Literanista
November 28, 2006
Nineteenth Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair Register Now
Schedule of Events
Saturday, December 2nd
10:00 am: Fair Opens
11:00 am to 12:45 pm; assembly room
READINGS FROM SELECTED SMALL PRESS AUTHORS
11:00 Deanna Shapiro/PRA Publishing
11:15 John Fiske/Black Spruce Media
11:30 Ellis Avery/Impassio Press
11:45 Linda LeBlanc/Ama Dablam, Inc.
12:00 Stephen Kaufman/Hanshi Warrior Press
12:15 Robert Dunn/Coral Press
12:30 Rebecca Shumejda/sunnyoutside
11: 00 am to 12:00 pm; Room 208
HERE’S LOOKIN’ AT YOU, CUPCAKE
What is it About Cupcakes? We’ve loved them since childhood—and now it seems they’re everywhere. Cupcakes: Why do we love them so? There are lines forming outside of bake shops and thousands of cookbooks devoted to these sweet little treats; people even blog about them. Join this panel of cupcake experts as we sing the praises of the cupcake and discuss just why they have remained so popular for so long (did you know that Hostess first started making them in 1919?). Along the way you’ll learn where to find the best cupcakes in the city and pick up a baking tip or two.
Panelist are: Elaine Cohen, author of Super-Duper Cupcakes: Kids’ Creations from the Cupcake Caboose; Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World; and Rachel Kramer Bussel, writer and co-founder of the blog All Cupcakes, All The Time. Moderated by Marisa Bulzone, editorial director of Hearst Books.
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm; Room 208
CHICK LIT: MORE THAN JUST BRIDGET AND BLAHNIKS
The recent publication of two anthologies, This Is Chick Lit, and This Is Not Chick Lit, has generated a lot of debate about a genre that is both beloved and hated. Join Sarah Mlynowski, author of See Jane Write: A Girl’s Guide to Writing Chick Lit, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, editor of This Is Chick Lit, and authors Caren Lissner, Rachel Pine, and Karen Siplin for a lively discussion of the phenomenon.
1:00 pm to 2:00; Room 208
PARTNER WITH YOUR PUBLISHER:
HOW NOT TO FEEL @#%*!ED WHEN YOUR BOOK COMES OUT
The age of the powerless disappointed author is over. In a panel moderated by maverick publishing consultant Stephanie Gunning, celebrity therapist/author Donna LeBlanc, award-winning self-published novelist Carol Hoenig, and Free Press assistant publicity director Jill Siegel reveal their special strategies and tools for effective book promotion developed inside and outside the publishing firm.
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm; Room 208
THE RISE OF THE PROGRESSIVE BLOGOSPHERE AND
THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN POLITICS
Leading liberal/progressive political bloggers Lindsay Beyerstein (Majikthise), Jeffrey Feldman (Frameshop), Bob Geiger (bobgeiger.com) and Bill Scher (Liberal Oasis, author Wait! Don’t Move to Canada) discuss the progressive blogosphere’s rise to power, and how this newly emergent political force will remake not only the Democratic Party, but the entire American political landscape.
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm; Assembly Room
PEN AMERICAN: LITERATURE OF COLOR: MYTH OR REALITY?
American literary culture echoes the ambivalences, arguments and conviction at play in our society. It follows that, rightly or wrongly, ethnic identity becomes entwined in discussion of literature produced by writers of color. Noted writers Luis Francia, authors Monique Truong, Martha Southgate and Jaime Manrique will explore this topic. Luis Francia will be moderating this panel.
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
Michael Cunningham, acclaimed author of Specimen Days, The Hours, Flesh and Blood, and A Home at the End of the World, will discuss his life and career as a writer. The interviewer will be Nora Rawlinson, former editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly.
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
SEIZE THE DAY: GROUNDBREAKING FICTION WRITERS
CHARTING TURBULENT WATERS
In an era of corporate consolidation and bottom-line mandates, how do fiction writers negotiate their careers? Indie hit novelist Joe Meno, elusive best-selling writer T Cooper, and San Francisco renegade Peter Plate discuss their approaches in a conversation moderated by the editor of the Believer, Ed Park.
