Fall Book Festivals 2008
compiled by Diane Patrick -- Publishers Weekly, 7/24/2008 7:52:00 AM
Since it’s so steamy outside, here’s our sure-to-cool-you-off annual list of fall book festivals around the country. Between August and November, these 41 festivals celebrate writers, literacy and regional pride. A few changes this season: the Great Salt Lake Book Festival has changed its name to the Utah Humanities Book Festival; the Georgia Literary Festival moves to south Georgia for the first time in its ten years; and after four years of rotation between Nashville and Memphis, the twenty-year-old Southern Festival of Books is returning to Nashville for good. For publishers and booksellers wishing to participate, contact information is provided below; check festival Web sites for complete author lists and more details on participants, activities and educational programs.
AUGUST
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL
Atlanta, Ga., August 29- 31
Third year. Authors: About 250, including Amiri Baraka, Chris Raschka, Pearl Cleage, John Dean, Eric Jerome Dickey, Emily Giffin, Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda, Sara Shepard, Karin Slaughter, Haywood Smith. Activities: keynote address by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins; Friday Field Trips for children; Madeline Children's Parade with a dramatic reading of Madeline and the Cats of Rome by John Bemelmans Marciano, grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans; first-ever teen activities space; children’s stage; cooking demonstrations led by celebrity chefs; 17th Annual Atlanta Rare and Collectible Book Fair.
SEPTEMBER
CHARLOTTE LITERARY FESTIVAL
Charlotte, N.C., September 6
(704) 377-8989
Third year. Authors: Michael and Rickie Beckwith, Michele Andrea Bowen, Terry Brooks, Dale Henry, Mary B. Morrison, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Karrine Steffans, Susan Taylor, Omar Tyree, Terrie Williams, Terri Woods. Activities: Author's Lane for upcoming authors; Kid's Corner; costumed characters Little Bill and Dora the Explorer.
BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL
Brooklyn, N.Y., September 14
(718) 802-3846
email: ekoch@brooklynbp.nyc.gov
Third year. Authors: Dorothy Allison, Russell Banks, Jimmy Breslin, Joan Didion, Jonathan Franzen, Pete Hamill, A.M. Homes, Pico Iyer, Jonathan Lethem, Gail Carson Levine, Terry McMillan, Richard Price, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, Esmeralda Santiago, Mo Willems, Naomi Wolf, Cecily von Ziegesar. Activities: Panel discussions; readings; book signings; children’s area.
THE LATINO BOOK & FAMILY FESTIVALS
Houston, Tex., September 20-21
(760) 434-4484
Sixth year. Authors: TBA. Activities: Author readings and signings in themed “villages” which include music, dancing and capoeira performances.
NEW YORK IS BOOK COUNTRY
New York City, September 21
(646) 654-4701
email: tore.erickson@nielsen.com
The venerable book fair returns! Authors and activities: TBA.
FALL FOR THE BOOK LITERARY FESTIVAL
Fairfax, Va., September 21-26
(703) 993-3986
email: fftb@gmu.edu
Tenth year. Authors: Chinua Achebe, Dan Beachy-Quick, Michael Beschloss, Ethan Canin, Daniel Mark Epstein, Andrew Ferguson, Joshua Wolf Shenk, James L. Swanson, Beckie Weinheimer. Activities: Presentation of the Fairfax Prize to Michael Cunningham; presentation of the Mason Award to Chinua Achebe; staged readings.
WEST TEXAS BOOK & MUSIC FESTIVAL
Abilene, Tex., September 22-27
(325) 665-2424
email: judithkph@suddenlink.net
Eighth year. Authors: Texas authors including Dixie Cash, Mike Cox, Don B. Graham, Joaquin Jackson, Elmer Kelton, Jodi Thomas. Activities: local author reception; Boots & Books Luncheon; workshops; author school visits; a Texas Cookbook Gala fundraiser.
