Festival for Those Who Can’t Live Without Books

Two hundred years ago, the Library of Congress acquired Thomas Jefferson’s personal library. “I cannot live without books,” he said.

Which happens to be the theme of this year’s National Book Festival, featuring almost as many authors as there were books in that collection.

The 15^th annual National Book Festival takes place this Saturday, September 5.

Featured authors include Kwame Alexander, David Baldacci, Tom Brokaw, Stephen L. Carter, Louise Erdrich, Walter Isaacson, Nicholas Kristof, Azar Nafisi, Marilynne Robinson, Al Roker, and Jane Smiley.

See you on the National Mall!  

Learn more at https://event.crowdcompass.com/natbookfest15#/

Celebrate Books Capitol Style

The National Book Festival in Washington DC is early this year! This weekend, join lit lovers from across the nation on the National Mall for the 2014 Library of Congress National Book Festival. The celebration takes place on this Friday, August 29.

Featured authors and poets include E.L. Doctorow, Claire Messud, Alice McDermott, Lisa See, Billy Collins, and Baltimore’s own Elisabeth Dahl, a previous featured author at the Lit and Art Reading Series.  

This year there are even special evening events on movie adaptations, poetry, graphic novels, and Mexican literary legends.

Learn more and get the full schedule at the Library of Congress website.

http://www.loc.gov/bookfest

Book it to Baltimore and DC This Weekend

This weekend will be a book-blast. Two big book festivals, three fulfilling days. It’s what many local authors refer to as “literary new year,” a term I believe was coined by author Paul Lagasse.

The National Book Festival takes place on the National Mall in Washington DC on September 22 and 23, and it features such heavyweights as T.C. Boyle, Jeffrey Eugenides, Geraldine Brooks, Stephen L. Carter, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Connelly, and Jewel.

Learn more about the National Book Fest at www.loc.gov/bookfest.

The Baltimore Book Festival takes place on September 28, 29, and 30 at Mt. Vernon Place and features such authors as Emily Griffin, Laura Lippman, Kate Dolan, Joya Fields, Michael Kimball, Kevin O’Malley, Marion Winik, and Justin Sirois.

Learn more about the Baltimore Book Festival at www.baltimorebookfestival.com.

And be sure not to miss Lit & Art at the Baltimore Book Festival on Sunday, September 30 at 2:30 p.m. Featured authors include Bathsheba Monk, Jessica Anya Blau, Charles Rammelkamp, Fernando Quijano III, and Nancy Greene with music by Goodloe Byron and original art by Manzar. Hosted by Eric D. Goodman and Nitin Jagdish, the event takes place at the CityLit Stage and promises to be one literary-packed hour. Thanks goes to Gregg Wilhelm for the gig! Learn more at www.baltimorebookfestival.com/schedule/event-detail/334/Event%20Details.

Finally, take a look at last year’s Baltimore Book Fest Video; pay attention at the 2:09 minute mark and you may see someone you recognize!

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i5vXQed674o

Baltimore Book Fest Underway Now

Rain or shine, lit-lovers are in for a festive weekend. What many people in the local literary community refer to as our “literary new year” is here: The Baltimore Book Festival.


The book fest began today and is already underway. It runs through Sunday and offers a little bit of lit for everyone. The event is free and fun!


As a part of the festival, the “Lit & Art at the Watermark” series will bring fiction, poetry, non-fiction, live music and original artwork to the Baltimore Free School Lit and Language Tent on Saturday, September 24 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Featured readers include
Katherine Cottle, Barbara Morrison, Liz Mozer, Holly Myers, Rick O’Connor, Fernando Quijano III, Nitin Jagdish, and Sally Whitney. The Lit and Art house band Red Tractor Factory and Manzar will provide music. There’s even an open mic session, so bring five minutes of your own work to share, and be prepared for a short sample from Tracks.

http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/schedule/event-detail/158/Lit-&%20Art%20&%20You


Chime in on the event’s Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=259032807452195


Then, on Sunday at 3 p.m. join me, Susi Wyss (The Civilized World) and Dave Rosenthal (The Baltimore Sun) as we discuss the novel in stories as a format, and read from our own debut novels in stories. As the festival’s website puts it, “Books by two Baltimore writers have recently been published that are described as "a novel in stories": Eric D. Goodman's Tracks and Susi Wyss's The Civilized World. Join Eric and Susi for a reading and discussion about the form, which seems to be back in vogue.”
http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/schedule/event-detail/21/Novels-in%20Stories


Chime in at the event’s Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109402892495986


These events, and the Baltimore Book Fest as a whole, have gotten lots of ink in The Baltimore Sun, City Paper, and in the media. Here are a couple of recent shout outs.


CBS Baltimore:
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/09/19/connecting-readers-and-authors-16th-annual-baltimore-book-festival/


CityLit Project:
http://www.citylitproject.org/index.cfm?page=news&newsid=98


Note that Tracks, my novel in stories, will be on sale throughout the weekend at Cyclops Books, next to the CityLit Stage. Catch me at one of my events and I’ll be happy to sign your copy. And look—my very own Baltimore Book Fest author’s page!
http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/participants/author/178/Eric%20D.-Goodman


Learn more about the Baltimore Book Festival and all it has to offer at the festival’s official website at www.baltimorebookfestival.com.

Or, just stop by!

National Book Fest Hits the Mall

As though the fun and festivities of the Baltimore Book Festival this coming weekend were not enough, there’s another nearby literary festival going on: The National Book Festival in Washington DC. It takes place Saturday, September 24 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, September 25 from 1 to 5:30 p.m.


More than 100 authors will headline the two-day National Book Festival, including David McCullough, Russell Banks, Dave Eggers, Pulitzer Prize-winners Siddhartha Mukherjee and Jennifer Egan, Garrison Keillor, Amy Chua, Toni Morrison, Steve Berry, and Julianne Moore.


The National Book Festival is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival is free and open to the public.

http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/