FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Press Contacts:
Laura Dolan
Geto & de Milly, Inc.
212-686-551 | ldolan@getodemilly.com
Kathy Daneman
Kathy Daneman Public Relations
718-778-0285 | kathy@kathydaneman.com
Brooklyn Book Festival Debuts Official 2019 Festival Art Poster
by award-winning illustrator Raúl Colón
BROOKLYN, NY— Wednesday, July 31, 2019—The Brooklyn Book Festival (BKBF), New York City’s largest free literary festival, has unveiled this year’s poster created by award-winning artist Raúl Colón. The poster beautifully captures book lovers gathered in a whimsical paper boat and traveling to Brooklyn for the Brooklyn Book Festival. The 2019 Brooklyn Book Festival poster, to be featured prominently on our social media channels and website, is a celebration of the written word and its devoted readers, and a tribute to the borough where the international festival takes place.
Colón joins the ranks of cartoonist Julia Wertz, award-winning illustrator Adrian Tomine and famed author and designer Chip Kidd, who have created the art for past Festival posters. The poster will be on sale on Children’s Day and Festival Day, as well as on-line, with all proceeds supporting the not for profit festival.
“When one reads a book you enter another realm, you sail to another land, a new adventure. I decided to show a diverse group on a paper boat—like refugees crossing the East River to reach that realm, that enchanted land that books can take you to,” said Colón. “Of course, the Brooklyn Book Festival being the ultimate destination, where you will find all the magic that makes it happen.”
Click here to download the official 2019 Brooklyn Book Festival poster
Colón will appear at the BKBF Children’s Day on Saturday, September 21 for the Festival’s fifth anniversary of celebrating beloved children’s book authors and literature with a full day of author appearances, performances, workshops and activities.
“We are proud and delighted to have author and artist Raúl Colón create the 2019 art poster for the festival,” said Carolyn Greer, co-producer of the Brooklyn Book Festival. “Created as an original painting it is as beautiful and inspirational as his work in general, and his diverse and absorbed readers in the poster embody the love of reading the festival celebrates!”
Colón was born in New York City, studied art in Puerto Rico, and designed puppets and animated films in Florida. An illustrator of more than thirty books for children, Colón has received a Golden Kite Award, a Pura Belpré Award, and both a gold and silver medal in the Original Art show. He is the award-winning illustrator of many picture books, including Draw!, an ALA Notable Book and recipient of the International Latino Book Award; Imagine!, an ALA Notable Book and a New York Public Library Best Book for Kids. Click here to download the official 2019 Brooklyn Book Festival poster.
This year’s BKBF Children’s Day (September 21) celebrates its fifth anniversary with a lineup of picture books authors, illustrators, performers, workshops and activities including a costume parade, a scavenger hunt, and more. Top programming will include kid lit stars Mo Willems (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Elephant and Piggie early reader series), Grammy Award-winner Dan Zanes, as well as cartoonist Nick Bruel (Bad Kitty series), Roshani Chokshi, Jerry Craft (The New Kid), Grace Lin, Sarah Mlynowski, Raúl the Third, and Ibi Zoboi, among others. The perennially popular event of dueling illustrators will feature Ruth Chan, Elisha Cooper, and Ivan Brunetti, among others. The Children’s Day festival grounds in Downtown Brooklyn’s MetroTech Commons include a Picture Book Stage, Young Readers Stage, “artspot” and the vibrant, activity-filled Children’s Book Marketplace.
The Brooklyn Book Festival attracts tens of thousands from around the world to experience spirited discussions between emerging and iconic writers and a lively Literary Marketplace. This fall’s week-long festival begins on September 16 with eight weeknights of literature themed “Bookend” programs presented all over New York City. The flagship 14-stage Brooklyn Book Festival takes place Sunday, September 22. On festival day, 300 writers of beloved works of fiction and nonfiction, poetry and graphic novels will participate in panels, readings and other creative performances of their work.
About the Brooklyn Book Festival
The Brooklyn Book Festival was launched in 2006 to address the need for a major free literary event that embraced the diverse constituencies of New York City. The Festival’s mission is to celebrate published literature and support the literary community through programming that connects New York City readers with local, national, and international authors, publishers, and booksellers. To this end the festival develops original programs that are hip, smart, and diverse and collaborates to present free and low-cost programming includes the Festival Day, the Bookend Events, and the BKBF Children’s Day.
BKBF is presented by the non-profit Brooklyn Book Festival, Inc. and the Brooklyn Book Festival Literary Council. The Festival extends appreciation and thanks to its new and longstanding supporters: the Amazon Literary Partnership, The Baillie Gifford Prize, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office/NYC & Company Foundation, the Brooklyn Eagle, Brookfield Properties and J.P. Morgan Chase, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and City Council Members Brad Lander, Stephen Levin and Carlos Menchaca, Con Edison, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Disney, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Kirby Family Foundation, Little A, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, New York State Council on the Arts, NYU, and St. Francis College. The festival’s media sponsors are abc7NY, C-SPAN, Book TV, and WNYC.
Cultural and programming partners include BAM, Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn Public Library, The Center for Fiction, The Nation, National Book Foundation, New York Review of Books, Poetry Society of America, St. Francis College, the New York Times, Whiting Foundation, and Windham Campbell Prizes as well as the Festival’s official booksellers: Bank Street Bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Books Are Magic, Community Bookstore, Greenlight Bookstore, Stories Bookshop + Storytelling Lab, The PowerHouse Arena, and Word.
Be sure to visit www.brooklynbookfestival.org or check out the official Facebook page, follow the Festival on Instagram (@bkbookfest) and on Twitter (@BKBF). A 2019 Festival press kit, including images from previous festivals, is available here.
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