This week starts the annual Fall for the Book festival at George Mason University. Since my husband is the marketing director, I also am a Fall for the Book widow this week. Thankfully, my lovely mom is here to help out with Dash.
So, if you’re in the D.C. area, you should take a look at the web site and come to some of the events. I’ll be reading on Friday at 1:30 p.m. as part of the Washington Area Women Writers panel. Here are some of the other readings/panels I’m looking forward to:
Wednesday, Sept. 26
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Shirlington Branch Library 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA
Kenn Budd, author of The Voluntourist: A Six-Country Tale of Love, Loss, Fatherhood, Fate, and Singing Bon Jovi in Bethlehem, reads from his book where he embarks on a quest to help others—from post-Katrina New Orleans to a special needs school in China, from climate change research in Ecuador to projects in Kenya, Costa Rica, and the West Bank.
Thursday, Sept. 27
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Sandy Spring Bank Tent George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA
Novelist Clifford Garstang and Short Story Writer Edward Belfar
3 p.m.
Mason Concert Hall
Three decades after the publication of The Color Purple, Alice Walker reflects on the novel’s lasting legacy and discusses her other writings and her social and political activism.
Friday, Sept. 28
5:30pm-7:00pm
Grand Tier III, Center for the Arts George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA
Neil Gaiman — whose works range from the cult DC Comics series Sandman to books including Coraline, Anansi Boys, and American Gods (Au Diable Vauvert) — accepts the 2012 Mason Award, presented to an author for making extraordinary contributions toward connecting literature with a wide reading public.
Saturday, Sept. 29
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Sherwood Center, Performance Hall B 3740 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22030
Bestselling, award-winning mystery writer Laura Lippman debuts her latest novel, And When She Was Good, about a lobbyist and soccer mom who has a secret life in the world of high-price prostitution. Sponsored by the Fairfax Library Foundation.
Sunday, Sept. 30
6:30pm-8:00pm
Concert Hall, Center for the Arts George Mason University
Novelist Michael Chabon — whose works include the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, and most recently, Telegraph Avenue — accepts the 2012 Fairfax Prize for literary achievement.