We’re almost ready to unveil the full schedule for the 2023 Virginia Festival of the Book. But first, we’re pleased to share a third round of panels with you.
And just in case you missed it, here’s what we have announced so far:
- Ross Gay: Same Page Community Reads Selection & Featured Virginia Festival of the Book Author Announced
- 2023 Schedule Sneak Peek
- Two Newbery Authors Join 2023 Festival
- Second Round of 2023 Festival of the Book Panels Announced
- 2023 Carol Troxell Reader: Meghan O’Rourke
Locations and other details for these events will be available when the full schedule is announced. Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay up to date with Festival news and announcements.
The Turning Point: Shaping a Poetic Life
Thursday, March 23 | 1:00 PM
UVA MFA Professor Emeritus Gregory Orr presents the Selected Books of the Beloved, a celebration of the transformative power of poetry, and of our extraordinary capacity to feel and to love. Kiki Petrosino blends verse, research, and autobiography as she investigates her interracial ancestry in Bright. Virginia Tech poetry professor and Undocupoets organizer Janine Joseph reads from her new collection Decade of the Brain, investigating her own post-concussive memory loss.
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Janine Joseph -
Kiki Petrosino -
Gregory Orr
Voices of Adult Learners
Thursday, March 23 | 6:00 PM
Voices of Adult Learners is a celebration bringing together adults from literacy, GED, and ESL education programs to share their compelling stories. Students enrolled in literacy and adult education programs share a variety of writings about everyday life, traditions, childhood, and personal stories.
JMRL Annual Book Swap
Saturday, March 25 | 10:00 AM
In conjunction with the Virginia Festival of the Book, Jefferson-Madison Regional Library is again hosting a Book Swap. Swap your gently used books for something new to you. It’s free, fun, and for all ages!
Reinvention and Return
Saturday, March 25 | 10:00 AM
Authors Rebecca Makkai (I Have Some Questions for You), Quan Barry (When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East), and Jung Yun (O Beautiful) will explore what happens when we return to our past—the family, friends, and familiar places who formed us—and find ourselves changed.
Makkai is the author of National Book Awards longlisted novel The Great Believers and The Borrower. Barry is a poet, playwright, author of We Ride Upon Sticks, and a former UVA MFA faculty member. Yun is the award-winning author of Shelter and associate professor of English at George Washington University.
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Rebecca Makkai -
Quan Barry -
Jung Yun
Bea Wolf at Telegraph Comics
Saturday, March 25 | 2:00 PM
Zach Weinersmith will be signing his new young adult graphic novel, Bea Wolf, a modern middle-grade graphic novel retelling of Beowulf, featuring a gang of troublemaking kids who must defend their tree house from a fun-hating adult who can instantly turn children into grown-ups.
UVA MFA Alumni Reading
Sunday, March 26 | 6:00 PM
In this annual alumni reading, graduates of the UVA MFA program will read from their debut books. Join us to hear two poets, Samantha Thornhill (The Animated Universe) and Celeste Lipkes (Radium Girl), read their recent works.
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Samantha Thornhill -
Celeste Lipkes
Festival Finale + Networking Gathering
Sunday, March 26 | 7:30 PM
To cap off the Festival, we encourage folks to join us at Decipher Brewing for a post-UVA MFA Reading beverage. Attendees are encouraged to share stories from the Festival, network with other writers and readers, and continue to build the literary community that the Festival encourages.
