…and the truth is that the Energizer Bunny has nothing on us! A crack staff and extensive team of volunteers have been working round the clock to keep Fall for the Book going strong and going smoothly. And outside of staff, we’ve had some great support lately — both on-campus and off. Sherell Williams, managing editor of Broadside, Mason’s student newspaper, organized some great previews of the festival in this week’s issue, and Grace Kendall, director of Connect Mason, has been photographing events almost everywhere.
And today, Mark Athitakis, arts editor at the City Paper and blogsmith of one of the best lit sites out there, American Fiction Notes, reviewed Porter Shreve’s new novel, When the White House Was Ours, in advance of Shreve’s reading on Friday. The full review is online here.
Much on the schedule in the meantime — including a very full Thursday. While C.K. Williams and Sue Miller may be Thursday’s big headliners, I’m most looking forward to getting together again with Michael Sims (left), author of Apollo’s Fire and one of the cleverest, most charming folks I know. He’ll be speaking at 5 on Thursday — a don’t miss event. The day’s full schedule is below.
SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
10 a.m.
Young Adult Author P.W. Catanese
Harper Park Middle School, 701 Potomac Station Drive, Leesburg, VA
As part of Fall for the Book’s annual Middle School Reads program, P.W. Catanese, author of the Further Tales Adventures, talks with Loudoun County middle schoolers about the pleasures of reading and writing. Sponsored by Baker & Taylor book wholesalers. If you would like to attend this event please contact the school office at 571-252-2820 for information about seating.
11 a.m.
Poet Judith Harris
Provident Bank Tent, Outside Johnson Center
Harris reads selections from her two volumes of poetry: Atonement and The Bad Secret.
12 p.m.
Poet Jennifer Atkinson and Short Story Writer David Taylor
Provident Bank Tent, Outside Johnson Center
Atkinson shares selections from Drift Ice, her third and newest collection of poetry, and Taylor reads from his award-winning fiction collection, Success: Stories.
1 p.m.
Novelist Tim Wendel
Cherrydale Library, 2190 Military Road, Arlington, VA
An award-winning novelist, journalist and baseball historian, Wendel reads from his new WWII novel, Red Rain. The reading is accompanied by a period reception. Sponsored by the Arlington County Public Library.
1:30 p.m.
From the Writer’s Center: Peter Brown, Solveig Eggerz, Frank Joseph , and Elaina Loveland
Provident Bank Tent, Outside Johnson Center
Members of The Writer’s Center, based in Bethesda, MD, read from their recent works, both novels — Brown’s Ruthie Black, Eggerz’s Seal Woman and Joseph’s To Love Mercy — and nonfiction: Loveland’s Creative Colleges: A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians, and Writers. The authors also share tips for aspiring writers seeking publication themselves. Sponsored by the Writer’s Center.
2 p.m.
Historians Vincent Carretta and Carroll Gibbs
Dewberry Hall South, Johnson Center
Carretta, author of Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man, and Gibbs, a scholar specializing in African American history, present a reading and slide presentation on Freedom Narratives. Sponsored by the Friends of the Sherwood Regional Library.
3 p.m.
Punk Music Historian Mark Andersen
Provident Bank Tent, Outside Johnson Center
The co-author of Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation’s Capital discusses this musical genre’s history in D.C. Local punk band The Max Levine Ensemble performs afterwards!
3 p.m.
Ethicist Rushworth M. Kidder
Harris Theater
Kidder, founder of the Institute for Global Ethics, discusses ideas from his two most recent books, Moral Courage and How Good People Make Tough Choices. A reception follows. Presented by MasonLeads as part of their 2008 Leadership Week.
3 p.m.
Breakthrough Poets Panel
Grand Tier III, Center for the Arts
Poets Karen Anderson, Dan Beachy-Quick, Suzanne Buffam, and Srikanth Reddy recount their path to success and read from their new books. A reception follows.
4:30 p.m.
Breaking in to Poetry
Grand Tier III, Center for the Arts
Robert Giron, poet and founder of the Gival Press; Bill Glose, author of The Human Touch; and Ann Falcone Shalaski, author of World Made of Glass, share the secrets of their success and offer tips on how to get your poetry published.
5 p.m.
Science writer Michael Sims
Provident Bank Tent, Outside Johnson Center
The author of Apollo’s Fire: A Day on Earth in Nature and Imagination, chosen by NPR as one of the best science books of 2007, draws on science, history, literature and more to illuminate a single day on earth, from before dawn to after midnight.
5:30 p.m.
Poets Alec Finlay and Rod Smith
The Bistro, Johnson Center
“Avant garde” and “experimental” are the terms of the day with British poet and artist Finlay, and Smith, who was named “Best Poet” in D.C. in a recent issue of Washington’s City Paper. A reception follows the reading.
7 p.m.
Poet C.K. Williams
Harris Theater
The world-renowned poet, winner of both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, reads from his body of work. A 6 p.m. reception in Johnson Center, Room 116, precedes the event.
7 p.m.
Runner Chris Lear
Pacers Running and Walking Store, 10427 North Street, Fairfax, VA
Noted runner Lear, who held the record as fastest runner in New Jersey in the 1990s and later earned All-Ivy, All-East, and All-America honors at Princeton, discusses his book Running with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men’s Cross-Country Team. Co-sponsored by Pacers and the City of Fairfax.
7 p.m.
Short Story Writer David Taylor
Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library, 4701 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA
The author of Success: Stories is a special guest at the library’s World Short Story Book Group. Sponsored by the Alexandria Libraries.
7 p.m.
Journalist Lonnae O’Neal Parker
Busboys and Poets, 4251 S. Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA
A Washington Post correspondent, Parker discusses her book, I’m Every Woman: Remixed Stories of Marriage, Motherhood and Work. Co-sponsored by Busboys and Poets and the Friends of the Sherwood Regional Library.
7 p.m.
Teen Author Kyndall Brown
Borders, 931-A Capital Centre Boulevard, Largo, MD
The 13-year-old poet reads from her debut collection, I Ain’t Ascared of Nutin’: The Evolution of Me, and encourages other teen poets, talking about finding your voice and finding a publisher. Sponsored by the Friends of the Sherwood Regional Library.
7:30 p.m.
Memoirist Christina Thompson
Dewberry Hall South, Johnson Center
The editor of the Harvard Review reflects on her marriage to a Maori foundryman and explores New Zealand and Maori history in her debut memoir, Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All: A New Zealand Story. A 6:30 p.m. reception precedes the event.
7:30 p.m.
Folklorist Mary T. Hufford
Johnson Center, Room C
An expert on ethnography, cultural policy, and ecological crisis, this author of Chaseworld: Foxhunting and Storytelling in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens shares stories about researching and writing.
8 p.m.
The Spoken Word Revolution
The Bistro, Johnson Center
Bruce George, co-creator of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, leads a poetry slam. Watch and participate, too. A 7 p.m. reception precedes the event. Co-Sponsored by Mason’s Office of University Life, Office of Diversity Programs and Services and Weekend Initiatives.
8 p.m.
Novelist Sue Miller
Concert Hall, Center for the Arts
The bestselling author of The Good Mother, Inventing the Abbotts and While I Was Gone reads from her latest book, The Senator’s Wife. Sponsored by the Friends of the George Mason Regional Library. A 7 p.m. reception precedes the event in Grand Tier III of the Concert Hall.
Add to Facebook: 