2009
HIGHLIGHTS
At the inaugural Boston Book Festival on Saturday, October 24, 2009, more than 12,000 readers of all ages from across Greater Boston and New England came to Copley Square and The Boston Public Library, Old South Church, and Trinity Church to attend talks and sessions by more than 90 world-renowned authors and presenters including Nobel, Pulitzer, Caldecott and Emmy award winners, and dozens of New York Times bestselling authors. More than 40 local booksellers, businesses, and nonprofit organizations showcased their goods and services, and music groups—many from Berklee College of Music—performed live in the bustling Copley Square street fair. Boston Book Festival 2009 also featured many free participatory activities for festival-goers and their families including programming for children, writing workshops, open mic opportunities, and Writer Idol.
At the Teen Spoken Word Showcase, young Bostonians performed original works, participating in the long tradition of accomplished poetic expression in Massachusetts. In Old South Church’s sanctuary, a rapt audience of over 1000 people listened to Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk deliver the keynote address, while in the Boston Public Library’s Rabb Lecture Hall, some of our country’s greatest thinkers—Michael E. Porter, David Gergen, Lani Guinie—discussed the first year of the Obama presidency. At the 826 Boston Copley Square booth, children pounded away on typewriters and drew pictures of favorite words. In the E-Ink pavilion, festival-goers experienced the cutting edge in electronic paper and ereader technology, including flexible and color displays.
At Boston Book Festival 2009, avid readers met authors and each other and exchanged thoughts, ideas, and book recommendations, aspiring writers received encouragement and direction from established masters, and children and their families interacted with book characters, authors, and illustrators.
2009 PRESENTERS
Russ Aborn
Kurt Andersen
Alicia Anstead
Jessica Anthony
Tom Ashbrook
Jack Beatty
Jared Bowen
Stace Budzko
Ken Burns
Dana Cameron
Stephen Carter
Billy Costa
Harvey Cox
Callie Crossley
Carolina de Robertis
Anita Diamant
Brendan DuBois
Andre Dubus III
Joseph Finder
A. W. Flaherty
Jim Fusilli
David Gergen
Leslie Gilbert-Lurie
Ethan Gilsdorf
Mary Gordon
Michael Greenberg
Lani Guinier
Steve Haber
Jennifer Haigh
Lynne Heitman
John Hodgman
Jeffrey Howe
Walter Isaacson
Jennie Israel
Mary Lou Jepsen
Bret Anthony Johnston
Neil Jones
Sheryl Julian
Calestous Juma
Brewster Kahle
Jane Kamensky
Kathleen Kent
Scott Kirsner
Deborah Kovacs
Tim Kring
Corby Kummer
Reif Larsen
Dennis Lehane
Jill Lepore
Brian Lies
Grace Lin
Elinor Lipman
Bill Littlefield
Christopher Lydon
Barbara Lynch
Michael Patrick MacDonald
Jackie MacMullan
Scott Magoon
Megan Marshall
Kim McLarin
Ben Mezrich
Richard Michelson
Nicholas Negroponte
Elizabeth Nunez
Jay O’Callahan
Brian O’Donovan
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo
John Orwant
Orhan Pamuk
Tom Perrotta
Robert Pinsky
John Pipkin
David Pogue
Michael Porter
Alicia Potter
Iqbal Quadir
Nancy Rappaport
Richard Russo
Katherine Roy
Hank Phillippi Ryan
Anita Shreve
R. Sikoryak
Alicia Silverstone
Irene Smalls
Jessica Stern
Glenn Stout
Grace Talusan
Michael Thomas
Paul Tremblay
Scout Tufankjian
Larry Tye
Chris Van Allsburg
Cornel West
Jared T. Williams