2018

2018 SLIDE SHOW

HIGHLIGHTS

The tenth(!) annual Boston Book Festival took place on October 12-13, 2018. In the absence of Lit Crawl this year (but mark your calendars for its 2019 return on June 6!), we hosted a citywide #BBFBookHunt featuring photo clues for BBF 2018 authors’ books, shared on Twitter and Instagram during the lead-up to the festival on October 8 and 9. On Friday, October 12, we were also pleased to work with the Wondermore organization to have author Meg Medina visit the King K-8 School in Dorchester, which was the recipient of this year’s Shelf Help book donation. Meg’s travel was delayed thanks to Hurricane Michael (more on that later!), but she arrived in time for a festive presentation with a large group of enthusiastic King students.

Official BBF festivities kicked off Friday evening with a kickoff keynote featuring Michael Pollan‘s new book on the science of psychedelics, How to Change Your Mind. Pollan’s insightful conversation with On Point‘s Meghna Chakrabarti set the tone for the full day of presentations to follow.

The BBF’s years-long run of perfect weather came to an end on Saturday, as the remnants of Hurricane Michael brought chilly sprinkles to Boston for the first part of the day. The gray skies didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of BBF attendees, however, who showed up in force and even braved the rain for a morning dance party, an outdoor story time performance by Jef Czekaj, and literary walking tours by Boston By Foot. 75 exhibitors, food trucks, cold brew coffee samples, Berklee College of Music performers, and a half-dozen costume characters helped brighten attendees’ moods.

Although sessions on horror fiction, romance novels, feminist historical fiction, Renaissance art, seasonal cooking, and Mr. Rogers helped leaven the mood, BBF attendees and authors alike were ready to discuss the serious topics with which we’re grappling this year. As a result, sessions on youth activism, sports activism, climate change, authoritarianism, and America’s legacy of racism proved especially popular. A session on poets’ responses to gun violence, inspired by the anthology Bullets into Bells, also included a performance of handbell music by the Back Bay Ringers. Certainly a highlight of the day for the 800 attendees lucky enough to snag a ticket to the sold-out event at Old South Church was the session “On Leadership,” featuring a conversation among Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Kerry, and Samantha Power.

In addition to BBF Unbound sessions and workshops on poetry revision, writing as a mode of recovery, telling complicated personal stories, queering the canon, and more, we welcomed sessions developed by the Mystery Writers of America, Massachusetts Center for the Book, Christian Science Monitor, National Book Foundation, and Zephyr Press, as well as three sessions featuring French and French Canadian authors at the French Cultural Center. MIT Press also produced a Pitchfest, in which aspiring authors presented their proposals for new science and technology books to an all-star panel of guest judges. This year, we presented programming at several new venues, including Eataly and the Boston Architectural College, whose two locations each hosted a full day of sessions, many of them focusing on art, urban planning, and design.

As usual, there was plenty to keep kids and teens busy all day at the BBF. Many families started their BBF day by attending a live performance of the storytelling podcast Circle Round, and then stuck around the BPL to attend readings by picture book authors and illustrators, listen to panel discussions by award-winning authors, participate in cartooning and map-making workshops, or hunt for Waldo around the library. Kids’ keynote speaker Kate DiCamillo charmed attendees with her child-focused Q&A, and joint YA keynote speakers Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera shared their funny, inspiring stories to a huge crowd.

But the scene in Copley Square was far from the whole story at BBF 2018, since two other vibrant Boston neighborhoods served as hosts for festival programming. We returned to the East Boston branch of the BPL for a fun-filled day that featured a workshop by Daniel José Older, a story time reading by Sheetal Sheth, an appearance by Pete the Cat, and even a performance by Veronica Robles‘s all-female mariachi band.

And, for the first time, we launched the BBF in Roxbury, as the Bolling Municipal Building served as the beautiful venue for an exciting day of interdisciplinary programming for all ages. Highlights included a session with BBF fiction keynote presenter Tayari Jones, a mini-comicon with Comics in Color, a poetry reading, an appearance by sportswriter Howard Bryant, and a session on arts and activism featuring a curtain-raiser performance by playwright and performer Liza Jessie Peterson. Kids were also front and center in Roxbury, as they had a chance to beat Ben and Tonya Mezrich at a paper plane design contest, meet Curious George, design a robot with 826 Boston, and participate in an egg drop challenge coordinated by the Roxbury Innovation Center. Scroll down for a brief video that captures the excitement of the day!

This year’s annual Poems & Pints session–coordinated in partnership with Mass Poetry–was held for the first time at the Room & Board furniture store and featured a live musical performance by author/singer/songwriter Robin MacArthur and readings by five poets, not to mention delicious seasonal snacks and beverages. The Red Sox might have been kicking off their playoff run down the street, but the capacity crowd of enthusiastic poetry fans knew that they were at the real Saturday evening party. It was the perfect capstone to the tenth annual BBF and propelled us into our second decade in style. Thanks to everyone–our donors, volunteers, board members, partners, presenters, and attendees–for making BBF 2018 the best one yet.

2018 AUDIO

Archival audio recordings are available for the following sessions from BBF 2018:

(Note: clicking the title of a session will play the audio file in a new window. To download the file to your hard drive, right-click (PC) or ctrl-click (Mac) and select “Download linked file” from the menu that appears.)

America’s Original Sin: Racism: Jabari Asim, Monica Muñoz Martinez, Laura Wides Muñoz, Host: Maria Garcia
Animal Story: Sy Montgomery, Host: Vicki Croke
Authoritarianism: Stephen Greenblatt, Amy Siskind, Timothy Snyder, Host: Timothy Patrick McCarthy
BBF Unbound: Self-Publishing: Brunonia Barry, Jim Delay, Meg Wasmer, Host: John Fiske
BBF Unbound: Twitter Ate My Brain: Ryan McKenna, Earl K. Miller, Michael Rich, Sree Sreenivasan, Maryanne Wolf, Host: Sylvia Pagán Westphal
Berlin: Jason Lutes, Host: N.C. Christopher Couch
Between Cultures: Sam Graham-Felsen, Yang Huang, Blair Hurley, Fatima Farheen Mirza, Host: Adam Stumacher
Bullets into Bells: Brian Clements, Martin Espada, Judi Richardson Host: Julie Carr
Capitalism vs. Democracy: Robert Kuttner, Dambisa Moyo, Host: Rebecca Henderson
Caught in the Middle: Ben Bradlee, Jr., Sarah Kendzior, Jonathan Weiler, Austin Smith, Host: Jeremy Hobson
Circle Round
Confronting a Nazi Past: Julie Lindahl, Host: Leslie Gilbert-Lurie
Crossing Languages: Catherine Ciepiela, Jim Kates, Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright
Dangerous Places: James Hayman, Paul Kemprecos, Susan Oleksiw, Clea Simon, Host: Mo Walsh
Death by Design: Charles Belfoure, Host: Dawn Tripp
Diplomacy: The Art of the Deal: James Sebenius, Wendy Sherman, Host: Graham Allison
Edge of Fame: Justine Bateman, Host: Geoff Edgers
Fiction Keynote: Tayari Jones, Host: Chris Castellani
Finding the Way: Louise Miller, Aaron Their, Meghan Maclean Weir, Host: Lisa Borders
Fun and Feminist Historical Fiction: Laura Andersen, Theodora Goss, Mackenzi Lee, Host: Whitney Scharer
Ghosts, Golems, and Gigantic Lizards: Katherine Arden, Jonathan Auxier, Camille DeAngelis, Daniel José Older, Host: Stacy Collins
Hilarity and Heartache: Chelsey Johnson, Andrew Martin, Stephen McCauley, Host: Jessica Keener
How to Invent Everything: Ryan North, Host: Stephanie Burt
Humanities Keynote: Steven Pinker, Host: Robin Young
In the Public Interest?: Eve L. Ewing, Beth Macy, Host: Meghan Irons
Intelligent Designs: David Edwards, Thomas W. Malone, Host: Nathan Felde
Intrigue, Intimacy, Inheritance: Suzanne Matson, Matthew Pearl, Spencer Wise, Host: Aaron Devine
Jerusalem’s Old City: Photographs: Michal Safdie, Host: Peter Beinart
Kids’ Keynote: Kate DiCamillo, Host: Lauren Rizzuto
Love and Trauma: Jenna Blum, Andre Dubus III, Aminatta Forna, Host: Henriette Lazaridis
Love Letters: Meredith Goldstein, Amy Pedulla
