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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL IS FIVE ! SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 — PARTIES AND EVENTS ALL WEEKEND! 200 Authors, 175 Vendors, 13 Venues, Expanded “Bookend” Events Renowned Poet John Ashbery to receive annual Award Now in its fifth year, the Brooklyn Book Festival is one of the top book festivals in the country. 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, Gary Shteyngart, Mary Gaitskill, John Ashbery, Rosanne Cash, Paul Krugman, Colson Whitehead, Francine Prose, Dennis Lehane, Per Petterson, Esmeralda Santiago, Pete Hamill, Jennifer Egan, Russell Banks, Michael Connelly, John Hodgman, Kristen Schaal, Sam Lipsyte, Sloane Crosley, Maaza Mengiste, Paul Harding, Amy Goodman, Marlon James, Sarah MacLean, Jean Valentine, Elizabeth Nunez and many more, as well as children’s and young adult lit stars like Rebecca Stead, Sara Shepard, Jacqueline Woodson, Jon Scieszka, Jenny Han, Nina Crews, Mac Barnett, Tad Hills, Chris Raschka, Michael Rex, Matthew Reinhart and Francisco X. Stork. At the Brooklyn Book Festival, you can see Salman Rushdie and young novelist Tishani Doshi discuss Pakistani/Indian literature and culture. Hear what Paul Krugman has to say about the economy. Get a peek into the masterminds of modern crime fiction Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane and Alafair Burke, meditate on the insights of yoga-convert and humorist Neal Pollack, get cooking tips from the founders of Frankies Sputino and hear Sarah Silverman, John Hodgman and Kristen Schaal opine on life and comedy. See full list of programs below. 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. Locations include Brooklyn Borough Hall/Columbus Park, St. Francis College and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Brooklyn Book Festival is presented by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn Literary Council and Brooklyn Tourism. “As the creative epicenter of New York, Brooklyn is already home to many of the world’s greatest writers, and now we’ve got a festival that gathers together the rest of the best from across the nation and around the world,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. FESTIVAL EXPANDS WITH NEW “BOOKEND” EVENTS ALL WEEKEND! 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, Debut Lit, Freebird Books & Goods, Greenlight Bookstore, Irondale Center, Light Industry, Littlefield, Mainspring Collective, PEN American Center, Pizza D’Amore, powerHouse, St. Ann’s Warehouse, WORD and more! Hear Russell Banks discuss books and film at BAM, dance as Rob Sheffield spins ’80s music at Bell House, hang with John Waters as he talks about his new book Role Models at WORD in Greenpoint. Check out the rest of the great weekend Bookend events—see list of Bookend events below. RENOWNED POET JOHN ASHBERY WILL ACCEPT BEST OF BROOKLYN “BoBi” AWARD On Saturday, September 11, at the Festival Gala, the Brooklyn Book Festival “BoBi” award, given each year to an author whose body of work exemplifies or speaks to the spirit of Brooklyn, will go to the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Ashbery. Ashbery’s ties to Brooklyn and New York run deep. He once worked as a librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library, and co-directed the poetry MFA program at Brooklyn College. From 2001 to 2003, he was poet laureate of New York State. The BoBi award was established in the Festival’s second year. Previous BoBi recipients include Edwidge Danticat (2009), Walter Mosley (2008) and Paul Auster (2007). FIFTH ANNIVERSARY IS THE BIGGEST AND BEST YET! “When we launched the Festival, it was a modest event keyed to Brooklyn’s status as the home to so many great writers,” said Brooklyn Literary Council Chair Johnny Temple. “But it has grown into a celebration of the international literary scene and New York City’s long-lasting love affair with the writing and reading world.” FESTIVAL PARTNERS AND SPONSORS Brooklyn Book Festival sponsors include Astoria Federal Savings; Boar’s Head Provisions; Brooklyn Community Foundation; Citi; Con Edison; Downtown Brooklyn Partnership; NYC & Company Foundation; NYC Department of Parks & Recreation; New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge; New York State Council on the Arts; St. Francis College; Skylight One Hanson; Target; Time Out New York Kids and WABC-TV. Cultural and programming partners are BAM; the Brooklyn Historical Society; Brooklyn Public Library; Cave Canem; Housing Works Bookstore Café; LIVE from the NYPL; The Nation; the National Book Foundation; The New York Review of Books; PEN American Center; Poetry Society of America; and St. Francis College. With a festival this hip, smart and diverse—Brooklyn is indeed Book-lyn! Media Contacts: Please contact Laura Sinagra or Mark Zustovich [email protected] / [email protected] / (718) 802-3832 For more information visit www.brooklynbookfestival.org or check out the official Facebook page On Twitter, follow the Brooklyn Book Festival @BKBF The Brooklyn Book Festival PressLift page is at http://brooklynbookfestival.presslift.com/brooklynbookfestival BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL, SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 10:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M. BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL PROGRAMS 10:00 A.M. It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll (But I Like It). Musically inspired readings by three chart-topping American fiction writers: Steve Almond (Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life), Jennifer Egan (A Visit from the Goon Squad) and Colson Whitehead (Sag Harbor). Followed by Q&A. ST. FRANCIS AUDITORIUM Youth Is a Foreign Country. To an adult, looking back on adolescence and young adulthood often seems like a nostalgia of liberation. But what if youth and its traumas continue to haunt you into adulthood? Readings by novelists Farai Chideya (Kiss the Sky), Myla Goldberg (The False Friend) and Reif Larsen (The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet), followed by Q&A. BOROUGH HALL COURTROOM Brooklyn Poet Laureate Presents. Brooklyn’s new poet laureate, Tina Chang, introduces some of her favorite poets to read from their work. Featuring Mark Doty, Terrance Hayes, Ada Limón and Tracy K. Smith. Moderated by Tina Chang. MAINSTAGE Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose: Sports and Power in America. Michael Weinreb (Bigger Than the Game), Dave Zirin (Bad Sports), and Will Leitch (Are We Winning?) show us the money, unmask the juiced-up, ego-fueled game of professional sports, and salvage what’s left to love. ST. FRANCIS MARONEY SCREENING ROOM Presented by Housing Works Bookstore Café:Exposing a Difficult Past. A panel exploring the motivations for, and process behind, writing for the general public about life events most people would keep secret. With Piper Kerman (Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison), Darin Strauss (Half a Life), Kathryn Harrison (The Kiss) and Nelson George (City Kid: A Writer’s Memoir of Ghetto Life and Post-Soul Success), moderated by Elizabeth Wurtzel (Prozac Nation). Presented by Housing Works Bookstore. ST. FRANCIS MCARDLE HALL Brooklyn Remix Lit Match Awards. Come hear the finalists of the Brooklyn Remix borough- wide writing contest, some of the most talented students writing in the borough. Author Aimee Friedman (Sea Change) will emcee. NORTH STAGE Troupe Classics. Performs classic children’s books. TARGET CHILDREN’S AREA You’ve Got to Be Kidding. Former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jon Scieszka (Spaceheadz), National Book Award finalist E. Lockhart (The Treasure Map of Boys) and Mac Barnett (The Brixton Brothers) take on the absurdity of life in books and writing, and talk about their ways of making us laugh, including hamster space aliens and panicky smart alecks. Moderated by Betsy Bird. THE YOUTH STOOP Librarian Reception. The Brooklyn Book Festival invites librarians to a special morning event hosted by the Brooklyn Historical Society. Join us from 10:00am to noon for a TARGET sponsored continental breakfast. Special guest appearance by The Quotables, presenting an interactive quotes game with prizes! Speaker: Marilyn Johnson, author of This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All. RSVP REQUIRED: RSVP www.brooklynhistory.org BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 11:00 A.M. The Economic Crisis and What To Do About It. A conversation with Nobel Prize–winner Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, moderated by Jeff Madrick—all frequent contributors to the New York Review of Books. Introduced by Robert Silvers, editor of the New York Review of Books. ST. FRANCIS AUDITORIUM Mothers and Daughters. An adult imagining and reimagining the relationship with one’s mother invariably leads back to the complex web of childhood and upbringing. Short readings followed by a discussion and Q&A. Featuring fiction authors Marlon James (The Book of Night Women), Elizabeth Nunez (Anna In-Between) and Jayne Anne Phillips (Lark & Termite). BOROUGH HALL COURTROOM The PSA Presents: Established and Emerging Poets. The nation’s oldest poetry organization celebrates its 100th anniversary with some of the country’s best emerging and established poets —Martín Espada, Dorothea Lasky, John Murillo and Jean Valentine. Moderated by Rob Casper. MAINSTAGE Wrong Turns. Three fiction writers read from their books about characters who take a wrong turn in life, and can’t go back. Short readings followed by Q&A. Lauren Grodstein (A Friend of the Family), Nancy Mauro (New World Monkeys) and Donna Hill (Getting Hers). ST. FRANCIS READING ROOM Kafka on the Block. In conjunction with BAM’s Next Wave Festival performance of Metamorphosis (Vesturport Theatre, Iceland) directed by Gísli Örn Gardarsson, BAM hosts a panel discussion on Kafka’s legacy with Joshua Cohen (Witz); Francine Prose (Reading Like a Writer); and Matthew Sharpe (The Sleeping Father; Nothing Is Terrible; Jamestown).