Interest in reading and books remains vibrant throughout North America. One person who is passionate about reading is First Lady Laura Bush, who will continue as honorary chairperson of the Texas Book Festival and will host the brand new National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.
Three book festivals will debut this fall—Amelia Book Island Festival in Florida, Twin Cities Book Festival in Minneapolis and West Virginia Book Festival. Sacramento Reads will not be held this year.
Bumbershoot Literary Arts Festival
Seattle, August 31—September 3
www.bumbershoot.org; (206) 281-7788
Bumbershoot returns to the Seattle Center for its 31st year with more than 2,500 literary and visual artists, including Spalding Gray, Dave Eggers and Sarah Vowell. The new Bookfair Stage will have performances by spoken-word artists such as Big Poppa E, John Sinclair and Jennifer Robin. Some 40,000 visitors are expected.
National Book Festival
Washington, D.C., September 8
www.loc.gov/bookfest; (888) 714-4696
Inspired by First Lady Laura Bush, chair of the Texas Book Festival, the National Book Festival celebrates its inaugural by bringing together more than 40 authors and illustrators, including Sue Grafton, David McCullough, Stephen Ambrose and Natalie Babbitt. Sponsored by the Library of Congress, the festival will feature musical performances, storytelling and other events at the Library and on the Capitol grounds. Attendees can also explore the library's National Digital Library Learning Center.
Log Cabin BookFest
Boise, Idaho, September 13—15
www.logcablit.org; (208) 331-8000
In its third year, the BookFest will host more than 80 writers and vendors at the Log Cabin Literary Center and other venues. On opening night, Native American history authority Alvin Josephy will speak at the Boise Art Museum. Marilynne Robinson will discuss her Idaho-based novel, Housekeeping. Visitors can mingle with authors, purchase books and attend readings by screenwriters, humorists and librettists. Manuscript consultations will be available for poets and writers who submit works in advance.
New York Is Book Country
New York City, September 19—23
www.nyisbookcountry.com; (212) 691-9707
In its 23rd year, NYIBC leads book lovers into the new age of reading with its theme, "2001: A Book Odyssey." More than 350 authors will participate, including Julie Andrews, T.C. Boyle and Caroline Kennedy, who will address a Literary Brunch. A Literary Tea will feature Mary Higgins Clark, Sara Paretsky and others. New York Knicks star Marcus Camby will be this year's grand marshal. Museums, libraries, schools and cultural institutions will host events, with expanded participation by multicultural groups such as Asian-American Writers' Workshop and Studio Museum in Harlem. New this year is a Reading Bee competition for city schoolchildren. On the final day, the annual street fair will take place on Fifth Avenue between 48th and 57th Streets, expecting to draw 250,000 visitors.
Fall for the Book Literary Festival
Fairfax, Va., September 20—23
www.fallforthebook.org; (703) 993-3986
The third annual Fall for the Book Literary Festival will be held in Fairfax City and at George Mason University. Many literati will take part, including Brett Lott, Tobias Wolff and Kaye Gibbons. There will be expert book appraisals, poetry slams, roving storytellers, book sales, writing workshops, puppet shows and a book donation program to benefit literacy groups. This festival is affiliated with Virginia Festival of the Book, held last March in Charlottesville.
Great Salt Lake Book Festival
Salt Lake City, September 22—23
www.utahhumanities.org; (801) 359-9670
Now in its fourth year, this festival is expanding to two days, with 5,000 attendees expected on the Westminster College campus. Reflecting the festival's themes of cultural diversity and nature writing, keynote speakers will be Denise Chavez, James Welch and Terry Tempest Williams. Visitors can also converse with writers such as Arthur Japin, Teresa Jordan and Scott Carrier. Book arts will again be emphasized, with paper-making, bookbinding and sessions on the history of the book.
High Plains Book Festival
Amarillo, Tex., September 27—29
bookfestival.arn.net; (806) 371-5419
This festival has grown to three days in its fourth year. The first two days focus on children's programming, including presentations by writer and outdoorsman Peter Lourie and cowboy poet Dean Downey. The third day will be open to the public at the Amarillo Civic Center. Folks can meet local and regional writers and attend events like Jim Marion Etter's journey into folklore and the youth poets of Cal Farley Boys Ranch.
