron never notices.

“We had a lot of challenges that we had to meet that we didn’t know what to expect,” she said.

The large amount of festivals in the Verde Valley didn’t help, either.

“A lot of the volunteers are kind of burnt out here,” she said. “There are a lot of volunteers that help with something else.”

Nevertheless, the idea grew — from a few panels at the Sedona Hub in a couple rooms to what it will be. The festival will now incorporate an entertainment element, bringing in a Cream tribute band Kofi Baker’s Cream Experience, featuring the son of founder Ginger Baker, and wrapping up with the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, Sept. 10.

The book festival entrance fee of $15 includes admission to one panel. Children under 12 years old are free. Tickets to the concert are available online. Tickets to the poetry slam are $5, but all festival attendees get in free if they show their ticket.

Check sedonabookandartsfestival.com for the list of workshops and special events.