Book Fairs

Guys Lit Wire (GLW) is currently hosting its annual book fair, helping Ballou Senior High School in Washington D.C. buy 900 books for its half-filled shelves.

Readers can contribute by buying books for the library through Powell’s Books. The video embedded above shows the actual library. The book fair runs until May 18th.

GLW  contributor Colleen Mondor explained in a post: “Ballou is very special to me as school librarian Melissa Jackson made such an eloquent case for her students’ need for more books. Her video, which shows so many empty shelves, really gave me reason to pause. There are probably more books in my house then Ballou has in this video and that is wrong in so many ways that I don’t even know where to begin. At the time the video was made early this year there were just over 1,150 books on the shelves at Ballou; there are over 1,200 students in the school. So there was barely one book for each student (the ALA standard is 11:1).”

 

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How about replacing the chocolate mint on your hotel pillow with a good book?

According to the New York Post, Midnight’s Children author Salman Rushdie (pictured, via) will be selecting ten American classics to be featured in the guest rooms at New York City’s Standard Hotel.

The titles, provided by Housing Works, will be available inside the rooms during this year’s PEN World Voices Festival from April 25th to May 1st. Which titles should Rushdie pick? (via Publishers Weekly)

Oscar-nominated actress Julianne Moore, Emmy-nominated comedian Mindy Kaling, and journalist Jim Lehrer will host breakfast events at this year’s Book Expo America.

Moore, author of picture book Freckleface Strawberry, will preside over the children’s writers’ breakfast. Kaling (a writer at The Office)  and Lehrer (author of both fiction and nonfiction) will host two adult writers’ breakfasts.

Here’s more from the press release: “The other speakers who will be joining the hosts for these popular events include Sarah Dessen, Roger Ebert, Anne Enright, Jefferey Eugenides, Charlaine Harris, Kevin Henkes, Diane Keaton, Erik Larson, and Brian Selznick.  In addition, Katherine Paterson, who is the current Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will be saying a few words at the Children’s Breakfast on behalf of the Children’s Book Council.”

Children’s book character Madeline stars in this year’s L.A. Times’ Festival of Books artwork. The illustration celebrates the new book, Madeline at the White House by John Bemelmans Marciano.

Marciano is the grandson of original Madeline author/illustrator, Ludwig Bemelmans. Jacket Copy reports: “He never met his grandfather, but he uses the same materials Bemelmans did, including gouache and ‘pens that you have to dip in ink.’ Ludwig Bemelmans started with a pencil sketch and then did an ink drawing over that — as does Marciano.”

In this video, the author explains that the new book was inspired by his grandfather’s friendship with former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. In total, Marciano has published five Madeline titles, continuing the six-book series created by his grandfather. Marciano has also written Bemelmans: The Life and Art of Madeline’s Creator and stand-alone titles like Harold’s Tail and There’s a Dolphin in the Grand Canal.

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There will be no Cape Town Book Fair this year. The organizers explained in a website announcement: “The reason for this new move is that publishers in South Africa have voiced their support for a bi-annual Fair, starting in 2012.”

Last year, the event was held at the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC). It boasted over 240 events, 273 exhibitors, and 33,488 visitors. The next festival is scheduled for June 12th-14th, 2012.

In addition, iafrica.com theorized that the organizer scrapped the event because only four out of South Africa’s “Big Six” publishers  (NB, Jonathan Ball, Jacana, and Pan Macmillan) participated in the 2010 book fair.

UK author Ian McEwan (pictured, via) has won the $10,000 Jerusalem Prize. It will be awarded at the 25th International Jerusalem Book Fair. The biennial prize recognizes work that articulates ideas about “freedom of the individual in society.”

Here’s more from the release: “McEwan’s protagonists struggle for their right to give personal expression to their ideas, and to live according to those ideas in an environment of political and social turmoil. His obvious affection for them, and the compelling manner in which he describes their struggle, make him one of the most important writers of our time. His books have been translated into many languages and have enjoyed world-wide success – particularly in Israel, where he is one of the most widely-read of foreign authors.”

Several past winners (including Peruvian writer, Mario Vargas Llosa) have also received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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Nine editors and four agents from the U.S. and Canada have won fellowships to attend this year’s Jerusalem International Book Fair. Running from February 20th to 25th, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the book fair.

Here’s more from the press release: “Altogether, 33 editors and 12 agents from 17 different countries were granted these special visiting fellowships for an international exchange of ideas with colleagues, including many alumni fellows, and Fair exhibitors, and to become more familiar with the Israeli publishing scene.”

The editorial fellows inclued: Reagan Arthur (Little, Brown), Kristin Cochrane (Doubleday Canada), Jonathan Jao (Random House), Jenna Johnson (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Altie Karper (Schocken Books), Benjamin Schafer (Da Capo Press), Johnny Temple (Akashic Books), Iris Tupholme (HarperCollins Canada), and Emily Wichland (Longhill Partners).

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According to Book Signing Central, former President George W. Bush will make an appearance on November 11th at the National Museum of the US Air Force. Next, Bush will open the Miami Book Fair on November 14th.

The Washington Post reports: “Bush is scheduled to speak at the 27th annual Miami Book Fair International, which runs from Nov. 14-21. The former president will present his memoir ‘Decision Points,’ on Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. Book fair organizers told The Associated Press that tickets to Bush’s presentation are $40. That includes a presigned copy of the book.”

The Drudge Report revealed a few passages from the Bush memoir last week. Matt Lauer will be airing an interview with Bush on November 8th and Oprah Winfrey will interview the former President the next day. (Via Huffington Post)

The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is hosting “Page Turner,” its first all-day literary festival, this Saturday at Brooklyn’s powerHouse Arena—and on Friday night, the Workshop will present Sonny Mehta with its Lifetime Achievement Award in a ceremony that features an appearance by one of Knopf‘s literary stars, Michael Ondaatje. There are two levels of access to the Friday night event: $50 lets you in on a cocktail reception at 7 p.m., but for $500 you can stick around for the gala dinner afterwards. (Both tickets include full access to Saturday’s events, which are also priced separately or on a day-pass.)

Full disclosure: GalleyCat senor editor Ron Hogan is one of many guest speakers Saturday; he’ll be moderating a discussion about “Queering the Asian-American Coming of Age Story” with novelists Alexander Chee, Abha-Dawesar, and Rakesh Satyal that afternoon.

Our friends at mediabistro.com’s design blog, UnBeige, told us late last week that Ai Weiwei, who was one of several dissident Chinese artists and writers invited to participate in Frankfurt Book Fair programming—which as you can imagine was not received well by the official delegation from the People’s Republic, which is the “guest of honor” at this year’s event—is now unable to attend due to health complications. Weiwei is still recovering from surgery on a cerebral hemmorhage which more than a few people suspect was caused by being beaten by Chinese authorities earlier this year. According to an Art Info article quoted by UnBeige, Weiwei’s position is that ever were he able to travel, he has “no real desire for empty and pointless political debate.”