It'll be no surprise to any of our readers that we here at the Portland Phoenix are big fans of reading — and we're grateful for the time you take to read our work every week! This weekend, there's a huge gathering on in Portland where you can celebrate and share your love of reading, thoughts on good writing, and passion for words. The sixth annual Maine Festival of the Book starts Thursday evening, and has its formal, paid-admission opening night and keynote speech on Friday.But the pages really start turning on Saturday, when 39 authors speak in a series of solo and panel presentations between 9:30 am and 5 pm. (Yes, more than one talk happens at a time; you'll have to choose which ones you really want to see, and send friends to the others — and share reports afterward!) It all goes down at the Abromson Center, 88 Bedford Street, on the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus. All the talks are free, and parking's free too.
Check our Listings pages for the specific details of the talks and related events, put on by Maine Reads, a local non-profit dedicated to promoting literacy, with support from other local pro-reading groups.
Here we've written about six books — five by presenters (including keynoter Tony Horwitz) — and one new release by a local author who's pushing the boundaries of what a book really is. It's sure to be discussed throughout the event, so now you're in the know! Happy reading!
READ: “Chopsticks: A new and different ‘novel’” by Sam Pfeifle
“Gibson Fay-LeBlanc plays the Ventriloquist” by Megan Grumbling
“An object lesson in research as storytelling: Tony Horwitz's Midnight Rising” by Jeff Inglis
“Behrens's solid second effort: The O'Briens” by Jeff Inglis
“Heidi Julavits plays with parapsychology in her latest novel, The Vanishers” by Deirdre Fulton
“What should art be about? UMaine prof Justin Wolff seeks answers in history” by Ken Greenleaf
Maine Festival of the Book | Friday-Sunday | at USM's Abromson Center, 88 Bedford St, Portland | most events free | mainereads.org
