READ ALL ABOUT IT: Meet Three Authors from This Year’s C.V. Book Fest
festival will feature 14 free events and writers galore
V1 Staff |
Being a book lover can be a solitary pursuit, but the annual Chippewa Valley Book Festival – which runs Oct. 20-25 this year – gives readers a chance to meet each other as well as a shelf-full of notable writers. With 14 free events – many of the hosted by the newly remodeled L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library — packed into six days, there are sure to be countless thought-provoking discussions centering on fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and beyond. The festival organizers were kind enough to share with us Q&As with a number of the authors who will be appearing, either in person or virtually, for the festival. For full details on festival events, visit cvbookfest.org.
NADIA OWUSU
Nadia Owusu is a Ghanaian and Armenian American writer and urbanist. Her memoir, Aftershocks, was selected as a best book of 2021 by Time, Vogue, Esquire, NPR, and others. Her virtual event, “Reclaiming Our Stories,” will be at 7:30pm Oct. 20. Pre-registration is required.
What is something you’re excited to share about your work? I love talking about how writing can help us reclaim our own stories and connect to ancestral wisdom.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? Be patient. Books take however long they take.
What do you hope readers learn from your book(s)? That love is always on the other side of grief.
What book would you most want to read again for the first time? Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
What are you reading right now? All This Could be Different by Sarah Thankam Matthews
Do you have a favorite quote about reading and/or writing? “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” –James Baldwin
KAWAI STRONG WASHBURN
Kawai Strong Washburn was born and raised on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island of Hawai’i. His first novel, Sharks in the Time of Saviors, Won the 2021 PEN/Hemingway award for debut novel and the 2021 Minnesota Book Award. His in-person and virtual presentation, “Better Than Paradise,” will be at 7:30pm Oct. 24 in the Jamf Theatre at the Pablo Center. Pre-registration is required.
What is something you’re excited to share about your work? I’m looking forward to surprising people with new information about Hawai’i, and speaking about how my experience of the islands has informed my experience of the greater world.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? Take as many risks as possible before the stakes are too high.
What do you hope readers learn from your book(s)? Hopefully that Hawai’i is far more rich and complex than most people realize.
What book would you most want to read again for the first time? A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
What are you reading right now? The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty. It’s. So. SO. Good.
PATTI SEE
Chippewa Valley writer Patti See is the author of a new essay collection, Here on Lake Hallie: In Praise of Barflies, Fix-it Guys and Other Folks in Our Hometown. Her in-person and virtual event, “Here on Lake Hallie: What One Author Learned While Writing About the People and Places She Loves,” will be at 7:30pm Tuesday, Oct. 25, in the Jamf Theatre of the Pablo Center. Pre-registration is required.
What is something you’re excited to share about your work? Though I write about people in my life, many of their stories will resonate with readers. I’m excited to share my family, friend, and neighbor stories.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? Pay attention to the stories around you because they are everywhere. Write. Write. Write. Believe that it matters even if you’re not publishing what you write. Keep at it.
What do you hope readers learn from your book? I hope readers learn that ordinary details from daily lives can make wonderful stories.
Do you have a favorite quote about reading and/or writing? “Pay attention. This is everything. Pay attention.” It’s from Bruce Taylor – who wrote that long before I married him.