BALTIMORE BOOK FESTIVAL
Baltimore, Md., September 26-28
Thirteenth year. Authors: Daniel Mark Epstein, Walter Mosley, Randal Pinkett, Adam Roberts, Loretta and Linda Sanchez, Laura Schlitz, Ron Suskind, Hudson Talbott, Farnoosh Torabi, Omar Tyree, Iyanla Vanzant, Cornel West, Naomi Wolf, Martin Yan. Activities: Literary Salons with authors; Children's Bookstore Stage; Food for Thought Stage; Citylit Stage; Creative Café; Literary Walking Tours; Storytelling Tent; School of Lit.
SOUTH DAKOTA FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
Sioux Falls, S. Dak., September 26-28
(605) 688-6113
Sixth year. Authors: Ann Bausum, Kenneth Davis, Pete Dexter, Michael Dirda, Leif Enger, Louise Erdrich, Betty Fussell, Beverly Lowry, Susan Power, Obert Skye, Thrity Umrigar, John Waugh. Activities: Literary Feast; One Book Reception with Louise Erdrich; school visits; children’s/young adult event with Obert Skye; writer’s support sessions; over sixty presenters participating in readings, discussions, poetry slams, coffeehouse conversations, and interactive events.
AUTUMN BOOK FESTIVAL
Fostoria, Ohio, September 27
(419) 377-3814
email: nlc_tcog7@yahoo.com
Second year. Authors: Debbie Alferio, John Becker, Trish Berg, Tori Carrington, Bob Casey, Hazel Chapman, Becky Conrad, Fern Cook, Kurt David, Paul Harrington, Hooly McCain, Bonnie Swartz, Robert Swiatek. Activities: book signing, authors reading, guest speakers.
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL
Washington, D.C., September 27
(888) 714-4696
email: bookfest@loc.gov
Eighth year. Authors: About 70, including Tiki Barber, Mary Brigid Barrett, Geraldine Brooks, Joseph Bruchac, Kimberly Dozier, Sharon Draper, Walter Issacson, David Maraniss, Salman Rushdie, Bob Schieffer, Daniel Schorr, Jon Scieszka, Paul Theroux, Dionne Warwick. Activities: Themed pavilions (fiction & mystery, teens & children, poetry, etc.); storybook and television characters.
SANTA BARBARA BOOK & AUTHOR FESTIVAL
Santa Barbara, Calif., September 27
(805) 965-3023
email: marcia@sbchamber.org
Tenth year. Authors: TBA. Activities: author presentations; bookseller’s fair; presentation of Ross MacDonald Award, Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature and Glenna Luschei Poetry Fellowship Award.
WEST HOLLYWOOD BOOK FAIR
Los Angeles, Calif., September 28
(323) 848-6400
Seventh year. Authors: More than 400, TBA. Activities: More than 100 panels and book signings; Kids’ Stage with storytelling, children’s authors and performances; Indie Comics Creators pavilion; writing workshops. Expected attendance: more than 25,000.
OCTOBER
NOVELLO FESTIVAL OF READING
Charlotte, N.C., October 2-30
(704) 336-2725
Eighteenth year. Authors: Alison Bechdel, Lucia Gonzalez, Deborah Gregory, Margaret Haddix, Khaled Hosseini, Cynthia Kadohata, Armistead Maupin, Sara Paretsky, Nancy Pearl, Harvey Pekar, Charles Smith, Jr., Scott Turow, Colson Whitehead. Activities: Carolina Writers Night; Book Brunch; WordPlay Saturday; African American Poetry Celebration; Evenings With... various authors.
AMELIA ISLAND BOOK FESTIVAL
Amelia Island, Fla., October 3-5
(904) 491-8176
Eighth year. Authors: More than 30, including Louis Bayard, Steve Berry, Mike Brewster, Rodney L. Hurst Sr., Stephanie and Brad Mayberry, J.L. Miles, Michelle Monkou, Laura Moriarty, Marsha Dean Phelts, Nancy Schleifer. Activities: author chats; readings; workshops; literary luncheon with a featured author; Words Rock! teen event with readings by young adult authors, poets, and local students; Rock ‘n’ Roll readings.