MA Fiction Writers on Their Craft and Culture: Christopher Castellani, Gish Jen, Margot Livesey, Host: Sven Birkets
Memoir: Identity: Kendra Field, Catherine Guthrie, Sisonke Msimang, Host: Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
MG: Choices and Challenges: Kheryn Callender, Tami Charles, Meg Medina, Host: Monique Harris
The Mind’s Eye: Ellen Winner, Maryanne Wolf, Host: Aniruddh D. Patel
Mister Rogers: Maxwell King, Host: Deborah Becker
MIT Press Pitchfest: Rachel Cass, Beth Clevenger, David Kaiser, Jermey Matthews, Ashley Smart, Host: Robert V. Prior
Myth, Fate, and Family: Madeline Miller, James Wood, Host: Dawn Tripp
Not Just a Game: Amy Bass, Howard Bryant, Etan Thomas, Host: Bill Littlefield
On Leadership: Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Kerry, Host: Samantha Power
Out of the Shadows: JD Barker, Hester Fox, Alma Katsu, Dacre Stoker, Host: Bridget Marshall
The Personal is Political:YZ Chin, Lisa Locascio, John Wray, Host: Catherine Parnell
Poems and Pints: Shauna Barbosa, P. Scott Cunningham, Erica Funkhouser, Emily O’Neill, Austin Smith, Robin MacArthur, Host: Sara Siegel
Public Affairs Keynote: Anand Giridharadas, Host: Christopher Lydon
Queering the Canon: Sara Farizan, David Valdes Greenwood, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, Milo Todd, Host: Kelly J. Ford
Rage Against the Screen: Radha Agrawal, Priya Parker, Host: Lisa Pierpont
Reimagining History: Katherine Arden, P. Djeli Clark, Jordy Rosenberg, Host: Jennifer S. Brown
Renaissance Redux: Walter Isaacson, Ramie Targoff, Host: David Leonard
RLAW: Setting: Robin MacArthur, William Martin, Laura van den Berg, Host: Henriette Lazaridis
RLAW:Character: Lise Haines, Jaap Robben, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, Host: Michelle Hoover
RLAW:Perspective: Heather Abel, Mira T. Lee, Elizabeth H. Winthrop, Host: Michelle Hoover
Saving Planet Earth: David Grinspoon, Charles Mann, Host: Beth Daley
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine: Alan Lightman, Hosts: Eoin O’Carroll, Noelle Swan
Secrets and Suspense: Karen Day, Debra Jo Immergut, Andrea Kleine, Meg Little Reilly, Host: Marjan Kamali
Sister Resisters: Grace Burrowes, Susanna Kearsley, Falguni Kothari, Caroline Linden, Sarah MacLean, Host: Sarah Rettger
Story Time: Adam Rex
Story Time: Andrea Beaty
Story Time: Anika Denise 
Story Time: Brian Lies
Story Time: Ken Daley, Francie Latour
Story Time: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Story Time: Melissa Stewart
Story Time: Raúl Colon
Story Time: Sheetal Sheth 
Strange but True Crime: Peter Hellman, Kirk Wallace Johnson, Paige Williams, Host: Shira Springer
True Story: John Kaag, Satchin Panda, Rachel Slade
Unforgettable Stories: Alexia Arthurs, Brock Clarke, Evan Fallenberg, Host: Mary Mahoney
Urbanism: Matthew Frederick, Cassim Shepard, Jeff Speck, Host: Diana Ramirez-Jasso
What an MFA in Creative Writing Can Do For You: Danielle Legros Georges, Heather Hughes, Janet Pocorobba
Why Do Awards Matter?: Lesley Nneka Arimah, Carmen Maria Machando, Danez Smith, Host: Shuchi Saraswat
YA Keynote: Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera, Host: Kim Parker
YA: Hard Truths: Sara Farizan, Kody Keplinger, An Na, Mark Oshiro, Host: Candace McDuffie
YA: Space!: Sasha Alsberg, Andrew Smith, Tillie Walden, Host: Amy Pattee
YA: What’s the Inspiration?: Molly Booth, Anna-Marie McLemore, Nova Ren Suma, Host: Laura Koenig
Youth Activism: Jenn Ableson, Eric Dawson, Melissa Falkowski, Amanda Matos, Alexandra Styron, Host: DiDi Delgado

Audio is not available for the following sessions:

