BRATTLEBORO — From Oct. 16 to 18, the Brattleboro Literary Festival will host 50 authors who will be featured in more than 20 events - all streaming online and free.
“These authors' books embrace democracy and humanity during a time when it is needed the most,” festival organizers wrote in a news release. “Their books look at poverty, war and conflict, homelessness, corruption, climate change, single motherhood, disability, and addiction through the eyes of hope.”
“Most of all, they remind us that we are all human and that we are all in this together,” they continued.
This year's festival will feature Nobel Prize–winning author Paul Krugman, 2019 National Book Award finalist Julia Phillips, two-time Grammy nominee Holly George-Warren, Diane Cook (shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize), Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization Ezekiel Emanuel (also a television commentator), and National Book Award finalist Andre Dubus III.
Also scheduled to speak are former U.S. military special adviser and Los Angeles Book Prize winner Sarah Chayes; Dayton Peace Prize winner and National Book Award finalist Andrew Krivak; New York Times notable authors Susan Minot, Jill McCorkle, Peter Orner, and Amity Gaige; and New York Times bestselling authors Gregory Maguire, Nick Flynn, Lynne Olson, Caroline Leavitt, Steve Almond, and Roger Rosenblatt.
The festival will feature debut novels, including those from Kelli Jo Ford, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Megha Majumdar and Deesha Philyaw (both long-listed for the 2020 National Book Award), Amir Ahmadi Arian, and Hilary Leichter (long-listed for the 2020 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize).
A panel discussion of poetry and justice will feature award-winning poets Natalie Diaz (2020 National Book Award long list), Carolyn Forché (2019 National Book Award finalist), and Major Jackson.
The Brattleboro Literary Festival, now in its 19th year, is the oldest continuously running literary festival in New England.
Books will be for sale at bookshop.org, with orders credited to local bookstores.
For details and a full list of authors and registration links, visit brattleboroliteraryfestival.org.