Readers, book events and festivals are always a favorite around here. Today’s conversation dives deep into the art and craft of creating an engaging literary festival.
I’m happy to welcome Sarah Moriarty, the Executive Director of the Charleston Literary Festival, to the show today. We talk about what goes into curating such a festival, what you may be glad to know before attending a literary festival yourself, and what makes a particularly satisfying in-person gathering. Especially when it comes to a good conversation about the books we love, or the books we didn’t even know about before but are so glad we discovered. In addition, Sarah shares her three-point recommendation for getting the most out of your festival experience.
Sarah also tells us more about how she came to be in this position and shares details about this November’s event, which is welcoming more than 70 writers and thinkers from around the globe, including more than a few names you have heard on this show before.
Whether you’ve got this specific festival or a future one on your wish list, you’ll hear great tips in today’s conversation. Please share your suggestions or favorite festival moments by leaving a comment below.
Explore the Charleston Literary Festival at the event website or on Instagram.
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Books mentioned in this episode:
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Edda L. Fields-Black (try Combee)
• David W. Blight (try Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom)
• Michael Cunningham (try The Hours)
• Audition by Katie Kitamura
• Flesh by David Szalay
• Nathan Englander (try For the Relief of Unbearable Urges)
• Good Girl by Aria Aber
• The Doorman by Chris Pavone
• The Stolen Heart by Andrey Kurkov
• Twist by Colum McCann
• Imani Perry (try Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People)
• Eat, Drink, and Remarry by Patricia Altschul
• Empire of the Elite by Michael M. Grynbaum (Audio edition)
• When the Going Was Good by Graydon Carter
• Tina Brown (try The Vanity Fair Diaries)
• Dolen Perkins-Valdez (try Happy Land)
• Gather Me by Glory Edim
• Safiya Sinclair (try Cannibal)
• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
• Apeirogon by Colum McCann
• Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church by Kevin Sack
• Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (try Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own)
• Adam Gopnik (try Paris to the Moon)
• The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Daniel Mendelsohn
• Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
• Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot
Also mentioned:
• Charleston Literary Festival
• WSIRN Episode 354:Book festivals for beginners
• The Bloomsbury Group
• Charleston House in Sussex
• Book Club Concierge program
• Cato Fellowship Prize
• Please support our sponsors.