Atlas Obscura: Rosemary Mosco
BBF Unbound: A Home is a Poem: U-Meleni Mhlaba Adebo, Anna Ross, Candelaria Silva-Collins, Host: Aaron Devine and Daniel Elfanbaum
BBF Unbound: Take Your Audio Shelfie: Mary Mahoney
BBF Unbound: Telling your Personal Story in a Time of Political Crisis Personal: Jaclyn Friedman, Lesley Kinzel
BBF Unbound: Making Poems Better: Scott Edward Anderson
Charlie Numbers: Ben Mezrich, Tonya Mezrich
Comics in Color: Cagen Luse
Compositions: JR Léveillé, Host: Ingrid Marquardt
Desirable Body: Hubert Haddad, Host: Shuchi Saraswat
Dévorés: Charles Étienne Ferland Host: Ingrid Marquardt
Eating from the Ground Up: Alana Chernila
Everywhere and Nowhere: Wee the People
Free Write: Mathematics Millionaire X, Basem Attia, Zachary Paul, Host: Cheryl Buchanan
Hip & Hop in the House: Jef Czekaj
Inventors, Makers, Barrier Breakers: Barnas Monteith
Kickoff Keynote: Michael Pollan, Host: Meghna Chakrabarti
Lost in Translation: Irena Stanic Rasin
Nature in the City: Puddlestompers
Science Comics: Alex Graudins: Braden Lamb, Shelli Paroline, Maris Wicks
Setting the Scene: Leventhal Map Center
Shakespeare Time-Traveling Speakeasy: Marlon Carey, Regie Gibson
Writer Idol: Sorche Fairbank, Lori Galvin, Kimiko Nakamura, Host: Steve Macone

2018 VIDEO

Animal Story: Sy Montgomery, Host: Vicki Croke
BBF Unbound: Twitter Ate My Brain: Ryan McKenna, Earl K. Miller, Michael Rich, Sree Sreenivasan, Maryanne Wolf, Host: Sylvia Pagán Westphal
Between Cultures: Sam Graham-Felsen, Yang Huang, Blair Hurley, Fatima Farheen Mirza, Host: Adam Stumacher
Diplomacy: The Art of the Deal: James Sebenius, Wendy Sherman, Host: Graham Allison
Why Do Awards Matter?: Lesley Nneka Arimah, Carmen Maria Machando, Danez Smith, Host: Shuchi Saraswat

The following sessions were videorecorded by C-SPAN2 for broadcast on BookTV.

Clicking the title of the session will take you to BookTV’s website, where you can watch the videos online.

Caught in the Middle: Ben Bradlee, Jr., Sarah Kendzior, Jonathan Weiler, Austin Smith, Host: Jeremy Hobson
Humanities Keynote: Steven Pinker, Host: Robin Young
Not Just a Game: Amy Bass, Howard Bryant, Etan Thomas, Host: Bill Littlefield
Strange but True Crime:Peter Hellman, Kirk Wallace Johnson, Paige Williams, Host: Shira Springer
Youth Activism: Jenn Ableson, Eric Dawson, Melissa Falkowski, Amanda Matos, Alexandra Styron, Host: DiDi Delgado

