A crowd at Midtown Scholar Bookstore listens attentively as book reviewers discuss their work at last weekend’s Harrisburg Book Festival.
The 2017 Harrisburg Book Festival attracted about 2,000 people last weekend, as book-lovers flocked to Midtown to converse with authors, listen to readings and revel in all-things literary.
“The reaction from readers and authors was really something to behold,” said Alex Brubaker, the manager of Midtown Scholar Bookstore, which sponsored the four-day event. “For the bookstore to be at the center of this lively literary gathering was really special.”
Brubaker said that opening night poets Safiya Sinclair, author of “Cannibal,” and Joshua Bennett of “The Sobbing School” prompted tears in some audience members. Keynote speaker Ibram X. Kendi, author of “Stamped from the Beginning,” led a conversation on our current political and racial climate that will last “well beyond the night.”
“A lot of the authors were incredibly moved by the attendees and their devotion to literature and their books,” said Brubaker, who put the crowd estimate for the fifth Book Festival at almost 2,000. “For most of them, it was their first time in Harrisburg, so they came away impressed by the literary scene here.”
Saturday morning was packed with kids taking part in Kids Fest. Smiles widened as children interacted with author Lauren Castillo, pressed their own bookmarks from Megan Zettlemoyer of Typothecary Letterpress, or had their hands in a couple of baked goods. And thanks to the American Literacy Corp. and Capital Region Literacy Council, they were able to head home with free books.
Book reviewers Harvey Freedenberg, Susan Coll, Bethanne Patrick and Marion Winik gave audience members insight on how their jobs survive in the digital age.
They wrapped up with their picks for the best books of 2017, which include “Exit West” by Mohsin Hamid and “Home Fries” by Kamila Shamsie, and some advice for young and up-and-coming writers.
“Learn to trust your own voice early,” said Winik. “That is something I wish I knew when I was starting out.”
A table featured works from book festival authors.
Jennifer Haigh, author of “Heat and Light,” Liz Moore of “The Unseen Word” and local Meghan Kenny of “Love is no Small Thing” offered insight into their process of creating a novel.
Though Haigh and Moore shared similar themes of identity, technology and the future of machines in their novels, the writers had different thoughts when it came to whether these advancements are hurting or helping us.
“I adore writing about machines. It’s endlessly interesting to me.” Haigh said. “Machines can save us in a limited way. I think they can also kill us.”
Moore had a more optimistic approach.
“I actually think that virtual and augmented reality can potentially offer us great benefits,” Moore said. “I also have no reason to believe that AI’s are out to get us. There is a lot of literature and film in which AI’s are inherently evil. Why would they be?”
Authors Meghan Kenny, Jennifer Haigh and Liz Moore discussed their writing process.
Ruth Frankin closed out the festival by reading from her first biography, “Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life.”
“It was a wild pleasure to hear Ruth Franklin talk about her biography of Shirley Jackson,” said local writer Kari Larsen. “She did such a masterful job decontextualizing Jackson’s place in 20th-century literature.”
From the large number of attendees to the diverse set of authors, the book festival helped push Midtown Scholar and Harrisburg up the list of must-visit places for literary lovers.
“I was so relieved and thrilled the book festival had come back,” Larsen said. “Previous ones really demonstrated how enthusiastic Midtown Scholar’s audience is for engagement with contemporary writing, publishing and criticism.”
While plans for a sixth book festival have not yet been discussed, Brubaker promises that it will return.
“We’ll be back, bigger and better than ever,” he said.
