15th Anniversary Virginia Festival of the Book
Tops 20,000 Attendance for Sixth Straight Year
Organizers of the 15th anniversary Virginia Festival of the Book announced today that cumulative attendance reached 20,675. VABook! 2009 was the sixth straight year that the Festival drew crowds at or above the 20,000 mark.
Programs this year included the largest single event ever—a sold-out audience of more than 1,000 for a program with poet Rita Dove and violinist Boyd Tinsley. The Festival events were covered in Virginia Living, Richmond’s Style Weekly, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Germany’s premiere news magazine, Der Spielgel.
Other popular events included the luncheon with Adriana Trigianiand the business breakfast with Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational, and a frequent commentator on National Public Radio and many television news shows. Alan Cheuse and Mary Doria Russell discussed historical fiction with “With Good Reason” radio host Sarah McConnell in an event taped for later broadcast on NPR. John Grisham and Stephen L. Carter were featured in a conversation moderated by Slate.com editor Dahlia Lithwick.
“Even though we chose to produce fewer programs, we had essentially the same total adult attendance as last year,” Kevin McFadden, the VABook! Associate Program Director, noted. “We were not sure how the economy was going to affect us—but the attendance was terrific and enthusiastic.”
Susan Coleman, Director for the Center for the Book, reported that StoryFest programs for children and families were “very well attended.” One highlight was a program “Hip-Hop Speaks to Children,” influenced by Nikki Giovanni’s children’s book, drew more than 250 kids for music, drumming, dancing, and poetry.
“This year’s biggest increase was in the number of individuals supporting the Festival financially,” noted Festival Program Director, Nancy Damon. “More people donated in small and large amounts—the Festival community is very generous, and we are grateful.”
The Festival website vabook.org is now posting a number of programs captured on video and audio by the City of Charlottesville, VFH Radio, and independent recorders.
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Virginia Festival of the Book is a program of the
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
phone: (434)924-6890 | fax: (434) 296-4714 | vabook@virginia.edu