The finished bronze statue of Northrop Frye will be unveiled on July 14 at the Moncton library. (Courtesy of the Frye Festival)

A sneak peek of a statue celebrating Northrop Frye's centennial birthday was unveiled Monday at Moncton's Capitol Theatre along with a list of authors and literary critics who will be attending this year's Frye Festival.

The clay statue of Frye sitting on a park bench, glancing thoughtfully in the distance with a book perched on his lap is still a work in progress.

The finished bronze statue will be officially unveiled July 14 in front of Moncton's public library, the day Frye would have marked his 100th birthday.

"We've been working on this project for a long time so it's really nice to see him so - looking so great I have to say,” said Dawn Arnold, chair of the Frye Festival.

It's a fitting tribute to the literary giant and Moncton's most famous son, she said.

“For me, he means what can be because he talked a lot about how literature gives us a vision of the way the world could be, it gives us hope and inspiration to make the world a better place. And for me, that's how Frye, that's how he inspires me,” she said.

The statue has been a month-long project and meant several late nights for sculptors Darren Byers and Fred Harrison.

"Like I say, it's one thing to capture a portrait of somebody, but it's more than just the face, it's the whole body movement, and the pose and bringing it together,” said Byers.

A list of authors and literary critics attending this 13th annual Frye Festival April 23-29 was also announced Monday.

It includes Eva Stachniak, author of bestseller The Winter Palace, 2011 Canada Reads winner Terry Fallis, and film critic David Gilmour.