Great Basin Book Festival
Reno, Nev., September 28—29
www.unr.edu/nhc/bookfest/2001/;
(800) 382-5023
Kicking off the festival's fifth year, Russell Banks will give the keynote address on "The Need for a Creole American Literature." Other participants include Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, poet Syl Cheney-Coker and cowboy poet Paul Zarzyski. At the Downtown Book Fair on September 29, more than 25 authors will take part in readings, panel discussions and workshops. 10,000 visitors are expected.
Baltimore Book Festival
Baltimore, Md., September 28—30
www.baltimoreevents.org/calendar/events/book_index.html; (888) BALTIMORE
Historic Mount Vernon Place will be lit up by poetry readings, music, literary walking tours and more than 175 exhibitors and booksellers. The new Next Really Big Thing stage will star self-published authors. African-American writers, including Kwame Alexander and Travis Hunter, will read on the Sibanye Stage, while on the Food for Thought stage, author-chefs will demonstrate culinary skills. Children can enjoy readings and dress up for the Storybook Parade. Now in its sixth year, the festival will host 60,000 visitors.
Amelia Book Island Festival
Fernandina Beach, Fla., October 5—7
www.bookisland.org; (904) 261-5845
This festival was created by the Nassau County Writers and Poets Society. For its first year, this festival has lined up more than 40 authors, including Louise Bernikow and Bill Reynolds, to lead 36 workshops and readings. Myriad events are planned, from kayak rides and beach walks with authors, to rock-and-roll readings at the Palace Saloon. Murder in the Stacks will be perpetrated at the Fernandina Beach Library by "mystery divas" Susan McBride, Denise Swanson and Lisa Kleinholz. Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca will be performed by the Fernandina Little Theater.
Santa Fe Festival of the Book
Santa Fe, N. Mex., October 9—13
www.santafelibraryfriends.org; (505) 955-4866
Growing from three to five days in its fourth year, this festival is gearing up for 5,000 visitors, 135 authors, 50 vendors and a daylong Book Lover's Fair at the Sweeney Convention Center. Keynote speaker Denise Chavez will perform a staged reading from her new book, Loving Pedro Infante (FSG). Among other events are a new Literary Landmarks event to discuss Willa Cather's work and a performance of Finnish epic "Kalevala" by international story-dancer Johanna Hongell-Darsee.
West Virginia Book Festival
Charleston, W. Va., October 12—13
www.wvhc.com/bookfest/bookfest2.htm; (304) 343-4646
For its debut, this festival has invited more than 60 authors who have a connection to Appalachia and/or West Virginia, including Sharyn McCrumb and Mary Lee Settle. Sylvia Nasar will discuss her book A Beautiful Mind: A Biography of John Forbes Nash, Jr. (Touchstone), and attendees can chat with Robert Morgan about Gap Creek (S&S). Among the 30 scheduled events at the Charleston Civic Center are a romance authors' luncheon, Poetry Alive! performances and a library book sale.
Southern Festival of Books
Nashville, October 12—14
www.tn-humanities.org/sfbmain.htm; (615) 320-7001, ext. 15
Organizers have expanded the venue beyond War Memorial Plaza and the State Capitol Building to include the new downtown Nashville Public Library, adding a third performance stage to showcase theater groups. Among the 200 authors who will participate are Garrison Keillor, Rick Bragg, Roy Blount Jr. and Ann Patchett. Ninety-five publishers, bookstores and other organizations will be exhibitors on the Plaza. In its 13th year, more than 30,000 are expected to attend.
Novello Festival of Reading
Charlotte, N.C., October 12—26
www.novellofestival.net; (704) 336-2074
Now in its 11th year, this two-week festival is one of the longest anywhere, with an expected attendance of 35,000-plus. Norman Mailer, Dick Schaap and former senator Bob Dole are among the participants. Events include Story Story Night, featuring children's storytellers; WordPlay Saturday, a family street festival; and Carolina Writers Night. A Preview will be held on September 24 with a radio broadcast by William Safire discussing "The Freedom to Read" as part of Banned Books Week, and there will also be a finale two weeks after the festival, on November 10, with David Sedaris.
