Chestertown Book Festival Returns November 1-3, Authors include Andrea Wulf, Adam Goodheart

A reading by Andrea Wulf, author of Chasing Venus, will
open the Chestertown Book Festival November 1.

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The Annual Chestertown Book Festival returns November 1, 2, and 3, with author talks, readings, artworks and a book sale.  All events are free and open to the public.

The festival kicks off Thursday, Nov. 1, at 5:30 p.m. on the Washington College campus with a reading by Andrea Wulf, acclaimed author of Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens and Brother Gardeners, in Decker Theatre, Gibson Center for the Arts. Wulf’s visit is sponsored by the College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.

Adam Goodheart.

Also at Washington College, at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, Adam Goodheart, author of the New York Times bestseller 1861: The Civil War Awakening, will talk about “history and the writing life” and take questions from the audience. Sponsored by the Rose O’Neill Literary House, the talk will take place in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall.

On Saturday, Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., more than 45 authors will exhibit their books for sale to the public at the Festival’s main site, Emmanuel Church Hall, 101 North Cross St., in downtown Chestertown.

During the day that Saturday, six guest authors will give special readings. They include 

Richard Ben Cramer.

Chestertown resident Richard Ben Cramer, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author of What It Takes: The Way to the White House; Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life; Ted Williams: The Seasons of the Kid; and How Israel Lost: The Four Questions. 

Also reading is Ryan Grim, Washington Bureau Chief for The Huffington Post and author of the book This is Your Country on Drugs. Grim, a native of Worton and a graduate of Kent County High School, was awarded a 2010 Sidney Hillman Award for socially-conscious journalism for his Huffington Post article “The Poorhouse,” and the 2011 Maggie Award from Planned Parenthood for “Behind the Assault on Planned Parenthood.”

Food and art will complement this year’s festival on Saturday. The Lemon Leaf Restaurant will offer a luncheon menu on-site.  And the Chestertown River Arts will host “Illustrating the Narrative,” an exhibition of expressive artwork, art objects and photography, in its gallery at 315 High St., Suite 106.  (The exhibit will continue through November.)

The Chestertown Book Festival operates as a 501.c(3) nonprofit organization. This year’s sponsors include the Kent County Public Library, The Rose O’Neill Literary House at Washington College, the C.V. Starr Center for the American Experience, Chester River Press and the Kent County Arts Council. For more information, visit http://www.chestertownbookfestival.org. 

John Barth Reading to Open Book Festival

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Acclaimed novelist John Barth kicks off the third annual Chestertown Book Festival on Friday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. at Washington College with a reading from his new manu­script, Every Third Thought: A Novel in Five Seasons, from Counterpoint Press. The reading will take place in Hynson Lounge, on the College campus (300 Washington Avenue), with a reception and book signing to follow.

Sponsored by the College's Rose O’Neill Literary House and The Chestertown Book Festival, the reading is free and open to the public. For more information: http://www.chestertownbookfestival.com/, and http://lithouse.washcoll.edu/.