Chabon and Martel Headline Calvin Festival
by Jana Riess, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 4/23/2008
More than 2,000 people enjoyed a stellar lineup of writers, poets, publishers and other literary types at Calvin College's biennial Festival of Faith & Writing, held this past weekend (April 17-19) in Grand Rapids, Mich. Festival director Shelly LeMahieu Dunn said that registration maxed out by mid-March, well before the April 1 deadline.
One big draw was the high-profile authors at the event, including plenary speakers Michael Chabon (The Yiddish Policemen's Union), Yann Martel (Life of Pi), Kathleen Norris (Dakota) and Katherine Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia). Some authors also did daytime Q&As, giving audience members behind-the-scenes insights into their lives. Chabon talked about his reaction to learning he had won the Pulitzer Prize (he claims he was calm, but his eight-months-pregnant wife screamed like a madwoman). In concurrent sessions, authors like Haven Kimmel, Phyllis Tickle, Elizabeth Berg, Brian Doyle, Krista Tippett and Mary Karr reflected on the intersection of spirituality and the writer's craft.
Festival-goers seemed pleased with the speakers and the event as a whole. First-time attendee Lisa Samson, a novelist, reported she finally understood what a writers conference is supposed to be like. "The difference is that this is a nourishing atmosphere, and not just an educational one," she said. "It's not just about how to write, but also why to write. And the why never gets old, because writers need a new why every year."
The small but centrally located book exhibit was a prime gathering spot during session breaks. "Traffic has been great, and sales have exceeded the last few festivals pretty significantly," said Lil Copan, senior editor at Paraclete Press, which had strong interest in fiction as well as nonfiction books on liturgical spirituality and monasticism. At the Baker booth, senior director of marketing B.J. Heyboer saw a strong correlation between book sales and author presentations: "After Dave Athey spoke, people made a beeline for the booth to pick up his novel Danny Gospel."
What's in the cards for 2010? Dunn wouldn't reveal any names, but said that there are some "great folks already lined up" as speakers, and that she hopes to have more sessions to help writers deal with some of the changes in the publishing industry. "Some authors are left on their own in terms of marketing," she noted.
