Springing into Book Festivals

by

Lauren Roberts

Allergies are not the only thing to break out once spring arrives. Book festivals are blooming, and for book lovers, readers and writers that couldn’t be better news. If you live in one of the states listed below, make your plans now to attend. Most of the festivals listed  take place in April or May, but one is in late March and one in June.

There are numerous good reasons to go to a book festival: to show your support for books and literacy, to encourage the publishing of good writing, to let your children know that books and reading are important. Spending time around authors, booksellers, publishers, writers and other readers is a fantastic way to connect your reading to that of others and to have fun. With good weather, it’s wonderful to spend some time outdoors with new books. Try it; I promise you will like it.

ALABAMA
Alabama Bound is a book and author festival held in Birmingham’s Central Library on Saturday, April 14 from 10:00- 2:30. “Celebrate books and authors!” it proclaims for this, its ninth year.  The festival specializes in Alabama authors, publishers and magazines, and writers’ groups. You have a chance to meet people in the industry, listen to authors read their works, meet and talk with them, buy their books and get them signed. Participants include Hester Bass, Mark Childress, Ruth Cook, Sylviane Diouf, Angela Johnson, Delia Ray, Ann Waldron, the Birmingham Arts Journal, Heritage Publishing, Menasha Ridge Press, Black Warrior Review, the Alabama Writers’ Conclave, Alabama Writers Forum and Booker T. Washington Magnet School of Creative Writing. It’s a wonderful opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the beauty of the central library and its role in readers’ lives.

ARIZONA
The Arizona Book Festival is celebrating its 10th year on Saturday, April 14 in Phoenix. Special events include the annual Literary Treasure Award, the American Heritage Dictionary Define-a-thon, the Bring Your Book Idea to the Pitchapalooza event and a visual text exhibition. The schedule will be posted soon, but authors already scheduled include Charles Shields, Laura Fitzgerald, Melissa Clark, Bill Carter and Ann Cummins.  

The Northern Arizona Book Festival is a three-day extravaganza (proceeded by a week of pre-festival events) of readings, workshops, panel discussions, writing workshops, craft sessions that takes place on the weekend of April 20-22 in various locations around Flagstaff. For the first time, a focus on young people will include a visit by author Lemony Snickett (A Series of Unfortunate Events), the “Young Authors’ Book Festival” and “Express Yourself” programs. Authors who will be there include poets Billy Collins and Marilyn Hacker, Oscar Hijuelos and Navajo storyteller Geri Keams,   

ARKANSAS
The Arkansas Literary Festival takes place on April 20-22 in Little Rock’s River Market District. Events include readings and discussions, book signings, teen writing workshops, children's activities, musical entertainment, an outdoor exhibit area and special event fundraisers. Included are a pre-festival Knead to Read & Books for Bagels which includes readings and book signings by local authors and other literary activities. Festival events are numerous: Celebrate Literacy Month ceremony; an appearance and two live shows by National Public Radio’s “The Book Guys”; Roland on the River (White House pastry chef); a Literary Quiz Show, Word Art;  a Chapter & Verse soiree; a children’s breakfast, an evening with poet Nikki Giovanni; a martini party, young writer awards and Pub or Perish at Mallard’s Bar. Authors include Christopher Hitchens, Walter Mayes, Elizabeth Jacoway, Michelle Richmond, Charles J. Shields and Hampton Sides.

Books in Bloom is another Arkansas festival offering a day of free literary events that takes place at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs on May 6 from noon to 6:00 p.m. Authors who will be there in 2007 include Pat Carr, Dana Stabenow, Jeffrey Deaver, Catherine Coulter and Andrei Codrescu. The University of Arkansas Press and the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow will also be present. A special children’s tent will have a full day of stories, crafts, poetry, clowns and music.   

CALIFORNIA
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is coming up on the weekend of April 28-29, though it officially kicks off with the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes on Friday evening, April 27. If you are within any sort of reasonable distance of west Los Angeles, make plans to attend this one. It is a literary powerhouse—the largest book festival in the United States—that brings out 130,000 excited-about-books people to meet more than 400 authors, swarm over 300+ exhibitors, enjoy entertainment from six outdoor stages (including two interactive children’s areas) and participate in almost 100 panels and conversations. Authors are too numerous to list more than a few: David Baldacci, Ann Louise Bardach, T.C. Boyle, Ray Bradbury, Gayle Brandeis, Stephen J. Cannell, Mary Higgins Clark, Jared Diamond, Mark Doty, Janet Fitch, Tod Goldberg, Arianna Huffington, ico Iyer, Laura Lippman, Frank McCourt, Walter Mosley, T. Jefferson Parker, George Pelecanos, Carolyn See and Joseph Wambaugh. Do. Not. Miss. This. One.

FLORIDA
Much Ado About Books will be held this year on April 20-21. It has been a fundraising event for the Jacksonville public library for the past twelve years, and includes readings, book signings and literary celebrations. This year, they feature more than 40 authors including 13 New York Times bestselling authors. Friday will bring Author’s Day in the Schools where the students can talk to them about their craft and get their books signed. Saturday is the big day for panel discussions—more than 40—as well as exhibitor booths and an extensive children’s area. Sunday is the luncheon with keynote speakers Sandra Brown, Brad Meltzer and Luanne Rice.

