Fayetteville’s Literary Festival Set To Begin Oct. 17

Courtesy Photo
Louis Sachar, best known as the author ofHoles, is the keynote speaker for the True Lit literary festival this year, which begins Oct. 17.

The Fayetteville Public Library’s annual True Lit festival returns in its fourth year, featuring author talks, writing workshops, pitch sessions, art displays, and more.

True Lit: Fayetteville’s Literary Festival will be held from Monday, Oct. 17, through Thursday, Oct. 27, and is free to the public.

The keynote speaker for this year’s festival is Louis Sachar. Sachar will give a public talk at Fayetteville Public Library Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m.

Sachar has been writing books for children and young adults for nearly 40 years. Best known for Holes, winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award, and the Sideways Stories series, Sachar’s books offer both whimsy and humor and are generally populated with eccentric characters confronting absurd situations.

In addition to the public talk, Sachar will also teach writing workshops and speak to students at Fayetteville Public Schools as part of the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation’s Jim Blair Author and Lecture Series and Young Authors Series.

In addition to Sachar’s appearance, the University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing and Translation will host its 2016 Distinguished Reader during the festival. The reader this year is acclaimed poet Claudia Rankine, author of five collections of poetry, two plays, and numerous video collaborations, in addition to editing several anthologies. For her poetry collection Citizen, Rankine won both the PEN Open Book Award and the PEN Literary Award, the NAACP Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, in addition to being a finalist for the National Book Award. Rankine’s reading takes place at 7 p.m., Oct. 27, at the library.

Fayetteville Public Library will host a day for local writers to hone their craft and meet with industry professionals on Saturday, Oct. 22. Throughout the day, writers will have the chance to interact directly with book and magazine publishers.

Panel discussions will help writers determine what magazine and book publishers look for in submissions, and writers will have the opportunity to sign up for pitch sessions to present ideas directly to magazine and book publishers. Participants can sign up for pitch sessions the morning of the event. A complete list of guidelines is available at truelitfest.com/publishers.

Saturday will also feature various youth events including a picture book presentation with Darcy Pattison and a teen graphic novels class with Cole Closser. Youth writing workshops are also scheduled throughout the festival. Registration information for these free events can be found at truelitfest.com.

Partners for this year’s festival include Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville Public Schools, Fayetteville Public Education Foundation, Fayetteville Montessori School and the University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing and Translation.

For more information about this year’s festival, including a complete schedule of events, visit the festival’s website at truelitfest.com.