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
THE POLITICS OF POETRY: WOMEN INVENTING NEW GROUNDS
Internationally renowned poet Anne Waldman, and acclaimed poet and novelist Eileen Myles, will engage in a conversation with emerging poets Jen Benka and Matthea Harvey. These writers will discuss the importance of poetry as a medium of social and political engagement, and how women poets across generations have responded to and written against the trials and tribulations of their times. The panel will be moderated by Erica Kaufman of Belladonna.
Sunday, December 3rd
11:00 am: Fair Opens
12:00 am to 12:45 pm; Assembly room
READINGS FROM SELECTED SMALL PRESS AUTHORS
11:00 Mary Ellen Sinclair/Zenga Publishing
11:15 Francine L. Trevens/GNYIPA
11:30 George Robert Minkoff/McPherson & Company
11:45 Sandra Sanchez/The Wessex Collective
11:30 am to 1:00 pm; Room 208
STEALING THE VOTE: WAS THE 2004 ELECTION STOLEN?
AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING IN 2008?
With numerous examples of fraud and voter disenfranchisement having taken place in Ohio during the 2004 presidential election, join Steve Freeman, Mark Crispin Miller, Greg Palast, and Paul Robeson, Jr. as they examine what happened in Ohio in 2004 with an eye toward preventing it from happening again in 2008. Dan Simon, publisher of Seven Stories Press, will moderate.
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm; Room 208
ROE VS. WADE IN 2007:
NO REST FOR THE WEARY
Nation columnist Katha Pollitt will be joined by Third Wave feminist crusader/author Jennifer Baumgardner and journalist Eyal Press in a discussion of the frontline battles to protect women’s rights in the coming year. The discussion will be moderated by Sara Nelson, editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly.
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm; Assembly Room
PICTURE BOOKS: HARDER THAN THEY LOOK
They look so easy. They’re short. Not a lot of text. Simple, straightforward prose. Anyone can do it, right? Wrong. Picture books are deceptive in their simplicity. Writing, illustrating and editing them is a craft. Join author Emily Jenkins, illustrator Tomek Bogacki, author/illustrator Meghan McCarthy, and editor Erin Clarke as they share their experiences and advice.
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm; Room 208
A NATION BOOKS PANEL: THE IMPEACHMENT MOMENT
In a Nation Books Panel, a conversation with Tom Engelhardt, author of Mission Unaccomplished, and Elizabeth Holtzman, former NY Congresswoman and author of The Impeachment of George W. Bush, who will discuss the new congress and the potential for impeachment.
2:00 pm to 2:45 pm; Assembly Room
READING AND BOOK SIGNING WITH IRA JOE FISHER
Author of Some Holy Weight in the Village Air and a weekly appearance on The Saturday Early Show for CBS, Ira Joe Fisher, will be doing a reading, Q&A and book signing at the Fair.
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm; Room 208
TWO THE HARD WAY: AMIRI BARAKA & COLIN CHANNER IN CONVERSATION
Literary anti-hero Amiri Baraka and best-selling Jamaican writer Colin Channer will discuss books, politics, history and the future of literature.
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm; Assembly Room
READING & BOOK SIGNING WITH RELENTLESS AARON
A reading and discussion with Relentless Aaron, one of the most successful self-published authors, who in 2006 went on to sign a 14-book contract with St. Martin’s Press; Relentless Aaron will be doing a reading, followed by a discussion and Q&A about his career, first as a self-publisher and later as an author publishing a record number of titles with a major press.
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm; Room 208
BURNING NEW YORK: EXPOSING THE SUBCULTURE OF GRAFFITI
This panel will discuss the subculture of graffiti in New York, an art movement that is largely undocumented and often misunderstood, with graffiti artists Savager, Lady Pink & Smith & photographers James & Karla Murray. Graffiti techniques, forms, and styles will be examined so that the public can begin to understand its complexity and underlying messages. Its continued influences on the arts and media will be revealed and insight will be given on graffiti art’s future and its documentation.
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm; Assembly Room
BOOKS AS CULTURAL WEAPONS: THE IMPULSE TO PRESERVE
A panel discussion on the importance of book culture with David Levi Strauss, Jonas Mekas, Dore Ashton, and Dan Simon. Panel moderated by Phong Bui, publisher of The Brooklyn Rail. We would like to thank our sponsors:
