LONG BEACH : Festival Sponsors Settle Dispute With Hotel

Sponsors of an authors’ festival that was canceled in the wake of problems with hotel reservations have settled their dispute with the Long Beach Sheraton Hotel.

Literary Women, which has sponsored the festival for 12 years, recently announced the settlement with the hotel’s parent corporation, ITT Sheraton. Neither side would reveal terms of the agreement, but it is unlikely that the Festival of Authors will be rescheduled this year, said Charlotte Goforth, president of Literary Women. The 600 tickets sold for this year’s festival will be refunded, Goforth said.

The Feb. 5 event was canceled after the organization discovered that the hotel had booked the festival and a corporate meeting for the same date in the hotel’s main ballroom and meeting rooms. The hotel chose to honor the corporate booking, Goforth said. Literary Women then threatened to sue the hotel.