Real life and literature at Bookfest
Literature, real life, and current events will interact dramatically this weekend at the 2009 Chilmark Book Festival. It begins on Saturday at 5:30 with a champagne reception with raw bar at the Chilmark Community Center followed be a panel discussion called "The Media Revolution: The Future of Journalism and the Media." Moderated by editor Peter Osnos, vice-chairman of The Columbia Journalism Review, the discussion will be among author Alex Jones ("Losing the News"), National Public Radio's Michelle Norris, and Ernest Wilson III, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California. Tickets are $30.
Three tents, where noted writers will speak, will be set up on the grounds of the Chilmark Community Center on Sunday. File Photos by Susan Safford
Sunday's free event will be held in three tents set up around the Community Center, from 11 am to 5 pm. Appearing will be 25 best-selling authors, most of whom have Island connections, who will talk about their latest work, sign books and perhaps chat with attendees.
The community center is apt to be filled to overflowing well before the 11 am opening on Sunday when Nobel prize winner and Chilmarker Robert Solow introduces best-selling author, Island resident and national newsmaker Henry Louis (Skip) Gates Jr.
Mr. Gates will discuss his latest book, "In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past." On July 16, Mr. Gates, a professor of African and African-American studies at Harvard University, was arrested for disorderly conduct by Cambridge police outside his home, touching off a still-raging national debate.
The Sunday program also features Pulitzer Prize winners Geraldine Brooks, Tony Horwitz and an A-list of best-selling writers including Peter Canellos who will discuss "Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy, Youngest son, Last Survivor."
The 2009 lineup is primarily comprised of fiction and non-fiction best sellers and just-released books. The Island's seasonal and year-round authors hold a prominent place: John Hough, Jr., Linda Fairstein, Ward Just, Tom Dunlop, along with Ms. Brooks and Mr. Horwitz.
And while there is some levity (friends say Spencer Quinn's novel, "Dog Gon It" is laugh-out-loud funny), much of the non-fiction work is focused on current social and political issues. Issues of morality are addressed by noted Harvard professor and lawyer Alan Dershowitz ("The Case for Moral Clarity"), education is covered by Stephen Trachtenberg, and the continuing dialogue on race in America will be discussed by Mr. Gates, Pamela Newkirk ("Letters from Black America"), and Patricia Sullivan ("Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement").
The Chilmark Book Festival: An alphabetical list of authors, their books, speaking times, and the name of the tent at which they will appear:
Geraldine Brooks: "People of the Book," 3:30 pm, Squibnocket Tent
In addition to the presentations, books will be for sale, and authors will be available to sign them.
Peter Canellos: "Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy Youngest Son, Last Survivor," 11 am, Menemsha Tent
Alan Dershowitz: "The Case for Moral Clarity," 5 pm, Menemsha Tent
Tom Dunlop with Debbie and Jim Athearn: "Morning Glory Farm and the Family that Feeds an Island," 1:15 pm, Stonewall Tent
Linda Fairstein: "Lethal Legacy: A Novel," 4:15 pm, Squibnocket Tent
Henry Louis Gates Jr.; "In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past," 11 am, Stonewall Tent
Lisa Genova: "Still Alice Speaking," 12:30, Squibnocket Tent
James Grippando: "Intent to Kill," 3:30 pm, Stonewall Tent
Elizabethy Hawes, "Camus: A Romance," 11:45 am, Squibnocket Tent
Tony Horwitz: "A Voyage Long and Strange," 2:45 pm, Menemsha Tent
John Hough, Jr.,"Seen the Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg," 2:45 pm, Stonewall Tent
David Ignatius: "The Increment: A Novel," 11:45 am, Menemsha Tent
Alex S. Jones: "Losing the News," 12:30 pm, Menemsha Tent
Ward Just: "Exiles in the Garden," 5 pm, Squibnocket Tent
David Kinney: "The Big One," 2 pm, Stonewall Tent
Dick Lehr: "The Fence," 4:15 pm, Menemsha Tent
David McKean: "The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall and the Battle for the Supreme Court," 2 pm, Menemsha Tent
Pamela Newkirk: "Letters from Black America,"11:45 am, Stonewall Tent
Spencer Quinn: "Dog On It," 2:00 pm, Squibnocket Tent
James Reston Jr.: "Defenders of the Faith: Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe 1520-1536," 1:15 pm, Menemsha Tent
Kenneth L. Shropshire: "The Business of Sports Agents," 3:30 pm, Menemsha Tent
Michael Stein: "The Addict," 4:15 pm, Stonewall Tent
Patricia Sullivan: "Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement,"12:30 pm, Stonewall Tent
Stephen Trachtenberg: "BMOC," 1:15 pm, Squibnocket Tent
Paul Tremblay: "The Little Sleep," 2:45 pm, Squibnocket Tent
Jack Shea is a regular contributor to The Times.
