BRATTLEBORO — From Oct. 11–14, the 17th annual Brattleboro Literary Festival will host more than 50 authors who will be featured in nearly 40 events and discussions.
“These authors have given us stories in which we can see ourselves and which also allow us to imagine lives beyond our own,” festival organizers write in a news release.
“In their books we meet all kinds of humans (and animals!) like a restaurateur, politicians, immigrants, kings and queens, a Great Dane, soldiers, a 6-year-old boy, a primatologist, a singer-songwriter, and an Irish mobster.
“We look back to the Ice Age and forward to dystopian futures; we travel from Naples, Italy to Damascus, Syria, from New York City to South Texas to, of course, our home state of Vermont.
“These books address poverty, war and conflict, corruption, climate change, school shootings, single motherhood, disability, and addiction.
“Most of all, they remind us we are all human and we are all in this together.”
All festival events are free.
The festival is known for presenting new literary voices, as well as being a forum for established authors.
This year's festival will feature Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author Stephen Greenblatt, 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award winner Joan Silber, former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin, New York Times bestselling novelist Jenna Blum, Kingsley Tufts Prize–winning poets Vievee Francis and Tom Sleigh, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author Eileen McNamara, National Book Critics Circle Award winner Anne Fadiman, National Book Award Finalist George Howe Colt, 35-time Moth storytelling champion and international best-selling author Matthew Dicks, New York Times bestselling author John Leland, and 2018 National Book Award long-listed authors Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Sigrid Nunez, and Jenny Xie.
Books, crafts, and more at Marketplace
This year marks the introduction of the Marketplace & Café at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden at 157 Main St. The Marketplace will feature the festival's pop-up bookstore, literary magazines, books, Vermont crafts, and more.
You can also grab a bite from our food vendors - dim sum from Cai's Teahouse & Catering, South Indian food from Dosa Kitchen, and baked goods, coffee, apples, and Grafton cheese from Write Action, a nonprofit organization serving area writers.
The Brattleboro Literary Festival is run entirely by dozens of volunteers. To continue the festival for years to come, organizers are inviting others to join their ranks.
For contact information, visit the website at brattleboroliteraryfestival.org, where you can also find more information about the festival, a full list of author bios, a complete schedule, and a link to donate.