2018 PRESENTERS

Heather Abel
Jenn Ableson
Radha Agrawal
Becky Albertalli
Graham Allison
Sasha Alsberg
Laura Andersen
Scott Edward Anderson
Katherine Arden
Lesley Nneka Arimah
Alexia Arthurs
Jabari Asim
Basem Attia
Jonathan Auxier
Shauna Barbosa
JD Barker
Brunonia Barry
Amy Bass
Justine Bateman
Andrea Beaty
Deborah Becker
Peter Beinart
Charles Belfoure
Sven Birkets
Jenna Blum
Molly Booth
Lisa Borders
Jennifer S. Brown
Howard Bryant
Cheryl Buchanan
Grace Burrowes
Stephanie Burt
Kheryn Callender
Marlon Carey
Julie Carr
Rachel Cass
Chris Castellani
Meghna Chakrabarti
Tami Charles
Alana Chernila
YZ Chin
Catherine Ciepiela
Circle Round
Djeli Clark
Brock Clarke
Brian Clements
Beth Clevenger
Stacy Collins
Raúl Colon
N.C. Christopher Couch
Vicki Croke
P. Scott Cunningham
Jef Czekaj
Beth Daley
Ken Daley
Eric David Dawson
Karen Day
Camille DeAngelis
Jim Delay
DiDi Delgado
Anika Denise
Aaron Devine
Kate DiCamillo
Geoff Edgers
David Edwards
Daniel Elfanbaum
Martín Espada
Eve L. Ewing
Sorche Fairbank
Melissa Falkowski
Evan Fallenberg
Sara Farizan
Nathan Felde
Charles Étienne Ferland
Kendra Field
John Fiske
Kelly J. Ford
Aminatta Forna
Hester Fox
Matthew Frederick
Jaclyn Friedman
Erica Funkhouser
Lori Galvin
Maria Garcia
Danielle Legros Georges
Regie Gibson
Leslie Gilbert-Lurie
Anand Giridharadas
Meredith Goldstein
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Theodora Goss
Sam Graham-Felsen
Alex Graudins
Stephen Greenblatt
David Grinspoon
Catherine Guthrie
Hubert Haddad
Lise Haines
Monique Harris
James Hayman
Peter Hellman
Rebecca Henderson
Jeremy Hobson
Michelle Hoover
Yang Huang
Heather Hughes
Blair Hurley
Andre Dubus III
Debra Jo Immergut
Meghan Irons
Walter Isaacson
Gish Jen
Chelsey Johnson
Kirk Wallace Johnson
Tayari Jones
Ben Bradlee, Jr.
John Kaag
David Kaiser
Marjan Kamali
Jim Kates
Alma Katsu
Susanna Kearsley
Jessica Keener
Paul Kemprecos
Sarah Kendzior
Kody Keplinger
John Kerry
Maxwell King
Lesley Kinzel
Andrea Kleine
Laura Koenig
Falguni Kothari
Robert Kuttner
Braden Lamb
Francie Latour
Henriette Lazaridis
Mackenzi Lee
Mira T. Lee
David Leonard
Leventhal Map Center
Brian Lies
Alan Lightman
Julie Lindahl
Caroline Linden
Bill Littlefield
Margot Livesey
Lisa Locascio
Cagen Luse
Jason Lutes
JR Léveillé
Christopher Lydon
Robin MacArthur
Carmen Maria Machando
Sarah MacLean
Steve Macone
Beth Macy
Mary Mahoney
Thomas W. Malone
Charles Mann
Ingrid Marquardt
Bridget Marshall
Andrew Martin
William Martin
Monica Muñoz Martinez
Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
Amanda Matos
Suzanne Matson
Jermey Matthews
Timothy Patrick McCarthy
Stephen McCauley
Candace McDuffie
Ryan McKenna
Anna-Marie McLemore
Meg Medina
Ben Mezrich
Tonya Mezrich
U-Meleni Mhlaba Adebo
Earl K. Miller
Louise Miller
Madeline Miller
Fatima Farheen Mirza
Barnas Monteith
Sy Montgomery
Rosemary Mosco
Dambisa Moyo
Sisonke Msimang
Laura Wides Muñoz
An Na
Kimiko Nakamura
Ryan North
Eoin O’Carroll
Daniel José Older
Susan Oleksiw
Emily O’Neill
Mark Oshiro
Satchin Panda
Kim Parker
Priya Parker
Catherine Parnell
Shelli Paroline
Aniruddh D. Patel
Amy Pattee
Zachary Paul
Matthew Pearl
Amy Pedulla
Lisa Pierpont
Steven Pinker
Janet Pocorobba
Michael Pollan
Samantha Power
Robert V. Prior
Puddlestompers
Diana Ramirez-Jasso
Irena Stanic Rasin
Meg Little Reilly
Sarah Rettger
Adam Rex
Michael Rich
Lauren Rizzuto
Jaap Robben
Jordy Rosenberg
Anna Ross
Michal Safdie
Shuchi Saraswat
Whitney Scharer
James Sebenius
Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Cassim Shepard
Wendy Sherman
Sheetal Sheth
Sara Siegel
Candelaria Silva-Collins
Adam Silvera
Clea Simon
Amy Siskind
Rachel Slade
Ashley Smart
Andrew Smith
Danez Smith
Timothy Snyder
Jeff Speck
Shira Springer
Sree Sreenivasan
Melissa Stewart
Dacre Stoker
Adam Stumacher
Alexandra Styron
Nova Ren Suma
Noelle Swan
Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
Ramie Targoff
Aaron Their
Etan Thomas
Milo Todd
Dawn Tripp
David Valdes Greenwood
Laura van den Berg
Tillie Walden
Mo Walsh
Meg Wasmer
Wee the People
Jonathan Weiler
Meghan Maclean Weir
Sylvia Pagán Westphal
Maris Wicks
Paige Williams
Ellen Winner
Elizabeth H. Winthrop
Spencer Wise
Maryanne Wolf
James Wood
John Wray
Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright
Mathematics Millionaire X
Robin Young

2018 ROXBURY EDITION VIDEO