The Latino Book and Family Festival
Los Angeles, October 13—14
San Bernardino/Riverside, Calif., December 1—2
Chicago, December 8—9
(760) 434-7474
After visits to San Diego and New York City last spring, the largest Latino book and cultural festival in the U.S. will touch down at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino and McCormick Place in Chicago. The festival features seven villages with books, authors, experts and retailers. The largest is Book Village, offering books in English and Spanish. Mi Casita Village teaches visitors how to buy, furnish and maintain a home. New this year is Technology Village, providing information on computers and science. Other "villages" focus on career and education, culture and health, and recreation and travel. These festivals have shown year-after-year growth, according to manager Kirk Whisler. The Festival in L.A., with 50,000 to 60,000 projected attendees, is the largest Latino festival, across all categories, in the country.
Boston Globe Book Festival
Boston, October 13—18
(617) 929-2641
Celebrating the written word since 1967, the festival will begin with a Book & Author luncheon at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. F.D. Reeve, Griselda Ohanessian and others will take part in a poetry panel at the Boston Public Library. Readings by authors, including Jill McCorkle and Lani Guinier, and other events will be presented during the remainder of the festival at the library and Barnes & Noble stores. The festival expects 900 attendees.
Concord Festival of Authors
Concord, Mass., October 18—25
(978) 371-3167
This festival will host 3,000 visitors and more than 30 authors, including Sebastian Junger, Tony Hillerman and Pulitzer Prize winner Herbert Bix. An important part of the festival is New Literary Voices, featuring Anne LeClaire and Nina de Gramont. Mystery Night will present G.H. Ephron and Linda Fairstein. Now in its ninth year, this event is hosted by the town of Concord.
Northwest Bookfest
Seattle, October 20—21
www.nwbookfest.org; (206) 378-1883
In its seventh year, this festival will host 30,000 visitors and more than 200 authors including Diane Ackerman, T.C. Boyle, Amos Oz and Ursula K. Le Guin. Held at the Stadium Exhibition Center, there will be 200 exhibitor booths, including the New Author Forum where first-time authors will discuss just-published work. Local and regional writers will discuss Seattle's ethnic history, Boeing, fire and the oyster. The new Word (of Mouth) stage will feature young performance artists, poets and writers. Children can publish their own book at the Mobile Publishing Center. Through voluntary donations, the festival helps to support literacy programs in the Pacific Northwest.
Newport News Celebrates the Book
Newport News, Va., October 26—27
www.newport-news.va.us/library/bookfest.htm; (757) 926-8506
This festival, now in its third year, is sponsored by the Newport News Public Library System. Events include a presentation by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry, author and photographer of Crowns, to be followed by a hat fashion show and a hat-making workshop. Christopher Phillips, author and creator of Socrates Café, will lead a philosophical discussion with visitors.
Twin Cities Book Festival
Minneapolis, October 27
(612) 825-1528 (Rain Taxi)
This new festival will let "the public see firsthand what a dynamic literary community exists in the Twin Cities," said organizer Jana Robbins of Graywolf Press. In addition to readings by 20 to 30 authors and displays by local publishers and magazines (including cosponsor Rain Taxi Review of Books), there will be demonstrations by the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA). Local professors will compete in a Quiz Show, testing their knowledge of Minnesota authors and literature. Events will be held at Open Book, a center for reading, writing and book arts founded by tenants The Loft, Milkweed Editions and MCBA.
Banff Mountain Book Festival
Banff, Alberta, Canada,
October 31—November 4
www.banffmountainfestivals.ca;
(800) 413-8368
Set in the spectacular Canadian Rockies, this festival celebrates the mountain world for the eighth year with speakers, readings, seminars and a presentation of awards for mountain literature. Conservationist Mike Fay will tell of his adventures in Africa. Other guests include climber Simon Yates, author of The Flame of Adventure (Jonathan Cape), and Himalayan veteran Ed Webster, who wrote Snow in the Kingdom (Mountain Imagery). The Mountain Book Fair will offer mountain literature, maps and antiquarian books.
