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Stephen King
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Walter Isaacson
Amy Paige Condon has
cliff notes on the Savannah
Book Festival.
ever needed a babysitter,” my mom used to say when asked to describe me.
“Just give her a book, and she’s fine for hours.”
It was true, and still is. I can lose all sense of time, place and self. A beautiful
phrase or compelling story can take hold of me like a strong undertow and carry me away.
So I’m looking forward to getting swept off my feet again this President’s Day Weekend,
Feb. 15-19, when the Savannah Book Festival returns for its fifth year. This year’s expanded
schedule is filled with some of the biggest names in literature and lifestyle as well as emerging
authors who are on their way up the book-selling charts.
Almost all of the events are free and open to the public, and the ones that aren’t—evenings
with Brad Thor and Walter Isaacson, and the closing address with Stephen King—are affordable.
Sure, Stephen King sold out in two hours, but there are still tickets to hear Isaacson’s intimate
account of interviewing Steve Jobs 40 times before the Apple-founder’s death last October.
Some other highlights:
The Prince of Tides
Pat Conroy will make his first appearance at the
SBF to discuss the books that changed his life and
inspired him to become a writer. It’s been 40 years
since “The Water is Wide” brought our neighbor,
Daufuskie Island, to the world. Since then, Conroy
has enjoyed a successful career penning intensely
personal stories set in his beloved Lowcountry.
Life and Style
Another first: The Telfair Academy’s Sculpture
Gallery will be transformed into a lifestyle venue,
featuring top interior designer Charles Faudree,
celebrity caterer Lulu Powers, former White House
Savannah Book Festival »
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“flower czar” Nancy Clarke and the evangelist of
refined Southern cuisine, Virginia Willis.
War and Peace
Karl Marlantes, author of the bestselling novel,
“Matterhorn,” returns again with his latest, a memoir
about his service in the Vietnam War. He joins a
number of other authors who will explore the costs of
conflict: Tom Clavin, husband-and-wife team Greg Myre
and Jennifer Griffin, S.C. Gwynne and Douglas Brinkley.
I’m particularly excited to hear the brave Irshad Manji,
the director of NYU’s Moral Courage Project, talk about
her efforts to confront financial, political and religious
corruption—sometimes at great personal risk.
Feb. 15-19, Telfair Square, www.savannahbookfestival.org
M O L LY W R IGH T
C O U R T ES Y SAVANNAH B O O K F ES T IVA L
Pat Conroy
Experience the festival
from the inside. Save for
one paid position, this
event is fueled entirely
by tireless and dedicated
volunteers. Last year, I
discussed the nuances
of language with Roy
Blount Jr. over a basket
of ribs, discussed the
blues with Marc Smirnoff
of The Oxford American
magazine and rhapsodized about bacon with
Thomas Chatterton
Williams—all in the
name of volunteering.
Discover: Peruse
this year’s menu of more
than 40 authors and
read some of their earlier
works ahead of time.
For example, Melissa
Fay Green’s “Praying for
Sheetrock” is a revelation
of life in South Georgia
in the 1970s. Touré is
one of this generation’s
most astute observers
of popular culture, and
his essay “What’s Inside
You, Brother?” is a tour
de force.
Support: To get a
book signed by an SBF
author, you’ll have to
buy it on-site, with some
proceeds benefiting the
festival. If you spend a
certain amount, you’ll
receive a keepsake book
bag imprinted with the
artist Molly Wright’s
exquisite interpretation
of the festival’s 2012
theme, “Lose Yourself in
Books.”