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2012 Schedule of Events
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Friday, April 27
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Friday 6:00 PM
The Firehouse Center
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Opening Ceremony
The Lyrical Voice
WGBH radio personality and recently published author Ron Della Chiesa will be joined by John Lennon biographer, Tim Riley, to discuss the lyrical voice as it relates to popular music – from the American Songbook to the British Invasion and more.
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Friday 7:30 PM
Nicholson Hall
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Join us for Dinner with the Authors!
Tickets $50.00 at the door or online
Buffet and cash bar
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Saturday, April 28
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Poetry
Saturday 8:30 AM
Central Congregational Church Social Hall
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Coffee with the Poets
Coffee with the Poets kicks off the seventh Newburyport Literary Festival with the traditional blend of coffee and pastries provided by Souffles of Newburyport. This event will feature readings of new works by five members of Newburyport's distinguished Powow River Poets--Pat Callan, Michael Cantor, Robert Crawford, David Davis, and Michele Leavitt--introduced by Anne Mulvey. Book signing will follow the readings:
Join us!
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Nonfiction
Saturday 9:00 AM
Firehouse Center
for the Arts
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A Natural History of the Piano
In Stuart Isacoff’s new book, A Natural History of the Piano, the pianist and writer traces the invention and development of the instrument, probes its social impact, and surveys the wide array of composers and performers who made it their own. Beginning with the sonic envelope that emerges when the piano's hammers strike the strings, he demonstrates how composers have exploited such elements as the initial percussive pop ("The Rhythmitizers"), the dynamic arc ("The Combustibles"), harmonic chemistry ("The Alchemists"), and singing tone ("The Melodists"), forging connections between such disparate artists as Bach and Dave Brubeck, Beethoven and Jerry Lee Lewis, Couperin and Bill Evans, and Chopin and Gershwin.
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Fiction
Saturday 9:00 AM
Old South Church
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Technology and Terror: Mystery Writers on the Cutting Edge
Technology and medical science play an increasing role in the lives of modern fictional characters, and can range from secrets encased in a laptop to mind-altering that leads to conspiracy. Three popular mystery authors, Gary Braver (Tunnel Vision), Daniel Palmer (Helpless) and Michael Palmer (Oath of Office) talk about how they use cutting-edge concepts to enhance the reader's experience.
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Fiction
Saturday 9:00 AM
Old South Church
– Social Hall
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Andrew Scott's Naked Summer
Andrew Scott’s short stories “capture those in-between states that everyone finds themselves in at some point - those times of limbo when we're between jobs or relationships, or, most memorably, that last "naked summer" when childhood lingers and adulthood has not yet arrived.” — Elizabeth Stuckey French. Join Andrew as he reads from his amazing debut collection.
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Nonfiction
Saturday 9:00 AM
Unitarian Universalist Church
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Get Onboard the Online Book Scene: How Social Media Connects Readers, Authors, and Reviewers.
In this panel, we’ll discuss how social media like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, LibraryThing, and various blogs and podcasts are being used to connect like-minded readers in a continuous conversation about books. Author Matthew Dicks (Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend), podcaster Ann Kingman (Books on the Nightstand), and blogger Dawn Rennert (She is Too Fond of Books) will talk about their experiences both as readers and content providers for these new media. Learn where online the cool book nerds are hanging out; the dangers of letting Facebook know what you're reading; and even how authors use social media to eavesdrop on you.
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Nonfiction
Saturday 9:00 AM
The Book Rack
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Radio My Way: Ron Della Chiesa
Boston broadcasting icon Ron Della Chiesa has brought music and musical legends alive for over thirty-five years. Radio My Way tells the inside stories of his radio career. Discover Boston's vibrant music scene through his interviews with everyone from opera greats Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, to jazz artists Dizzy Gillespie and Dave McKenna, to song legends like Rosemary Clooney.
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Fiction
Saturday 9:00 AM
Jabberwocky Bookshop
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William Giraldi’s Busy Monsters
What’s a man to do when his fiancée runs off with a squid hunter? Try to win her back, of course. Busy Monsters chronicles the quest of Charles Homar, who’ll stop at nothing —including guns, explosives, UFOs, and ghosts—to be reunited with his lost love. Join the author as he reads from and discusses his novel, which “abounds in antics and satire,” according to The New York Times.
