BILL BRYSON Bill Bryson, in addition to being a Red Sox fan, is a bestselling author of humorous books on travel, American life, and nature. His titles include A Walk in the Woods and A Short History of Nearly Everything.  His new book is At Home: A Short History Of Private Life.
	A. M. HOMES A. M. Homes is the author of the novels This Book Will Save Your Life, The End of Alice and The Mistress's Daughter, among others, as well as the short story collection Things You Should Know. Formerly a writer/producer for The L Word, she is currently a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.
	GISH JEN Celebrated novelist and short story writer, Gish Jen is the author of the international bestsellers Typical American, Mona in the Promised Land, Who's Irish?, and The Love Wife.  Her much-anticipated new novel is World & Town.
	JEFF KINNEY Jeff Kinney is the author and illustrator of the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. In 2009, Kinney was named one of Time magazine's 100 "Most Influential People" in the world.
	DENNIS LEHANE Dennis Lehane is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island, and most recently The Given Day.  He has also written the introduction to a reissue of George V. Higgins' classic The Friends of Eddie Coyle.
	JOYCE CAROL OATES Joyce Carol Oates won the National Book Award for Them and her novels Black Water, What I Lived For, and Blonde were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.  Her newest collection of short stories is Sourland.
	STACY SCHIFF Stacy Schiff is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Véra: Portrait of a Marriage, a biography of Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov. Her latest biography, Cleopatra, examines the life of the Queen of the Nile.
	AMARTYA SEN Amartya Sen is the Thomas W. Lamont Professor Emeritus at Harvard University.  In 1998 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics for his contribution to welfare economics.  His latest book, The Idea of Justice, presents an alternative approach to mainstream theories of justice.
	JOSEPH STIGLITZ Recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics for his analysis of markets with asymmetric information, Joseph Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University and Chair of Columbia's Committee on Global Thought. His latest book is Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy.
	ISABEL WILKERSON A professor in the College of Communications at Boston University, Isabel Wilkerson is the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism. Her latest work is The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration.
	E. O. WILSON Regarded as on of the world's preeminent biologists and naturalists, Edward O. Wilson is the author of more than twenty books, including two Pulitzer Prize winners, The Ants and On Human Nature.  Anthill is his first novel.
	KEVIN YOUNG Kevin Young is the author of six books of poetry, including Jelly Roll: A Blues, a finalist for the National Book Award. Young's latest work is the anthology The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing.

This is just a small sample of our star-studded line-up.  Check back later in the summer for the complete 2010 list!

Read Our Minds

This year, the Boston Book Festival will host over 100 renowned authors and thought leaders – Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winners among them – discussing everything from Architecture to Ants to Antony & Cleopatra (and that’s just the A’s!). This fascinating and accomplished group represents the most creative and eclectic line-up we could assemble in one place at one time. You will definitely want to read these minds. 

Now that you are dying to hear who will be center stage at this year’s festival, we are going to keep you in suspense until June 23 when we go public with our program. Sign up on the homepage for BBF email up-dates to be the first to know our star-studded literary line up!

The second annual Boston Book Festival will take place Saturday, October 16, 2010.
 
2009 was a huge hit - 12,000+ readers of all ages from across New England, 90+ award-winning authors and presenters, 30+ free indoor events, and 40+ outdoor exhibitors.  It was so great, in fact, that the Boston Globe Magazine recently named the Boston Book Festival Best of the New 2010.

Click below to watch the just-released highlight video from BBF09.


Video Production by: Paula Aguilera, Jonathan Williams, The Boston Phoenix, WGBH
Photography by: Norman Lang, Matt Teuten, Mike Ritter

And Boston Book Festival 2010 will be bigger and even better with more beautiful venues, exciting exhibitors, fun events for children and, of course, dozens of fascinating presentations by leaders in every field.  We hope you will join us once again in Copley Square for the second edition of the Boston Book Festival.
 
