Frontlist | Virginia Festival of the Book unveils schedule 40 virtual events.

on Feb 02, 2021

The 27th annual Virginia Festival of the Book will present more than 40 virtual events during this year’s event, which will take place from March 13 to 26, mostly over Zoom and Facebook Live.

All events in this year’s schedule, which was announced Monday, will be free. Video recordings with transcripts will be available after the live events for viewing on demand.

“Environmental Injustice: Reckoning with American Waste,” at 7 p.m. March 20, will bring together authors Kerri Arsenault (“Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains”), Anna Clark (“The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy”) and Catherine Coleman Flowers (“Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret”) to discuss their investigations into environmental scandals.

“Dark Times & Mercy: John Grisham and Ian Rankin in Conversation” will bring the two authors together at 7 p.m. March 26 to talk about new books, revisiting established characters and all kinds of other topics.

“I See Myself: Diversity in Children’s Literature,” presented at 4 p.m. March 25 with Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at the University of Virginia, unites Angela Dominguez, Vashti Harrison and Dub Leffler to talk about the importance of inclusive storytelling and diversity in children’s literature.

At 7 p.m. March 16, “An Evening with Jacqueline Woodson” features the author reading from and speaking about her latest novel, “Red at the Bone,” and her National Book Award-winning “Brown Girl Dreaming.”

The full schedule, which can be explored at vabook.org, also includes the following highlights:

» 7 p.m. March 13: “NBF Presents: The Work of Fiction,” presented by the National Book Foundation, will include a discussion by 2020 National Book Award for Fiction honorees Rumaan Alam, Megha Majumdar and Deesha Philyaw.

» Noon March 15: “Acts of Inclusion: A Conversation with Tiffany Jana” will dive into the author’s new book, which helps individuals and organizations recognize and prevent microaggressions.

» 4 p.m. March 18: “Filled with Possibility: Poetry” features poets Erika Meitner, Kiki Petrosino and Brian Teare.

» Noon March 22: “O Wondrous World! Ross Gay & Aimee Nezhukumatathil in Conversation” will dive into their new books of collected essays that explore the magic of ordinary wonders.

» 7 p.m. March 24: Sadeqa Johnson will talk about “Yellow Wife,” her new novel about an enslaved woman in Virginia’s most infamous slave jail.

» 7 p.m. March 25: “Homeland Elegies with Ayad Akhtar” will explore ideas of identity and belonging in a post-9/11 world.

» Noon March 26: The third annual Carol Troxell Reader will be mystery author Cara Black, who will read from and talk about “Three Hours in Paris,” her latest book. Source: The Daily Progress