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Children
Saturday 9:30 AM
Children's Room, Newburyport
Public Library
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Homes for Poems Bookmaking Workshop
Author, educator and renowned Newburyport artist Susan Gaylord guides young and old during this workshop on creating personal poetry books. Using a stick, string or ribbon, and recycled paper, each burgeoning artist will craft a small book perfect for haiku or other small poems. Collage papers, markers, and printed haiku from the Japanese masters will be supplied. This workshop is geared for families but open to all.
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Poetry
Saturday 10:00 AM
Central Congregational Church Social Hall
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Kevin Pilkington Reads
Poet Kevin Pilkington will read from his two most recent collections as well as a few newly-completed poems. “I try to create experience in my work, and not simply relate it to the reader or listener. I also try to stretch the familiar until it is fresh and new, and hope that each poem will pull the imagination in a new direction but never snap it.”
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Fiction
Saturday 10:00 AM
The Book Rack
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Alice Bliss
Join Laura Harrington as she reads from her profoundly moving coming-of-age novel about love and its many variations: Whether it’s the support of a small town looking after its own; love between an absent father and his daughter; complicated love between an adolescent girl and her mother or an exploration of new love with the boy-next-door. Don’t miss the grace, humor, and wisdom of Alice Bliss.
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Fiction
Saturday 10:00 AM
Jabberwocky Bookshop
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Father of the Rain: Lily King
Winner of the New England Book Award for Fiction and the 2011 Maine Literary Award, Father of the Rain traces a complex and volatile father-daughter relationship from the 1970s to the present day. A provocative and masterfully told story of one woman’s life-long, primal loyalty to her father, Father of the Rain is a spellbinding journey into the emotional complexities, mercurial contours, and magnetic pull of families.
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Children
Ages 4 - 8
Saturday 10:30 AM
Children's Room,
Newburyport Public Library
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Remembering Sammy
Most of us know what it feels like when a beloved family pet dies, but for young children the experience can be painfully bewildering. In her engaging new picture book, Sammy in the Sky, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Maine resident Barbara Walsh uses clear, gentle prose accompanied by Jamie Wyeth's soft watercolor illustrations to tell the story of Sam, her first dog whose joyful life was shortened by illness. The picture-book set can't help but feel the love in this bittersweet celebration of a favorite dog.
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Children
Ages 7 - 12
Saturday 10:30 AM
Program Room, Newburyport Public Library
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On the Edge of Our Seats: Why Kids Love Suspense
Ever been so deep into a good mystery that you don't hear your mom calling? If so you'll want to come hear award winning authors Tony Abbott and Elise Broach explore why kids love mysteries, revealing how each author creates crazy, surprising twists and turns that keep pages turning and readers guessing. Fans of Abbott's recently published Goofballs #1: The Case of the Missing Thunder and Broach's Missing on Superstition Mountain, the first in a mystery trilogy, won't want to miss this program.
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Poetry
Saturday 11:00 AM
Central Congregational Church Social Hall
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Signs and Wonders: Charles Martin
Join Charles Martin as he reads poems from his latest book, and some new poems and translations from G. G. Belli, poet of the Roman people. Copies of Martin’s translations of Ovid's Metamorphoses and the newly-published Bhagavad Gita translation will also be available.
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Nonfiction
Saturday 11:00 AM
Firehouse Center
for the Arts
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A Book with Your Concert?
Singer-songwriter Christine Lavin's songs are skewed somewhere between an entertainer's flair for sparking laughter and a novelist’s eye for telling detail. Whether her songs are drawn from her own life experience or what she sees around her -- events, headlines, fads and foibles that shape American life – Christine's gift for story telling is evident in her books. Join her for a concert including songs bearing a direct relation to the content of her award winning autobiography Cold Pizza for Breakfast: A Mem-wha?? as well as her upcoming children’s book Hole In The Bottom of the Sea. There will be time to talk with Christine about her books.
C A N C E L L E D
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Nonfiction
Saturday 11:00 AM
Old South Church
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Fenway Park’s 100th Anniversary
On April 20, 1912, the Boston Red Sox played their first official game at Fenway Park. Since that day, the stadium at 4 Yawkey Way has hosted nearly 8,000 Red Sox games and launched such legends as Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Wade Boggs. Come celebrate the stadium’s 100th birthday—and the team that calls it home—with authors Richard Johnson and Bill Nowlin.
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Nonfiction
Saturday 11:00 AM
Old South Church – Social Hall
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Tim Riley’s Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music
If it’s happening in the music world, Tim Riley can tell you about it. Chances are he’ll even be writing about it for NPR or cataloguing it in his music metaportal, the Riley Rock Index.com. Join Tim for a lively conversation about all things musical, including his experiences as an NPR critic, Emerson College journalist-in-residence, and author of several books, including his latest, Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music - The Definitive Life.