At Boston Book Festival headquarters, we're working feverishly to raise money and confirm presenters, and you can expect more announcements in the coming months (including information on participating authors!)

So, save the date, tell your friends, and happy reading!

“A novel ostensibly about a house – a glass house built in Czechoslovakia between the wars – that represents everything its owners feel about a future that appears bright with the promise of enlightenment and modernism both for themselves and their country.  But the enormous forces of history and shattering personal truths of the inhabitants of the glass house blow apart the dream.  A 2009 Booker Prize finalist The Glass Room’s plot will keep you reading and the ideas will keep you thinking.”


Emily D’Amour Pardo, Executive Director, Boston Book Festival

Invisible by Paul Auster

“At once a riveting psychological page-turner and a philosophical exploration of the truth of memory, Invisible is a coming-of-age story that showcases Auster’s inventiveness and ability to create characters that will stay with you long after you finish the book.“



Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and author of That Old Cape Magic

Safe From The Neighbors by Steve Yarbrough

“Steve Yarbrough's Safe From the Neighbors is the best book I've read in quite a while.  I loved the way its intimate, private narrative merges with a larger public one.”



Helene Atwan, Director, Beacon Press

Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid



“I’m currently rereading Jamaica Kincaid’s pitch perfect first novel, Annie John, which is almost like reading poetry.  I recommend reading it while reclining on a sofa without any distractions.  And you won’t need the bon-bons.”


Not Quite Paradise: An American Sojourn in Sri Lanka by Adele Marie Barker

“For the adventurous (armchair) traveler, I also recommend one of our books, just out, Not Quite Paradise: An American Sojourn in Sri Lanka; appropriate reading as the fifth anniversary of the tsunami approaches on 12/26.”



Esmond Harmsworth, founding partner, Zachary Schuster Harmsworth Literary Agency

The Hypochondriacs: Nine Tormented Lives by Brian Dillon

“My favorite 2009 book has only come out in Ireland and it is very quirky, Brian Dillon's The Hypochondriacs: Nine Tormented Lives, a book on famous, mostly literary and artistic hypochondriacs, from Proust to Andy Warhol, James Boswell and Charlotte Bronte. It turns out that Proust was not a hypochondriac at all: in the late 19th century, allergies and asthma were considered psychosomatic illnesses, and one popular cure was to burn pungent powders and inhale the smoke, which Proust did every day in his cork lined room. Not surprisingly this did not help his severe asthma.”



Elinor Lipman, bestselling author of Then She Found Me and The Family Man

How I Became A Famous Novelist by Steve Hely

“When I reviewed How I Became A Famous Novelist for the Washington Post last summer I wrote,  "I may have read a funnier book in the last 20 years, but at this moment I'm hard-pressed to name it."


John Taylor "Ike" Williams, The Kneerim & Williams Agency

Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett

"Haslett paints a portrait of Capitalism's effect on American life as good as Henry James did of Class "
Union Atlantic will be released on 2/9, so you’ll have to pre-order, but remember, good things come to those who wait!


Joyce Linehan, President, Ashmont Media

Nobody Move by Denis Johnson
“I didn’t read a lot of new books in 2009 – spent much of the year revisiting criminally underappreciated British fiction writer Jonathan Coe. But I did love Denis Johnson’s Nobody Move, a noir so black it could function as parody.”



Mike Swartz, Creative Director, UpStatement

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford
“Crawford's reflection on the satisfaction of physical work doesn't just center on the fact that it's manual labor, but on the idea that diagnosing a motorcycle engine's busted tappets is just as intellectual (and perhaps more so) than most work that requires "higher" education. Highly reminiscent of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Crawford's 'Chautauqua' asserts that there is an inherent honesty and feeling of worth that comes from clear-cut thinking and fixing. My life as a web designer is pretty much the digital equivalent of small engine repair, but with less leather and much more cursing.”