NEW YORKER FESTIVAL
New York, N.Y., October 3-5
Ninth year. Activities: interviews (including Stephen Colbert; Senator Chuck Hagel; Elizabeth Edwards; Clint Eastwood; Paul Rudd; Mary-Louise Parker; Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello; soprano Dawn Upshaw; Tommy Lee Jones; Alice Munro; Seamus Heaney; Haruki Murakami and others); screenings (Oliver Stone discusses his work with David Denby with clips from his upcoming film, W); readings; musical performances; debates; excursions around the city. Among the panels: Ken Auletta moderates “Covering the Candidates” with The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates, the New York Times’s Bill Keller, the Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan, and Slate’s Jack Shafer; a panel on political humor will feature The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's Samantha Bee and John Oliver; Saturday Night Live writer James Downey; humor writer Andy Borowitz; and Allison Silverman, the executive producer of The Colbert Report. Friday Night Fiction events will feature T. Coraghessen Boyle, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jhumpa Lahiri, Roddy Doyle, Anne Enright, Tobias Wolff , Sherman Alexie, Shalom Auslander, Junot Díaz, Peter Carey, Hari Kunzru, Gary Shteyngart, Matthew Klam, Elmore Leonard, and Joyce Carol Oates.
LITQUAKE
San Francisco, Calif. October 3-11
(415) 750-1497
Ninth year. Authors: Jonathan Ames, Dave Eggers, Diane Johnson, Beth Lisick, Tom Perrotta, Vendala Vida, Tobias Wolff, Cintra Wilson and over 300 others. Activities: Second annual Barbary Coast Award for lifetime literary achievement presented to Tobias Wolff; “Tales: An Evening with Armistead and Friends"; a Literary Death Match; Kidquake; Porchlight Storytelling Series; closing night Lit Crawl through more than 40 venues in the Mission District. Last year’s attendance: more than 10,000.
COLLINGSWOOD BOOK FESTIVAL
Collingswood, N.J., October 4
email: jean@collingswoodbookfestival.com
Sixth year. Authors: Danny and Kim Adlerman (aka Kin Eagle), James Ball, Keith Donohue, Peggy Ehrhart, Jack Getze, Dan Gutman, Patti Lawson, Jeff Markowitz, Sal Paolantonio, Elizabeth Royte, Eric Weiner. Activities: author presentations; booksellers; storytellers, poetry readings; workshops; exhibitors; performance stages.
LOUISIANA BOOK FESTIVAL
Baton Rouge, La., October 4
(225) 219-9503
email: rwilson@state.lib.la.us
Seventh year. Authors: More than 100, including Walter G. Cowan, Scott Douglas, Michael Gates Gill, Philip Arthur Gould, Immaculée Ilibagiza, Pam Kaster, Bev Marshall, James Nolan, Jack Pendarvis, Tom Piazza, Kim Powers, George Singleton, Susan Spicer. Activities: Writing Wordshops; authors' party; free book appraisals; book signing sessions; Young Readers' Pavilion.
ORANGE COUNTY CHILDREN'S BOOK FESTIVAL
Costa Mesa, Calif., October 5
email: michelle@kidsbookfestival.com
Fifth year. Authors: Jamie Lee Curtis, Barney Saltzberg, others TBA. Activities: Multiple stages for author and illustrator presentations; entertainment; panel discussions; face painting; clowns; musicians; readings; drawings.
SOUTHERN FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
Nashville, Tenn., October 10-12
(615) 770-0006
email: paul@humanitiestennessee.org
Twentieth year. Authors: More than 250, including Sherman Alexie, Rick Bragg, Beth Ann Fennelly, Ellen Gilchrist, Dana Jennings, Billie Letts, Honor Moore, Ann Patchett, Robert Rummel-Hudson. Activities: Events on the Café Stage, the Cooking Stage and the Children's Stage.
TWIN CITIES BOOK FESTIVAL
Minneapolis, Minn., October 11
email: info@raintaxi.com
Eighth year. Authors: TBA. Activities: Author readings and talks; book arts demonstrations by the Minnesota Center for Book Arts; annual used book sale and literary magazine fair.
