The voice of Elmo will be heard in Bowling Green on Saturday.

But instead of asking to be tickled, it will be answering questions.

More than 150 authors will speak at this year’s Southern Kentucky Book Fest on Saturday at the Sloan Convention Center, according to a Western press release. It’s the 11th year the event has taken place.

Kevin Clash, the man behind the Muppet Elmo, will speak at the festival. He has been a puppeteer for “Sesame Street” for more than 25 years, according to the press release.

He tells his story in “My Life as a Furry Red Monster,” according to the press release.

Western libraries, Warren County libraries and Barnes & Noble Booksellers are partnering together to bring the free literary event and its speakers to Bowling Green, according to the press release.

Tracy Harkins, the community outreach manager for Western’s libraries, said she’s excited for this year’s events and thinks every author is going to spark somebody’s interests.

Harkins said this year’s event is going to be different from past events because of the variety of authors and the number of authors with ties to Kentucky.

“There will be authors to appeal to children, ‘tween’ and adult readers,” she said.

Harkins said she’s proud that the three organizations are partnering together to promote literacy.

Jill Conner Browne, author of “The Sweet Potato Queens,” Ellen Hopkins, a bestselling teen author and Dana Canedy, an author from Kentucky, will also speak at the event, said Natalie Boddeker, the manager at Barnes & Noble.

Browne, a New York Times bestselling author, has written six “Sweet Potato Queen” books, Boddeker said.

Janice Ian, a singer-songwriter, will also be at the event promoting her new autobiography “Society’s Child,” Boddeker said.

Participating Book Fest authors will be offering several writing sessions at no cost to the public at the Kentucky Writers Conference at South Campus this Friday, according to the press release.