Karen Wulf, Executive Director, PEN New England

36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein
“36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction is further proof that Rebecca Goldstein, celebrated philosopher and novelist, can do it all.  It has everything you want in a book: great writing, captivating characters, sharp observations, and serious subject matter artfully presented, beautifully told.  It is the perfect argument for why fiction matters: it’s about everything that matters most, and I will be giving it to everyone who matters to me.”


And last, but certainly not least, Tom Perrotta, bestselling author of Election, Little Children, and The Abstinence Teacher, and Judith Donath of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society both gave two thumbs up (so that’s a total of four thumbs!) to:

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christo H. Papadimitriou


Tom:
“I'm not a regular reader of graphic novels, but I've read a few great ones over the years--Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel, of course, and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, to name two. To this select group, I'd like to add Logicomix, which is a beautifully written and illustrated account of some of the important intellectual and emotional events in the life of Bertrand Russell. It's challenging, thought-provoking, and a deeply engaging book that turns the life of the mind into a gripping adventure.”


Judith:
“There is something about the graphical form that invites self-reference, and Logicomix, with its interludes of conversations among author and artists, and its references to mathematicians as superheroes, is even more self-conscious than most.  But it also does an extraordinary job of turning the development of 20th century philosophical logic into a riveting story, and in the process makes the math clearer than many texts do.  It's a bit ironic that a book about the search for absolute truth plays fast and loose with facts - but it's intermingled examination of the relationship between logic and madness make even the breaks from reality into part of the plot.”

We think the little ones in your life will look especially adorable sporting Literally Amazing or Ask Me What I'm Reading t-shirts this holiday season! 

All shirts are American Apparel, made from 100% cotton right here in the USA.  They come in kid's, women's and men's sizes, infant through adult XXL. (CLICK HERE for a size guide)

We also have a limited supply of 2009 commemorative posters SIGNED by Chip Kidd, Boston Book Festival canvas tote bags, and the very amusing (and wildly popular) reading specs t-shirt.

Order by December 18, and we'll get them to you in time to give to all book enthusiasts on your list - those who made it to the Festival and especially those who did not. Next year they'll know better than to miss the excitement!

Video Production by: Paula Aguilera, Jonathan Williams, The Boston Phoenix, WGBH

Be entered to win a Sony Reader Pocket Edition when you fill out our ONLINE SURVEY by Thursday, November 5 at 2:00 p.m. EST. 

We've already given away three Sony Readers to lucky festival-goers, and this is your last chance to win!

Congratulations to our contest winners:

Day-of Twitter Winner (#bbf09): Renato Beninatto

Pre-Festival Twitter Winner (#bbf09): Allison Trzop

Facebook Fan Winner: Erica Truncale

We have four to give away, courtesy of Sony! There are four ways to win: 

1-Send a tweet on Twitter mentioning a Festival topic and using #bbf09 in your message between now and 6:00am EST on October 24. The Book Festival handle is @bostonbookfest and our main url is bostonbookfest.org. The more you tweet #bbf09, the more likely you are to win!

2-Tweet during the Festival (from 8:00am until 9:00pm EST on October 24) using #bbf09 in your messages.

3-Become a Boston Book Festival Facebook fan - one lucky fan will win. Please post about the Festival on your status update.

4-Fill out and submit an evaluation card after any session, including your contact information, and you'll be automatically entered to win.

Winners will be notified via Facebook, Twitter or phone after October 25 and must provide a mailing address within one week of notification. Staff, family members of staff, event producers, paid contractors, partners, and advisors of the Boston Book Festival and Sony are not eligible to win.

About the Sony Reader Pocket Edition™

Priced under $200, the Sony Reader Pocket Edition™ provides the perfect reading companion for people of every age. Available in silver, blue and rose, the Reader Pocket Edition features a 5-inch display and an elegant, lightweight design that's easy to slip into a purse, jacket pocket, gym bag...or holiday stocking.