WEST VIRGINIA BOOK FESTIVAL
Charleston, W. Va., October 11-12
(304) 343-4646, ext. 246
email: pam.may@kanawha.lib.wv.us
Eighth year. Authors: Jennifer Bradbury, Richard Paul Evans, Bob McLeod, Ann Pancake, Chris Soentpiet, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Anna Egan Smucker, Cheryl Ware. Activities: Workshops; readings; panel discussions; storytelling concert; children's activities; vendors; a used book sale.
WISCONSIN BOOK FESTIVAL
Madison, Wis., October 15-19
(608) 262-0706
email: alison@wisconsinbookfestival.org
Seventh year. Authors: Ann Beattie, Judy Blume, Mary Gordon, David Maraniss, Kadir Nelson, Andrew Revkin, Marilynne Robinson, Patricia Smith. Activities: Readings, lectures, book discussions, writing workshops, live interviews, and children's events.
NEBRASKA BOOK FESTIVAL
Lincoln, Ne., October 17-18
(800) 742-7691
email: mcartwright@nlc.state.ne.us
Twentieth year. Authors: Loren Ghiglione, Kent Haruf, Mary Jackson, Paul Johnsgard, Milton Wolf and others. Activities: Keynote address by Kent Haruf; author signings; panels on Nebraska Literary Landscape and Science Fiction; children’s literacy program; reception honoring Nebraska writers; slam poetry contests; writers workshop.
MONTANA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK
Missoula, Mont., October 23-25
(406) 243-6022
email: kim.anderson@umontana.edu
Ninth year. Authors: Rick Bass, Mary Clearman Blew, James Lee Burke, Andre Dubus III, , William Kittredge, Thomas McGuane, Annick Smith and 100 others. Activities: Publishing workshops; gala readings; Celebrity Define-a-Thon; One Book Montana events with Hattie Big Sky author Kirby Larson; events for kids and young adults.
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES FESTIVAL OF READING
St. Petersburg, Fla., October 24-25
(727) 893-8523
email: lkg426@verizon.net
Sixteenth year. Authors: Over 50, including Robert Olen Butler, Richard Paul Evans, Alexandra Kerry, Dennis Lehane, Sandra Tsing Loh, Susan Orlean, Ridley Pearson, Jeff Shaara, Lisa Unger. Activities: Children’s Story Land Stage; Big Top Story Tent; A Novel Night author reception; Book Market area.
GEORGIA LITERARY FESTIVAL
Bainbridge, Ga., Oct. 25
(229) 248-2590
email: bainbooknook@yahoo.com
Tenth year. Authors: Nearly two dozen authors and illustrators with connections to the area, including Mary Kay Andrews, Jay Barbree, Philip D. Beidler, Douglas Blackmon, Janice Daugharty, Bobby Dews, Frye Gaillard, Claire Matturo, Jack McDevitt, Sonny Sammons, Michael P. White. Activities: readings, book signings, children’s activities, poetry workshops, a special performance about Georgia’s first Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and vendors and exhibitors from around the Southeast.
UTAH HUMANITIES BOOK FESTIVAL
Salt Lake City, Utah, October 25
(801) 359-9670
email: batt@utahhumanities.org
Eleventh year (formerly known as Great Salt Lake Book Festival). Authors: Idris Anderson, Will Bagley, Erika Bsumek, Ann Cannon, Wanda Coleman, Katharine Coles, Jared Farmer, Paul Fleischman, Sherri Haab, T.J. Leyden, Jeffrey McCarthy, Richard Peck, Jana Richman, Robert C. Steensma, Stephen Trimble, Terry Tempest Williams, Sara Zarr. Activities: Panels, readings, performances, awards, book sales and signings; letterpress printing, bookmaking and papermaking; teen workshops on making “altered books” and ’zines; writing workshops for children and seniors; a Rare Books Roadshow.
THE AUSTIN JEWISH COMMUNITY BOOK FAIR
Austin, Tex., October 29 - November 9
(512) 735-8076
Twenty-fifth year. Authors: Martin Fletcher, Evan Handler, Rabbi Brad Hirschfeld, Madeleine Kunin, Michael Oren, Alan Zweibel. Activities: book lovers’ luncheon; fiction nights; events with rabbis; Kids’ Day; Israeli authors.
