Brooklyn Book Festival Hosts Its Fifth Year, 9/10 - 12

The Brooklyn Book Festival will be held Friday, September 10th to Sunday, September 12th. The Brooklyn Book Festival showcases more than 200 national and international authors in readings and panel discussions as well as 175 booksellers, publishers, presses and organizations in an outdoor literary marketplace. Also, poet John Ashbery will accept the "BoBi" award on Saturday at the Festival Gala.

With the extraordinary literary heritage, vibrant publishing community and international reading audience of Brooklyn and New York City as its backdrop, the Festival offers the best and brightest stars in contemporary literature. The hip, huge and free all-star literary lineup includes Salman Rushdie, Naomi Klein, Paul Auster, Nelson George, Sarah Silverman, Rosanne Cash, Paul Krugman, John Hodgman, Kristen Schaal, Sam Lipsyte, Sloane Crosley, Maaza Mengiste, and many more, as well as children's and young adult lit stars.

This year's expansion includes weekend-long "Bookend" events at the coolest venues in Brooklyn, including BAM, Bell House, Brooklyn Bridge Park, The Brooklyn Kitchen, Brooklyn Public Library, St. Ann's Warehouse, WORD and more.

The Brooklyn Book Festival is a huge, free public event presenting an array of literary stars and emerging authors who represent the exciting world of literature today. One of America's premier literary and literacy events, this hip, smart, diverse gathering attracts thousands of book lovers of all ages. The festival is organized around themed readings and devoted to timely and lively panel discussions. The inclusion of top national and international authors and new partners has expanded the festival's reach while continuing to celebrate and enhance Brooklyn's contemporary and historic literary reputation.

The full schedule is listed below:

FRIDAY

Secret History of the Dividing Line: A True Account in Nine Parts (Parts I-IV, 1999-2001). Light Industry presents a screening of David Gatten's unfinished 16mm film cycle, a project based around the life, writing and library of William Byrd II, a Virginia planter who owned one of the largest collections of books in Colonial North America.
Location: 177 Livingston Street
Time: 7:30pm
Price: $7

Brooklyn Indie Press Celebration! With Akashic, A Public Space, Archipelago, Armchair/Shotgun, BOMB, Electric Literature, Melville House, powerHouse, Tin House, and others. Brooklyn's finest independent publishers of books and periodicals come together at Greenlight Bookstore. Mingle with writers and publishers who make Brooklyn's literary scene, and enjoy refreshments and live DJs to kick off BKBF weekend.
Location: Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton Street (corner of S. Portland)
Time: 7:30 pm
Price: Free

WORD Presents an Intimate Conversation with John Waters. John Waters, the iconic filmmaker, actor and writer, comes to Greenpoint to talk about his new book Role Models with Carolyn Kellogg of the LA Times. For details, visit www.wordbrooklyn.com.
Location: Coco 66, 66 Greenpoint Ave.
Date: 8:00 pm
Price: $25.00 (includes copy of book)

DEBUT LIT presents "Opening Act," a flash reading of original work by literary rock stars. Reading will be written on a theme provided by Debut Lit. It's fun and it's fast. Readers include Aryn Kyle (The God of Animals), John Murillo (Up Jump the Boogie), Sung J. Woo (Everything Asian), Brooke Berman (No Place Like Home), Matt Stewart (French Revolution), Fiona Maazel (Last Last Chance) and Daphne Beal (In the Land of No Right Angels).
Location: powerhouse Books
Date: 7:00 pm
Price: Free

Books to Movies: The Sweet Hereafter (1997) Directed by Atom Egoyan. With Ian Holm, Sarah Polley. In this adaptation of Russell Banks' novel, a big city lawyer (Holm) descends on a small Canadian town following a tragic school bus accident to organize a civil action suit, while simultaneously mourning the loss of his own daughter to drug addiction. Atom Egoyan's masterpiece is a sensitive examination of overcoming grief. Q&A with author Russell Banks.
Location: BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue
Time: 7:30 pm
Price: $12 general admission / $8 BAM Cinema Club members

Literary Pub Contest staged by PEN American Center at St. Ann's Warehouse. The first ever PEN Quiz Night. Don't miss the chance to compete with (and against!) your favorite authors. We'll bring the paper and the pencils; you bring your literary meddle!
Location: St. Ann's Warehouse
Time: 7:00 - 10:00 pm; doors open at 7:00
Price: FREE