Get instant access to more than a million titles from the Sony eBookstore using easy software that is both Mac and PC compatible

Download borrowed eBooks from your local library

Tote up to 350 books with you at any time - without breaking your back

Reduce eye strain when reading with the Reader's E-Ink® technology, a paper-like screen display that makes you feel like you're reading a traditional book

Read without your glasses by taking advantage of three adjustable font sizes

Find the Sony Reader online and at retail outlets, such as Sony Style, Target and Borders nationwide

Have any more questions about the Sony Reader? Attend the Boston Book Festival session The Future of Reading: Books without Pages? from 1:30-3:00pm at the Boston Public Library's Rabb Lecture Hall and you can ask one of the presenters, Steve Haber, President of Sony's Digital Reading Division. He is responsible for the global direction and development of Sony's Reader Digital Book, Sony's eBook Store in the US and relationships with affiliate book stores overseas.

Tim Kring, developer and executive producer of the blockbuster television show Heroes, will give a highly visual presentation about his use of transmedia storytelling. Sponsored by Liberty Mutual.

New York Times personal technology columnist David Pogue will host an e-reader variety show (with music!), which will showcase many of the new electronic readers on the market.

Nicholas Negroponte and Iqbal Quadir will be on hand to explore how the spread of technology can have a positive impact on ending world poverty. Digital librarian Brewster Kahle will be on hand to talk about his role in making knowledge widely available. Sponsored by Verizon.

Wired Magazine contributing editor Jeffrey Howe will chat with Ben Mezrich, author of The Accidental Billionaires, a look at the founding of Facebook by two Harvard undergraduates and the viral growth of the site into a world- wide phenomenon, and Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, a chronicle of his travels through the worlds of online gaming and live-action role-playing.

In addition, Cambridge-based E Ink Corporation will have a Festival booth in Copley Square showcasing its cutting edge technologies, such as flexible screens and color electronic ink.

These events will all take place during the Festival between 10 am and 6 pm on October 24, 2009 and are free and open to all with no prior reservations (or geek credentials) required.

To read more about Boston Book Festival events, CLICK HERE.

The Museum of Innocence, like most of Pamuk’s novels, is set in his beloved Istanbul.  And as in most of his novels, the contradiction between the modern and the deeply traditional inherent in that vast city plays a subtle role.  It is against this backdrop that The Museum of Innocence offers a stirring exploration of the nature of romantic attachment and the mysterious allure of collecting.   

Pamuk is no stranger to the compulsion to collect.  His early years were spent amassing a huge library of books about all things Turkish and his happiest moments were spent in second-hand bookstores.   

Pamuk writes, “I was missing out on life by burying myself in books—but even when I'd realized this, I'd still keep buying books, as if to take revenge on the life I was fleeing. It is only now, so many years later, that I realize how happy those hours were…”   As for Pamuk’s experience of love, we will leave that question to his interlocutor, Christopher Lydon, host of Radio Open Source.  The conversation is sure to be engaging.  

Please join us at the Boston Book Festival on Saturday, October 24 at 5:00pm in the sanctuary of Old South Church for the keynote presentation by Orhan Pamuk.  The presentation is free and open to the public.  Check back soon for further details. 

For more reading:

Author’s website – www.orhanpamuk.org
Nobel Lecture – www.nobelprize.org

From Dorchester to Southie and from Beacon Hill to Brookline, eleven Boston neighborhoods and nearby communities are featured in stories by Brendan DuBois, Dana Cameron, Itabari Njeri, Jim Fusilli, Lynne Heitman and Russ Aborn.  Boston Noir is a heart, soul and throat-gripping collection, edited by Dennis Lehane, our master of ceremonies for the evening.

Afterwards, enjoy a literatini, the official champagne cocktail of the Boston Book Festival, while you listen to music, have your handwriting analyzed and your fortune told.  Noirish dress is optional, but there will be a prize for the best femme fatale and hard-boiled private eye. 

Tickets are $15 and ARE AVAILABLE NOW. 21+. Space is limited so don't get mired in melancholic indecision; be sure to get your tickets early.

And tell the guy at the door that Bugsy sent you.