NOVEMBER
BUCKEYE BOOK FAIR
Wooster, Ohio, November 1
(330) 262-3244
email: bbfmgr@woosterbook.com
Twenty-first year. Authors: Chip Bok, David Catrow, David Giffels, Dandi Daley Mackall, Erin McCarthy, Shelley Pearsall, Les Roberts, Michael Scharf, Bill Thompson III. Activities: Over 100 Ohio authors, illustrators, and photographers signing books and meeting their readers.
DELAWARE BOOK FESTIVAL
Dover, Del., November 1
(302) 739-4748, ext. 113
Third year. Authors: More than 35, TBA. Activities: workshops on poetry, blogs, and getting published; storybook characters; book repair and appraisal workshops.
MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL
Washington, D.C., November 1
(800) 444-1324, ext. 8849
Twelfth year. Authors: TBA. Activities: Meet and greet authors; readings; book signings; book sale; storytelling; dance workshops.
TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL
Austin, Tex., November 1-2
(512) 477-4055
Thirteenth year. Authors: More than 200, including Christopher Buckley, Robert Caro, Alexandra Fuller, Susan Orlean, R.L. Stine. Activities: panels, activities and demonstrations in the children's demonstration tent, children's entertainment tent, cooking tent, exhibition tent and music tent. Expected attendance: more than 45,000.
VEGAS VALLEY BOOK FESTIVAL
Las Vegas, Nev., November 6-8
email: info@vegasvalleybookfest.org
Seventh year. Authors: TBA. Activities: Readings; book discussions; workshops; spoken word performances.
WORDSTOCK
Portland, Ore., November 7-9
(503) 546-1012
email: gail@wordstockfestival.com
Fourth year. Authors: About 200, TBA. Activities: Night of Literary Feasts; author readings; seven featured stages offering fiction, nonfiction, poetry, workshops, music, food; children's corner; short fiction competition; Wordstock for Writers and Wordstock for Teachers writing workshops.
ROCHESTER CHILDREN'S BOOK FESTIVAL
Rochester, N.Y., November 8
(585) 671-0441
email: cjohmann@rochester.rr.com
Twelfth year. Authors: More than forty, including Mary Jane & Herm Auch, Bruce Coville, Cynthia DeFelice, James Howe, Michelle Knudsen, Linda Sue Park, Tamora Pierce, and Paul Zelinsky. Activities: Readings; workshops; writing and illustrating presentations for all ages; book-related arts & crafts for pre-K-6th grade; special programs just for teens; storytelling by the Blackstorytelling League of Rochester.
CONNECTICUT CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR
Storrs, Conn., November 8-9
(860) 486-1307
email: staubach@uconnvm.uconn.edu
Seventeenth year. Authors: Tomie dePaola, David Johnson, Alan Katz, Steven Kellogg, Barry Moser, Robert Andrew Parker, Jerry Pinkney, Lane Smith, Bob Shea, Javaka Steptoe, Daniel Waters. Activities: Breakfast with Clifford the Big Red Dog; storytelling; crafts; costumed characters Corduroy, Lyle Lyle Crocodile, Skippyjon Jones, Strega Nona, Wild Thing.
THE LATINO BOOK & FAMILY FESTIVALS
Chicago, Ill., November 8-9
(760) 434-4484
Tenth year. Authors: TBA. Activities: Author readings and signings in themed “villages” which include music, dancing and capoeira performances.
MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL
Miami, Fla., November 9-16
(305) 237-3258
email: wbookfair@mdc.edu
Twenty-fifth year. Authors: TBA. Activities: Evenings With… reading series; Antiquarian Annex; Children’s Alley; International Village showcasing various cultures; Ibero-American Author program featuring authors from Latin America and Spain.
KENTUCKY BOOK FAIR
Frankfort, Ky., November 15
(502) 564-8300, ext. 297
Twenty-seventh year. Authors: TBA. Activities: symposiums; children’s activities including face painting, costumed characters and informal readings.
NEW ORLEANS BOOKFAIR
New Orleans, La., November 15
(504) 813-6163
email: nolabookfair@gmail.com
Seventh year. Authors: TBA. Activities: Author readings; book arts show; after-after party at a secret location; live bands; kids’ activity area.