RingShout, a Place for Black Literature, kicks off its new reading series. Join us for an evening of readings by four acclaimed African-American writers. Featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tayari Jones, Jeffrey Renard Allen and Danielle Evans. DJ Sounds by Rob Fields.
Location: Littlefield, 622 Degraw Street (3rd and 4th Avenue)
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Price: Suggested donation: $5

SATURDAY

Making Books Sing - A Warming up for the Brooklyn Book Festival. In 1929, New York's first Puerto Rican librarian, Pura Belpré, transforms her East Harlem library into a welcoming community center for all, through a blend of storytelling, music and puppetry, young audiences will learn about Puerto Rican folklore and the library's important role in the community. Kids sing along and become puppeteers as Pura's stories unfold. Followed by a bookmaking workshop.

Location: Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza (Flatbush Ave. & Eastern Parkway)
Time: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Price: FREE

Books to Film for Children. A series of short films based on children's books for ages 2-6, followed by Q& A with some of the authors, including Brooklyn Book Festival participants Jon Scieszka (with the film The True Story of the Three Little Pigs) and Chris Raschka (with the film Yo! Yes?).
Location: BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue
Time: 10:30 am
Tickets: Adults: $12; Children (under 13): $9

Robin Hood: Prince of...MONSTERS. Mainspring Collective and the Irondale Center present a new children's theater series, Monster Literature, written and conceived by Daniel John Kelley, an action-packed and hilarious live theater series that celebrates great works of children's literature that kids can read NOW. For more information, www.monsterliterature.com.
Location: Irondale Center, 85 South Oxford Street
Time: 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm
Price: Tickets available online for $5 or at the door for $7

THE NEW BROOKLYN COOKBOOK: Recipes and Stories from 31 Restaurants That Put Brooklyn on the Culinary Map. Join authors Melissa and Brendan Vaughan for a panel discussion and cocktail hour at The Brooklyn Kitchen, North Brooklyn's leading hub of home culinary exploration, and the best place to learn how to make restaurant dishes in cramped apartment kitchens. Panelists will include the chefs, farmers, kimchi makers and beer brewers who make this borough delicious! Admission includes an early copy of the book.
Location: 100 Frost Street
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Price: $65 (includes advance copy of book)

Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. Author Rob Sheffield reads from his latest work and chats about new wave music, adolescent love and John Hughes movie soundtracks. Rob is the best-selling author of Love is a Mixtape and has been a music journalist for over 20 years. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran is his latest book, a poignant tour of his 1980s adolescence, as told through the music of that decade. Stick around afterward and enjoy Rob and other DJs spinning the tunes highlighted in the book. For details, please visit www.thebellhouseny.com.
Location: Front lounge at the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd & 3rd Aves.)
Time: 8:00 pm
Price: FREE

Genre Busters: Freebird Books & Goods presents a ninety-minute variety show with artists and authors who work in a genre to turn it on its head. Includes readings, slideshows, short lectures, video, Q&A, trivia prizes and snacks.
Location: Freebird Books & Goods, 123 Columbia Street
Time: 8:00 pm
Price: FREE

SUNDAY (AFTER THE FESTIVAL)

Copper Canyon Listening Party featuring Mountains and Lymbyc Systym
It's not about reading, it's about listening. Copper Canyon Press' award-winning authors Mark Bibbins, Chris Martin, Brenda Shaughnessy and Ben Lerner will be reading their works at this event; also featuring special performances by acclaimed folk-gazer/electronica bands Mountains and Lymbyc Systym.
Location: Littlefield, 622 Degraw Street (btw. 3rd and 4th Aves)
Time: Doors open at 7:30 pm
Price: $8 in advance, $10 day of show

The Story of Italian American Song by Mark Rotella. Song selections from the book will be performed for dinner guests at Brooklyn's own Pizza D'Amore. Rotella's book covers everyone from crooners like Sinatra and Tony Bennett, to female pop singers like Joni James and Connie Francis, to the late 50s/early 60s groups like Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and Dion and the Belmonts.
Location: Pizaa D'amore, 2147 Mill Avenue
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Price: Included with dinner

Cosmos: A Personal Journey. Screened under the evening sky, the Emmy Award-winning PBS television series based on the book Cosmos by Carl Sagan, will enchant and fascinate all ages. Bring a picnic blanket and prepare to be dazzled.
Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier One
Time: 7:00 pm
Price: Free

Please visit the website for more details and information: http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org