ILLINOIS
Printers Row Book Festival is one of the longer running festivals at 23 years old. It is also the biggest one in the Midwest with more than 100,000 people attending last year. Held on June 9-10, it will feature 150 exhibitors and more than 100 programs (author readings, panel discussions, cooking demonstrations and children’s activities). They are still finalizing their line-up of authors, but so far Maureen Abood, Elizabeth Berg, Michael Connelly, E.L. Doctorow, Martha Egan, Ella Jenkins, Erica Jong, Christopher Rice, Studs Terkel and John Updike among others have committed to be there.

KENTUCKY
The Southern Kentucky Book Fest is nearly here. Due to arrive in Bowling Green on April 20-21, this festival, now in its 9th year, is a two-day event held during National Library Week. The first day is devoted to schoolchildren who meet authors, participate in dramatic and musical performances and work on creative activities. The second day is for book signings and other events such as panel discussions, a writers’ conference and literary awards. Authors scheduled to appear include Scott Turow, Janeete Oke, Rick Bragg, Cassandra King, Floyd Cooper and Ann B. Ross. 

LOUISIANA
The 21st annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival takes place from March 28-April 1. It showcases includes panel discussions, theatrical performances, a one-act play competition, lectures, literary walking tours, musical performances, receptions and a book fair. Numerous participants include authors Richard Campanella, Andrei Codrescu, Barbara Ewell, Alison Peligren, Michael Sartisky and Christine Wiltz.

MICHIGAN
The Ann Arbor Book Festival is still pulling itself together for its May 17-20 appearance, but events last year included a bookstore crawl, a literacy forum night, a meet-the-author night, a literacy symposium, storytelling, panels, an open house at the conservation and preservation lab, reception, street festival, and antiquarian book fair so I expect this year will be at least as good. Check their site (linked above) for further details coming soon. For the first time, they are also having a Book Festival Writer’s Conference on Friday, May 18 with writers Loren Estleman, Timothy Egan, Francine Prose, Deb Garrison and Masha Hamilton.

NEW MEXICO
The Border Book Festival with the theme, “Remembering Who We Are,” incorporates readings, panels, workshops, and literary and storytelling events in this, it’s 13th annual event, as well as its Trade Show, various readings, panels and workshops, the Children and Pet Parade, a reading entitled “Poets Against the War” and more. Some of the many authors include Sandra Cisneros, Martín Espada, Denise Chávez, Richard Shelton and  Sherwin Bitsui. It takes place April 20-22.

OHIO
The Spring Literary Festival takes place this year from May 9-11 on the Ohio University campus in Athens. It takes place over three days, and is comprised of readings and lectures by six specially invited authors. This year they include Kofi Awoonor, Ron Carlson, Chenjerai Hoy, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Nawal El Saadawi and Charles Sim.

TEXAS
The North Texas Book Festival happens on April 21. Featuring authors Rose-Mary Rumbley, Edward J. Perkins and Wayne Edwards it also offers a Book Trails dinner, raffle drawings, a silent auction, children’s story times with costumed characters and more.

VIRGINIA
Malice Domestic which takes place in Arlington from May 4-6 is an annual convention that salutes the traditional mystery, usually identified as that which contains no explicit sex, no excessive gore or violence, and which often features an amateur detective. This festival has been running since 1989, and is different from most in that it offers no booths but instead two full days of panels with mystery writers. Rochelle Krich, Elaine Viets and Carolyn Hart are the  honorees this year, but they will be joined by about 175 more.

WASHINGTON
Get Lit! takes place in Washington’s drier clime of Spokane and Cheney from April 18-21. It terms itself “the inland Northwest's premier annual literary arts festival.” Activities include readings, writing workshops and panels, school visits, youth poetry slams, and more. Appearing this year are Sherman Alexie, Timothy Egan, Tess Gallagher, Walter Mosley and Alberto Rios.


Special Notice:
Libraries have been an fundamental part of my life since my picture book days. This week, April 15-21, the American Library Association is helping libraries across the country are celebrating National Library Week with various activities. This is a great time to think about what your libraries have done for you, for your community, for your country. It is an even better time to show your library and librarians that you care about their mission by donating some time, contributing some money or even just saying “Thank you” for their hard work.

Running almost concurrently with National Library Week is Young People’s Poetry Week which runs from April 16 through April 22. Sponsored by the Children’s Book Council and the American Academy of Poets, it encourages people to celebrate poetry at home, in childcare centers, schools, libraries and bookstores.  


Almost since her childhood days of Mother Goose, Lauren has been giving her opinion on books to anyone who will listen. That “talent” eventually took her out of magazine writing and into book reviewing in 2000 for an online review site where she cut her teeth (as well as a few authors). Stints as book editor for her local newspaper and contributing editor to Booklist and Bookmarks magazines have reinforced her belief that she has interesting things to say about books. Lauren shares her home with several significant others including three cats, 750 bookmarks and nearly 1,000 books that, whether previously read or not, constitute her to-be-read stack. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it