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Nonfiction
Saturday 11:00 AM
Unitarian Universalist Church
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Townie
Acclaimed local novelist Andre Dubus III, reads from his memoir, Townie, a gritty story of his violent past and a lifestyle that threatened to destroy him – until writing saved him.
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Fiction
Saturday 11:00 AM
The Book Rack
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Edith Pearlman’s Binocular Vision
Edith Pearlman’s stories deal with love in all its forms: young, old, thwarted, and denied. She also writes of marriage, family, death, and betrayal in settings as close as Maine and as far away as Russia. Join this recent National Book Critics Circle Award winner as she reads and discusses her short stories.
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Fiction
Saturday 11:00 AM
Jabberwocky Bookshop
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Love and Shame and Love: A Novel
Come and hear Peter Orner read from the novel Publishers Weekly calls ''vibrant and captivating... A richly layered, intimate picture of a distinctive but also typical family enduring life's vicissitudes and stoically carrying on." Beautifully written, Orner’s novel reveals the complicated workings of the human heart.
C A N C E L L E D
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Poetry
Saturday 12:00 AM
Central Congregational Church Social Hall
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The Poetry of Gail Mazur
Gail Mazur, author of six books of poems and founding director of Blacksmith House Poetry Series in Cambridge, will be reading from her most recent collection, Figures in a Landscape, and from newer work.
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Poetry
Saturday 12:00 PM
Bridge Gallery
1R Water Street
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The 2012 Ekphrasis Project
Ekphrastic art is art in any genre produced in response to art in a different genre: for example, Moussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," which is music composed to suggest a response to a collection of paintings. But most commonly, it is writing meant to convey the sense of some visual art piece, or a piece of music, or a dance or play.
Newburyport High School poets will read their original poems inspired by paintings and sculpture at the Bridge Gallery.
Moderator: Debbie Szabo
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Nonfiction
Saturday 1:00 PM
Firehouse Center
for the Arts
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Songwriting and the Lyrical Voice:
Dylan Thomas to Bob Dylan, Lead Belly to Led Zeppelin
Come enjoy this lively discussion about songwriting and the lyrical voice – including poetry, folk music, blues, and rock. Dan Stone, the editor of Radio Silence, a new magazine of literature and rock & roll, will be joined by two musicians – Blake Hazard, from the indie-rock band The Submarines (she’s also F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great-granddaughter), and Scott Alarik, who is a folksinger, novelist, and former music critic for the Boston Globe. The session will feature live performances by Blake and Scott, as well as a “mixtape” section in which we’ll listen together to a handful of great songwriters.
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Fiction
Saturday 1:00 PM
Old South Church
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Truth in Fiction: Telling Her Story in History.
Three award-winning historical novelists discuss the challenges of writing about the women of history, from Cleopatra and Elizabeth I to the Hebrew Bible’s Dinah and King Edward’s mistress Jane Shore among others. Panelists: Anita Diamant (The Red Tent, Last Days of Dogtown, Day After Night); Margaret George (The Memoirs of Cleopatra, Mary Magdalene, Mary, Queen of Scots and the Isles, Elizabeth I); and Anne Easter Smith (A Rose for the Crown, Daughter of York, Queen By Right).
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Nonfiction
Saturday 1:00 PM
Old South Church
– Social Hall
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Food Glorious Food
Food connects us to the people and events in our lives. Its smell, taste, and texture remind us of meals shared with family and friends; of good times and bad. In their latest books, Molly Birnbaum (Season to Taste) and T. Susan Chang (A Spoonful of Promises) use food as the central theme in two very different stories. Birnbaum writes about her recovery after a car accident, which destroyed her ability to smell and made her abandon her plans to become a chef. Chang traces her childhood memories through food scenes linked to the family that helped to shape who she is today. Join both authors for a thought-provoking discussion about the way food nourishes us in a variety of ways.
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Nonfiction
Saturday 1:00 PM
Unitarian Universalist Church
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Authors and Editors: Working Together
What is the relationship between author and book editor? How closely will you work with an editor before your book is published? What is the process from acceptance to publication? What’s the difference between an independent and a traditional publisher? Ann Kingman of Books on the Nightstand will moderate this panel of authors and editors from independent and traditional publishers, including author Matthew Dicks and his editor Brenda Copeland from St. Martin’s Press and author Myfanwy Collins and her editor Victoria Barrett of Engine Books.
