VABook! 2002: Marie Arana

Marie Arana, Editor of the Washington Post Book World, and Author of AMERICAN CHICA, Two Worlds, One Childhood to Address Eighth Annual Virginia Festival of the Book Luncheon

Popular Event Kicks Off This Year’s Festival of the Book on March 20, 2002. Tickets Go On Sale Today for Charlottesville’s Favorite Luncheon

Charlottesville, VA (September 20, 2001)
The Eighth Annual Festival of the Book, Charlottesville’s annual spring literary event, announces today that Marie Arana, editor of the Washington Post Book World and author of the newly-published AMERICAN CHICA, Two Worlds, One Childhood, will present the popular luncheon keynote address Wednesday, March 20, 2002 at 11:45 PM at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel.

AMERICAN CHICA, Two Worlds, One Childhood, is a captivating account of a young girl’s bicultural upbringing, a childhood infused with different cultures, languages and legends. Marie Arana has written a touching and colorful account of her remarkable girlhood, raised by her father in an aristocratic family in Peru, then sharing time with her mother’s pioneering family in Wyoming.

Her story tells of her own "split-cultural identity" and her quest to understand the differences within her family. Her father, Jorge, a brilliant engineer, and her mother, Marie, a talented musician, lived and struggled with the conflicts and tensions of their marriage—deeply in love, but trying to overcome the complex and vexing clash of habits and mores in order to build a strong, lasting and devoted family.

In announcing the name of this year’s speaker, Nancy Damon, Program Director of the Festival of the Book stated, "We are honored to host such an exciting speaker for this year’s luncheon. Hers is a touching personal narrative, beautifully written, about bridging two worlds. Moreover, Ms. Arana’s long career in publishing and editing brings another dimension to her appearance at the Festival Luncheon."

The luncheon, one of the few paid events of this five-day free literary festival, is one of the most coveted tickets of the season, selling out soon after tickets become available. This year, tickets will be on sale for $35.00 beginning on September 20, 2001. To order tickets, call (434) 924-6890.

Past luncheon speakers have included Rita Mae Brown, David McCullough, John Grisham, John Casey, Alice McDermott and Steve Roberts. Last year, the award-winning author, Paule Marshall, held the luncheon audience spellbound as she read from her newly released novel The Fisher King. After her presentation and reading, she answered questions and signed books. Marie Arana will also be available for book signings after the luncheon.

VABook!, a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, will begin on March 20 and run through March 24, presenting nearly 200 literary events, for book lovers of all ages and interests.

As information becomes available, it will be posted on the website, www.vabook.org , along with the latest programming and participant information.