February 15, 2006
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kevin McFadden
434-924-6890
kmcfadden@virginia.edu
VABook! 2006 Highlights and More
(Charlottesville, VA) – The twelfth annual Virginia Festival of the Book (VABook!) is pleased to announce its highlights and headliners for the March 22-26 festival. Except where listed otherwise, all festival events are free and open to the public.
Wednesday, March 22 will feature a special history “double-feature.” In the 6 p.m. Culbreth Theatre program, Fintan O’Toole, Irish author and arts critic, will speak about his book White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of America. The book’s subject is the British Agent to the various Indian Nations in colonial America, the real life model for the “Leatherstocking Tales” by James Fenimore Cooper. He’ll be joined by Melvin Patrick Ely, winner of the Bancroft Prize for history for his work Israel on the Appomattox, a discussion of a community of free blacks in Virginia before the Civil War. Also, Lindsay Robertson, a law professor specializing in Indian rights, will discuss his work, Conquest by Law, a social history of the court cases that directed U.S. government policy on Indian rights.
Following this program at 8 p.m. is a reading and discussion by Rita Dove (former U.S. Poet Laureate, current Virginia Poet Laureate, and author of American Smooth) and preeminent American historian John Hope Franklin (author of Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin, his memoir of the 20th century struggle for Civil Rights).
On Thursday, March 23, the luncheon speaker will be Judith Viorst, famous for her comic poetry, her children’s books (such as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Very Bad Day), and her carefully reasoned adult help books. (This sold-out luncheon will be rebroadcast on WVPT Public television April 11 at 7:30 p.m. and April 16 at 1:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.)
Afterward, Kevin O’Keefe (The Average American) will team up with David Wolman (A Left-Hand Turn Around the World) to discuss notions of the mostly average and slightly peculiar. Sports chroniclers Derek Catsam (Bleeding Red) and Warren St. John (Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer) will discuss the extraordinary lengths to which sports fans will go to support their teams. Thursday evening’s Culbreth Theatre headline event will feature Mary Doria Russell—known for science fiction books Sparrow and Children of God—discussing her new historical novel, A Thread of Grace.
On Friday, March 24, the Culbreth Theatre will feature a program of mystery and suspense writers, including Michael Connelly (The Lincoln Lawyer), Jeffery Deaver (The Twelfth Card), Karin Slaughter (Faithless), and Paula Woods (Strange Bedfellows). The following day is the festival’s Crime Wave, the annual offering of mystery and suspense novels, featuring Joseph Kanon, John Lescroart, Nancy Martin, Katherine Neville, Andy Straka, and many others.
The festival will feature a number of political and cultural analysts on Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 25, including Amy Goodman (“Democracy Now” radio host, author of The Exception to the Rulers), Adrian Wooldridge (Washington Bureau Chief for The Economist, author of The Right Nation), Hendrik Hertzberg (Senior Editor for The New Yorker, author of Politics: Observations & Arguments), and Barbara Ehrenreich (Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream). Science writers Ron Bailey (Liberation Biology), Madeline Drexler (Secret Agents), and Ann Parsons (The Proteus Effect) will explore the issues and ethics of stem cell research, DNA modification, and other possibilities offered through new technology. Scientists Tim Flannery (The Weather Makers), William Ruddiman (Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum) and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert (Field Notes from a Catastrophe) will predict future weather and climate patterns based on current environmental research.
One of the highlights of Saturday, March 25 will be the 8 p.m. program featuring the “father of graphic novels,” Art Spiegelman, creator of Maus and Maus II.
Publishing Day on Saturday, March 25 will feature seven programs on the changing nature of the reading public, careers in publishing, writing children’s books, agents, how to buzz your book, and more; speakers include publisher and plenary keynote speaker Nicholas Weir-Williams; NEA Director of Literature David Kipen; Beatrice.com blogger Ron Hogan; publicity buzz-specialist M.J. Rose; and agents Faith Childs, Bill Gladstone, Deborah Grosvenor, Jeff Kleinman, and Simon Lipskar.
Poetry at the festival will feature readings by Camille Dungy, Claudia Emerson, Jane Hirshfield, Sarah Kennedy, Gregory Orr, and Vivian Shipley. Also featured are collective poetry readings from Best New Poets 2005 anthology; the Tough Times Companion II; Kundiman, the Asian American Poets collective; Cave Canem, the African American poetry workshop; and an open mic hosted by Hilda Ward. New and rising voices include Dan Albergotti, Karen Garthe, Charlotte Matthews, Patrick Phillips, Mary Szybist, Natasha Trethewey, and Eliot Khalil Wilson.
For those who love historical fiction, there are readings with Jennifer Haigh, Roy Hoffman, Daniela Kuper, Star Lawrence, James Morrow, Peter Quinn, and Gwyn Rubio. Fantasy writers include Kevin Brockmeier, River Jordan, Brandon Massey, and Paul Witcover.
Saturday, March 25 is the annual StoryFest for kids and families, sponsored by Motheread® and Fatheread® of Virginia. StoryFestheadquarters will be at the Charlottesville Ice Park Terrace Room, 219 Water Street. StoryFest is a full day of events and activities for children at venues on and around the downtown Charlottesville mall. As an annual part of the Book Festival, StoryFest will feature authors, storytellers, and interactive activities for parents and children, and story time.
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The few events which require tickets sell out rather quickly, but limited numbers are still available for these events:
Business Breakfast: Patricia Aburdene, 3/22 7:30 a.m. Omni Hotel. $25 tickets, call 434-243-5520.
Authors' Reception: David and Sharon Baldacci, 3/25 6 p.m. Carr's Hill, UVa. All participating authors invited. $25 tickets, call 434-924-3296.
Words and Music, with John McCutcheon and Barbara Kingsolver, 3/26 4 p.m. Paramount Theater. Tickets $39/$49/$75/$100, call Box Office 434-979-1333.
For more information, venue specifics, or updates: visit vabook.org.
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