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Nonfiction
Saturday 1:00 PM
The Book Rack
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Winged Obsession: The Pursuit of the World's Most Notorious Butterfly Smuggler
Butterflies are one of the world’s most beautiful and endangered species, as lucrative as gorillas, panda, and rhinos on the black market. So how do you catch a butterfly smuggler? With a very wide—and tenacious—net. Journalist Jessica Speart went undercover to investigate Yoshi Kojima, who was making millions off the winged beauties. Like others before her, Speart hoped to put an end to Kojima’s crimes, but he proved more elusive than she had ever imagined.
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Fiction
Saturday 1:00 PM
Jabberwocky Bookshop
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Margot Livesey reads from The Flight of Gemma Hardy
Set in Scotland in the early 1960s, The Flight of Gemma Hardy has been described as a modern variation on Jane Eyre. By age ten, Gemma Hardy is orphaned and living at a boarding school where she is a servant and student. Though she seems destined for a life of hardship and loneliness, Gemma overcomes multiple challenges to create a more promising future for herself. Her life takes a sudden turn after she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands.
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Children
Ages 7 - 12
Saturday 1:00 PM
Immaculate
Conception School
1 Washington St.
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Comics, Diaries and the Triumph of the Wimpy Kid
Just how did Jeff Kinney, creator of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and its five sequels, capture the essence of Greg Heffley so perfectly? How'd he know kids would love Heffley's journal—make that diary--enough to spawn 45 million copies worldwide? Find out what kind of kid Jeff was, how he remembers so much about middle school, and why he's so funny today. If you suspect the identities of Greg and his creator are somehow intertwined come hear firsthand how a love of comics and a penchant for laughter helped Kinney bring one memorable wimpy kid to life.
*All books purchased at the event's official booksellers will be signed by Jeff along with ONE book brought from home. Because of the expected size of the crowd, Jeff will be signing his name only, he will not be personalizing. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
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Young Adult
Ages 12 & up
Saturday 2:00 PM
Program Room, Newburyport Public Library
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Weird is the New Cool: How Quirky Characters Make Us Care
If adolescence requires acceptance of individuality while making peace with differences, the best young adult novels reflect that struggle. Brian Meehl and Matthew Quick often write about disenfranchised teens, kids for whom normal is not necessarily desirable nor attainable. Meehl is a former Sesame Street puppeteer, 3-time Emmy winning writer for children's TV and author of You Don't Know About Me. Quick, known as “Q”, wrote The Silver Linings Playbook, now being made into a movie starring Robert De Niro. Both create funny, offbeat novels that are refreshingly honest and relevant. Join us for a lively discussion on what makes quirky beautiful.
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Poetry
Saturday 2:00 PM
Central Congregational Church Social Hall
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Annual Youth Poetry Slam
All ages are invited to witness the fast-paced competition of the Youth Poetry Slam, an annual tradition drawn straight from the heart of Chicago's Green Mill. Defined as “the art of competitive performance poetry," this modern oral tradition gives poets a limited amount of time to impress judges selected from the audience, while other audience members are strongly encouraged to participate by cheering, whistling, or mildly heckling the hosts or judges. Adults and kids alike learn the power of a single word, line, or figure of speech when spoken aloud. Parents of young listeners should keep in mind that slam can be a spontaneous and uncensored art form.
Poets ages 14-20 should bring at least two poems to sign up and compete in this open slam! Unaffiliated audience members may be invited to judge the event. Hosted by Boston Poetry SlamMaster Simone Beaubien.
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Nonfiction
Saturday 2:30 PM
Old South Church
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Boston’s Literary Magazine Scene
Literary magazines are publishing some of today’s best writing. Many of those magazines are based in colleges and universities throughout the Boston area. What role do such publications play in the city’s literary community? How do they help foster new talent? How are they adapting to the digital age? Join editors from Agni, Ploughshares, and The Harvard Review, as well as literary agent Caroline Zimmerman, as they discuss the joys and challenges of publishing a literary magazine.
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Fiction
Saturday 2:30 PM
Old South Church - Social Hall
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Aine Greaney Reads from Dance Lessons
“Dance Lessons is filled with longing, and redemption. It is also filled with beauty and promise. The writing is lovely and poignant and begs the reader’s empathy. Dance Lessons will leave the reader wanting more.” — Story Circle Book Reviews Listen to Aine read from her haunting novel of hidden truths and unspoken memories.
