Vermont Celebrates Books at the 1st Annual Bookstock Festival
Add Culture to a Vermont Vacation by Attending a Book Festival
Jun 3, 2009
1st Annual Bookstock Festival, Woodstock, Vermont (July 31 - August 1) takes place in scenic Woodstock, Vermont. The keynote address will be delivered by author Reeve Lindbergh. Reeve is the daughter of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
Bookstock: The Green Mountain Festival of Words
The Festival describes itself as a “community-wide celebration of books and authors” and will include bookmaking workshops for children, a poetry workshop, a clowning workshop, a lecture and panel discussion about graphic novels and a master class with restaurateur/culinary writer Deirdre Heekin. Scheduled events also include author presentations by:
- Bruce Coffin, memoirist, The Long Light of Those Days: Recollections of a Vermont Village at Mid-CenturyPeter Fox Smith, opera announcer and writer, A Passion for Opera: Learning to Love It: The Greatest Masters, Their Greatest Music
- Ellen Bryant Voigt, Vermont State Poet, Messenger: New and Selected Poems 1976 - 2006
- Madeline Kunin, politician and poet, Living a Political Life
- Betth Kannel, young adult novelist, The Darkness Under the Water
- Castle Freeman, Jr., novelist, Go With Me
In addition to the sale of new books and author signings, Bookstock will include a mammoth used book sale. Bookstock is a cooperative effort by several community organizations including the North Universalist Chapel Society, Norman Williams Public Library, Pentangle Arts Council and the Woodstock Historical Society. While in Woodstock, check out their three independent bookstores: Shiretown Books, Yankee Bookshop and Pleasant Street Books and Cards.
Two more established festivals take place in the fall:
5th Annual Burlington Book Festival (September 25-27, 2009)
The schedule for this year’s Burlington Book Festival has not been set. However, the festival website includes a wonderful video with selected highlights from the 2008 festival. Authors who participated in the 2008 festival included:
- Gregory McGuire, novelist, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- Archie Mayor, mystery writer of the Vermont-based Joe Gunther series
- Amy Trubeck, cookbook author, The Taste of Place
- Charles Simic, poet, My Noiseless Entourage
- John Elder Robinson, memoirist, Look Me in the Eye
The festival also includes writing workshops and special sessions devoted to children and teens. Burlington has three independent bookstores: Everyday Bookshop, North Country Books and Spirit Dancer Bookstore.
8th Annual Brattleboro Literary Festival (October 2-4, 2009)
The schedule for the Brattleboro Literary Festival has not been finalized, however, the following authors are scheduled to participate at this year’s festival:
- Tom Perrota, novelist, Little Children
- Tony Abbot, children’s book author of The Secrets of Doon and newly-released The Postcard
- Anna Dewdney, children’s book author of Llama llama Misses Her Mama
- Elinor Lipman, novelist, The Pursuit of Alice Thrift
- Dzvinia Orlowsky, poet, Convertible Night, Flurry of Stones
The festival will include many activities just for kids. Brattleboro is home to four independent bookstores: Mystery on Main, Book Celler, Everyone's Books and Collected Works Books & the Cafe Beyond plus two used bookstores: Brattleboro Books (described by Lonely Planet as a "used-book junkie's dream") and Basekts Paperback Palace Bookstore.
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