Award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors Sophie Blackall, Ann Brashares, Misty Copeland, Brian Floca, Jenny Han, Christopher Myers, John Parra, R.L. Stine, Rebecca Stead, Jon Scieszka, Scott Westerfeld and dozens more!
The ninth annual Brooklyn Book Festival, supported by AT&T, will take place on Sunday, September 21, from 10:00 A.M. to 6 P.M. at Brooklyn Borough Hall and Columbus Park and will feature readings, illustrator draw-off competitions and signings by beloved children’s book authors, as well as a wide array of programs for teens and tweens. Waldo, from Where’s Waldo, will make an appearance at the festival, with additional Waldo photo cutouts hidden for discovery throughout the day on September 21 st, and author Richard T. Morris will be accompanied by Moose from This is a Moose. Bookends during the course of the week, September 15-22, will include events on Saturday, September 20th at the New York Aquarium and Prospect Park Zoo; “Baby’s Classic Lit and Art Books” at St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church; and the BKBF Draw Off with children and YA illustrators at Greenwood Park.
At the festival itself, readers can hear Newbery Award winner Rebecca Stead talk about the charm and lure of New York City; R. L. Stine reveal what’s funny about zombies and fifth grade; bestselling author Jon Scieszka discuss sparkle spas and kung-fu with Jill Santopolo and Lenore Look; and NYT bestselling author Gordon Korman, Una Lamarche, and National Book Finalist Adele Griffin invite audience participation in a lively round of readers’ theatre, adapted from their bestselling and acclaimed novels, among a host of other panels and events.
Outside the children and youth area, panels of interest to parents include “Autism Portraits” with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind (Life, Animated), behavior analyst Jill Mullins (Drawing Autism), and debut novelist Morowa Yejide (Time of the Locust), moderated by the founder of Extreme Kids & Crew, Eliza Factor; “How Should a Parent Be?” an exploration of what parenting means today with panelists Jennifer Senior (All Work and No Joy), Dalton Conley (Parentology) and Michèle Stephenson (Promises Kept), with Dana Goldstein (The Teacher Wars), Pedro Noguera (City Schools and the American Dream), and David Banks (Soar); and a not-to-be-missed “Peace: The Next Generation” conversation between Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, and Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, joined by Bethany Hegedus and illustrators Evan Turk and A.G. Ford.
From spirited presentations by bestselling authors to interactive draw-offs and booksignings, Brooklyn
Book Festival has something to offer every age. In between events, parents and children can visit the Bank Street bookstore tent and awarding winning children’s presses Enchanted Lion Books, Toon Books, DK Publishing, among others, and get a delicious bite from the food trucks at Columbus Park. From First Loves to Fantasy Land, Brooklyn Book Festival is a destination event for the whole family.
Festival Events
Festival Authors
Youth: Patrik Henry Bass / Suzy Becker/Coe Booth / Ann Brashares / Jerry Craft / C.J. Farley /Adele Griffin /Gordon Korman/ Jenny Han / Ben Hatke / Chip Kidd / Una LaMarche / Bennett Madison / Jon Scieszka / Ilyasah Shabazz / Cara Lynne Shultz / Rebecca Stead / R. L. Stine / Evan Turk / Siobhan Vivian / Ursula Vernon/Scott Westerfeld
Children: Sophie Blackall / Monica Brown / Misty Copeland / Jerry Craft / Kris Di Giacomo / Angela Dominguez / Brian Floca / A.G. Ford/Arun Gandhi / Mark Greenwood / Thyra Heder / Frane Lessac / Richard Morris / Christopher Myers / John Parra / Naoko Stoop/Evan Turk
***
One of American’s premier book festivals and the largest free literary event in New York City, the Brooklyn Book Festival attracts tens of thousands of book lovers of all ages and includes a week of Bookend literary-themed events in venues ranging from clubs, parks, bookstores, theatres and libraries across the borough. 2014 Bookend events kick-off September 15 and run through the full day of the Festival on Sunday, September 21st.
The Brooklyn Book Festival is presented by the non-profit Brooklyn Book Festival Inc. and the Brooklyn Literary Council. The festival’s cultural and programming partners are BAM, Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn Public Library, Cave Canem, National Book Foundation, New York Review of Books, Pen American Center, Poetry Society of America, St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church, St. Francis College, and The Nation.
AT & T is the major partner with additional support from the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Con Edison, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, and New York State Council on the Arts.
For more information about the Brooklyn Book Festival, visit www.brooklynbookfestival.org or check out the official Facebook page and follow the Festival on twitter @bkbf.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Katie Kurtzman, katie.kurtzman@fsgbooks.com / 212-206-5325
Casey McIntyre, cmcintyre@penguinrandomhouse.com / 212-414-3425