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Fiction
Saturday 2:30 PM
Unitarian Universalist Church
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The Leftovers
In his most recent novel Tom Perrotta asks: What if the Rapture happened and you got left behind? Through the prism of a single family, Perrotta illuminates a familiar America made strange by grief and apocalyptic anxiety. Named one of the Best Books of 2011 by NPR ("Fresh Air"), The Washington Post, The Seattle Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Miami Herald, and The Book Page, The Leftovers is a powerful and deeply moving book about people struggling to hold onto a belief in their own futures.
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Nonfiction
Saturday 2:30 PM
The Book Rack
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Newburyport and the Civil War
Local author William Hallett describes in thrilling detail the lives and deeds of those from the Clipper City who served both Union and Confederate causes. From the abolitionist preaching of William Lloyd Garrison to the heroism of Albert W. Bartlett, with naval warfare--including the construction of the USS Marblehead--and political intrigue in between, Newburyport left its mark on the Civil War.
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Fiction
Saturday 2:30 PM
Jabberwocky Bookshop
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Meg Mitchell Moore reads from So Far Away
The lives of a wayward teenager and a lonely archivist are unexpectedly joined through the discovery of an old diary. What could the life of an Irish immigrant domestic servant from the 1920s teach them both? In the pages of the diary, they will learn that their fears and frustrations are timeless. Join local author Meg Mitchell Moore as she reads from her latest compelling novel, So Far Away.
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Young Adult
Ages 12 & up
Saturday 3:00 PM
Program Room - Newburyport Public Library
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Time to Face the Change
What does it feel like when the loss of a parent's job forces a family to assume a whole new life far removed from their former one? Corinne Demas, an English professor at Mt. Holyoke College and author of more than twenty books for children and teens, explores the topic in her compelling YA novel, Everything I Was, the story of Irene, a teenage girl whose life is forever altered when it happens to her. Come find out why Publisher's Weekly called Demas' latest novel ... “an authentic portrait of country life, economic stress, and the tensions associated with a major life change.”
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Nonfiction
Saturday 3:00 PM
Glenn's Restaurant
and Cool Bar
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A Glass of Wine with Gina Barreca
In Make Mine a Double Gina Barreca has collected essays about women and their complex relationship with their beverage of choice written by a diverse community of witty and intelligent women. Barreca is also the author of It's Not That I'm Bitter - a collection of her own witty and intelligent essays. In her essays Gina digs deep in to the questions of the universe: Why is there no King Charming? Why does no bra ever fit? Why do people say "cougar" like it's a bad thing? In It's Not That I'm Bitter, Barreca ponders these questions and many others by giving women a hilarious antidote for the toxic "musts" they've been fed over the centuries. Join Gina for wine, cheese, a reading, and lots of laughter at Glenn's Restaurant and Cool Bar. Please note: This event requires a $13 admission fee which includes a glass of wine and an assortment of cheeses, crackers and fruit.
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Poetry
Saturday 4:00 PM
Firehouse Center
for the Arts
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The Jazz Poetry of Robert Pinsky
Former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky will be joined by three jazz greats –John Lockwood, Bob Moses, and Stan Strickland - for a blend of jazz and poetry you won't want to miss! Seating is limited so be sure to arrive early.
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Fiction
Saturday 4:00 PM
The Book Rack
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Echolocation by Myfanwy Collins
In this stunning debut novel, Myfanwy Collins lays bare the hearts of three lost women called together by their own homing instincts in a season that will change their lives–and the place they call home–forever. Echolocation is literary fiction at its finest. Listen to Myfanwy Collins read from this harrowing tale of love and loss.
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Fiction
Saturday 4:00 PM
Jabberwocky Bookshop
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Elizabeth I: Margaret George Reads
One of today's premier historical novelists, Margaret George tackles her most complicated subject yet: the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, England's greatest monarch. George paints a spectacular portrait of the alluring yet elusive woman who ruled over the golden age of British history and culture.
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Saturday 7:00 PM
Firehouse Center
for the Arts
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Closing Ceremony
The Poems & Songs of Alfred Nicol
The theme of our seventh annual Literary Festival is The Lyrical Voice, which might be defined as "language that seeks the condition of song." We will have language and songs a-plenty, and Saturday night will be no exception. Poet Rhina Espaillat, classical guitarist John Tavano, soprano Ann Tucker, and Justin Quinn's blues band Roll and Tumble bring their lyrical voices to the stage. Join us at the Firehouse as we continue our celebration of this year’s honoree, poet/songwriter Alfred Nicol.
We’ll gather at the Firehouse Center for the Arts at 7:00 p.m. Saturday.
Don't expect the words to stay on the page!
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