When the Williamsburg Book Festival launched six years ago, it was a small celebration of local authors. Now, it attracts visitors from across the U.S. as writers and readers seize the opportunity to share ideas and bond over their love of the written word through diverse panels and presentations.
“We’ve got more authors. We’ve got different publishers. We’re getting further and further reach,” said Dawn Brotherton, the festival’s acting president who took over the reigns from founder Greg Lilly.
The event returns to the Stryker Center Oct. 6. For the fourth year, it coincides with the return of An Occasion for the Arts, the Merchants Square art show celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
The book festival may be a newer addition to Williamsburg Fall Arts calendar. But Brotherton sees it as the perfect complement to the other events highlighting different media throughout the season.
“This is about books. It’s about writing,” she said. “I think that’s probably what makes it special.”
The latest iteration features four publishers alongside 50 local, regional and national authors. Authors making an appearance include Leigh Heidenthal, a Pennsylvania teacher who wrote a children’s book inspired by the adoption of her son, Helen Hamilton, a Master Gardener who teaches for the Christopher Wren Association, and North Carolina-based young adult fiction writer Julia Day.
“It’s a good place to make our authors known to the local public and sell a few copies,” said John Conlee, an English literature professor at William and Mary and one of the featured authors. “It’s an opportunity for people not only to come in and talk about authors and books but to talk about writing.”
Such opportunities manifest in part through the festival’s panels, which return to explore various topics throughout the day. One explores what it means to be an African-American writer, another highlights the roles family and place play throughout southern literature and a third delves into the nuances of writing creative nonfiction.
“They’ve got all these wonderful seminars. I think those events really enrich the whole endeavor,” Conlee said. “The entire quality of the event has improved.”
The festival features readings by four Virginia Poet Laureates, including the latest person to hold the title, William and Mary English and humanities professor Henry Hart.
Dr. William Kelso serves as this year’s featured speaker. During an afternoon seminar, he will discuss his book, “Jamestown: The Truth Revealed,” and his role as director of archaeology for the Jamestown Rediscovery Project at Historic Jamestowne. Kelso will further elaborate on his experiences during a keynote presentation at 6:30 p.m. inside William and Mary’s Tucker Hall.
Brotherton sees the festival as an opportunity to learn, grow and nurture the creativity in all of us.
“I always love to support the authors, obviously,” she said. “But more so, I like encouraging people who are interested in writing to come talk to people and see that they can do it.”
Want to go?
The Williamsburg Book Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Stryker Center, 412 N. Boundary St. The evening seminar runs from 6:30-7:30 p.m. inside Tucker Hall, 350 James Blair Drive. Free and open to the public. For more information, visit williamsburgbookfestival.org.