Buckeye Book Fair
Wooster, Ohio, November 3
www.the-daily-record.com/past_issues/bookfair/bookfair_index.html; (330) 262-3244
This fair will bring Ohio readers together with 70 authors, photographers and illustrators for signings and book sales. Featured authors include Charles Affron, biographer of Lillian Gish; cookbook author Marcia Adams; and children's writer Louise Borden. Over its 15 years, the fair has raised more than $150,000 to support libraries and literacy programs; 6,000 people are expected on the campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.
Multicultural Children's Book Festival at the Kennedy Center
Washington, D.C., November 3
www.kennedy-center.org/programs/special _programs/bookfestival/(203) 359-6925
The Kennedy Center will host the sixth annual gathering of authors, illustrators and storytellers whose works represent the cultures and stories of African, African-American, Asian, Caribbean, Latino and Native American peoples. A daylong program will include readings by authors and illustrators such as Joseph Bruchac, Belinda Rochelle, E.B. Lewis and Diane Johnson, as well as celebrity readings and storytelling. An extensive selection of multicultural books will be on sale.
St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading
St. Petersburg, Fla., November 10—11
www.festivalofreading.com; (727) 445-4142
In its ninth year, this festival expects 20,000-plus visitors and offers lectures, discussion groups, writing workshops and a children's area, all held at Eckerd College. The Famous Dead Authors will return, with actors portraying Lewis Carroll, Zora Neale Hurston and Margaret Mitchell. Fifty living authors will participate, including Herbert Bix, Josephine Humphreys and Doug Lansky. Led by Madeline and Angelina the Ballerina, children can march in a Children's Storybook Character Parade. New this year is a Book Donation Program to benefit public school media centers.
Miami Book Fair International
Miami, November 11—18
www.miamibookfair.com; (305) 237-3258
This international gathering, now in its 18th year, is one of America's largest festivals, spanning eight days and greeting a half-million visitors. More than 250 authors, including Mario Vargas Llosa, Anita Diamant and Jeffrey Toobin, will give readings, lectures and q&a sessions. The Ibero-American Authors' Program will feature more than 40 Spanish-speaking authors;. Other events include the popular Caribbean Authors' Program and MindBody Work with presentations on wellness. More than 200 exhibitors will set up shop at Miami-Dade Community College. A three-day street fair will take place November 16—18.
Kentucky Book Fair
Frankfort, Ky., November 17
www.kybookfair.com; (502) 564-8300, ext. 297
To commemorate the fair's 20th year, the U.S. Postal Service will have a special cancellation on the day of the fair. Wendell Berry and Bobbie Ann Mason are among the 130 writers who will participate. A highlight will be writing workshops, taught primarily by Kentucky State University faculty. Last year's topics included romance writing and self-publishing on the Internet. About 3,500 people are expected at the State University's Exum Center. Over the years, more than $200,000 of the fair's profits have been awarded to public libraries and schools.
Texas Book Festival
Austin, Tex., November 17—18
www.austin360.com/texasbookfestival; (512) 477-4055
Expect a Texas-sized lineup, including Rick Bragg, Sarah Bird, Molly Ivins and Shelby Hearon. The State Capitol will be the site for discussions, readings and signings. Ticketed events include a First Edition Literary Gala and Bon Appetit Y'All with chef Charlie Trotter. First Lady Laura Bush, a festival founder, will return as honorary chairman. Since its inception in 1996, the festival has awarded $1.14 million to Texas libraries. Last year more than 25,000 people attended.
Hampton Roads African Heritage Book Expo
Norfolk, Va., November 24
www.melanet.com/eca; (757) 547-5542
Now in its 14th year, this expo will present a Salute to Afro-Virginian Union Army Civil War Veterans and a presentation by the 2nd U.S. Colored Cavalry Reenactors. Readings and workshops will feature authors such as Dr. Jack Felder, Dr. Fasheem Ashanti and Willie Hinton. Among books for sale will be African heritage titles on childhood and education, as well as titles on Nubian, Ethiopian and Egyptian antiquities. 1,500 to 2,000 attendees are expected at the Waterside Marriott Hotel.
