Fall for the Book Begins Sunday!

…and in the process, my own life — and my occasional posts here — will likely get put on hold for a while. But it’s for a great cause: the most authors of any book festival in the D.C. area (take that, National!) and a chance to connect these writers with readers throughout Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland. We’ve been working all year on this, and I’m excited about the fruits of our labors. But in many ways the real work is just beginning, and there are busy days ahead.

During the next week, then, I’ll include a few updates on coming events. Tomorrow (Sunday, September 21) is the big kick-off day, with plenty of events listed below. I myself will be introducing novelist Nani Power, author of the new memoir Feed the Hungry, at the Sweet Life Cafe in downtown Fairfax at 4:30 p.m. I haven’t read the book yet, but it’s gotten plenty of great reviews already, so very much looking forward to her talk.

Then at 7:30 p.m. at Old Town Hall, journalist and memoirist Scott Huler will talk about his latest book, No-Man’s Land: One Man’s Odyssey Through the Odyssey. Several years ago, I heard Huler read from a previous book, A Little Bit Sideways: One Week Inside a NASCAR Winston Cup Race Team, and it remains to this day the most energized and exciting reading I believe I’ve ever heard. The new book is also great — part travelogue, part history lesson, part literary criticism, and part memoir too, with one man looking at his own life against the standard of literature’s greatest epic hero. It’s a terrific read.

Plenty more to choose from on Sunday. A schedule is below and the festival’s complete calendar of events is linked HERE. 

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

1 p.m. 
The Youngest Published Writers at Fall for the Book
Old Town Hall, 3999 University Drive, Fairfax, VA
Students from across Northern Virginia share original works selected for the two-volume Northern Virginia Writing Project anthology, Falling for the Story. NVWP sponsors the reading.

2 p.m.
D.C. Crime Writers
The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD
Contributors to the successful D.C. Noir anthologies share stories from the grittier side of the nation’s capital. Sponsored by the Writer’s Center. 

2 p.m. 
Children’s Book Author Jerdine Nolan
Prince George’s County Library, 15210 Annapolis Road, Bowie, MD
Nolan reads from her latest picture book, Big Jabe. Sponsored by the Friends of the Sherwood Regional Library.

2 p.m.
Children’s Book Author Katy Kelly 
Sherwood Regional Library, 2501 Sherwood Hall Lane, Alexandria, VA
A former reporter for People, USA Today, and U.S. News and World Report, Kelly reads from her popular Lucy Rose books. Sponsored by the Friends of the Sherwood Regional Library.

3 p.m.
Novelist Kathleen McCleary
Circa Home & Garden, 10435 North Street, Fairfax, VA
The popular journalist — whose work has appeared in The New York Times and Good Housekeeping and on HGTV.com — reads from her debut novel, House and Home

3 p.m.
Young Adult Writers Beckie Weinheimer and Kathy Erskine
Old Town Hall, 3999 University Drive, Fairfax, VA
The authors discuss their books’ exploration of religion and politics and their effects on teens. Followed at 4:30 p.m. by a writing workshop for teens.

3:30 p.m.
Children’s Book Author Moira Donohue
City of Fairfax Regional Library, 10360 North Street, Fairfax, VA
A former lawyer, Donohue stresses the importance of punctuation in her charming picture books — and discusses the Supreme Court case in which she proved her point!

4 p.m.
Poet Jon Pineda
Busboys and Poets, 4251 S. Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA
The award-winning poet reads from his third collection, The Translator’s Diary. Co-sponsored by Busboys and Poets and the Friends of the Sherwood Regional Library. 

4 p.m.
Children’s Book Author Lulu Delacre
Sherwood Regional Library, 2501 Sherwood Hall Lane, Alexandria, VA
Award-winning author/illustrator shares Latin American stories and more, and discusses her first young adult book, Alicia Afterimage. Sponsored by the Friends of the Sherwood Regional Library.

4:30 p.m.
Memoirist Nani Power
The Sweet Life Café, 3950 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, VA
Noted novelist Power reads from her new memoir with recipes, Feed the Hungry, about growing up in Virginia. Co-sponsored by the Sweet Life Café and the City of Fairfax.

6 p.m.
So to Speak Faculty and Fellows Reading
Old Town Village, North Street at Route 123, Fairfax
George Mason University faculty members, including Helon Habila, Sally Keith and Kyoko Mori, and fellowship winners, including Elizabeth Eshelman, Alyson Foster, Sarah Klenakis, and Robb St. Lawrence, read from their recent works. Sponsored by the Mason journal So To Speak: A Feminist Journal of Language and Art. For extra fun, grab a drink or some food at any area restaurants near the reading!

7 p.m.
Political Journalist Amy Sullivan
Fairfax Presbyterian Church, 10723 Main Street, Fairfax, VA
A national correspondent for Time Magazine discusses her new book, The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats are Closing the God Gap. Sponsored by the City of Fairfax.

7 p.m.
Historian Clint Johnson
Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA
The noted Civil War expert discusses the escape and pursuit of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Sponsored by the Arlington Library.

7:30 p.m.
Memoirists Honor Moore and Scott Huler
Old Town Hall, 3999 University Drive, Fairfax, VA
Acclaimed poet and memoirist Moore reads from her new book, The Bishop’s Daughter, examining the secret life of her late father, Paul Moore, Bishop of the Diocese of New York. National Public Radio regular Huler takes a journey into mythic Greece, modern Greece and the first days of middle age with No-Man’s Land: One Man’s Odyssey Through the Odyssey. A reception precedes the reading.

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