Festival of the Book announces 2017 headline events

A program of Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the 23rd annual Virginia Festival of the Book will be held March 22-26, 2017, at various locations in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

Announced Tuesday at a VFH event, the 2017 Festival will feature headline events addressing Andrew Wyeth’s influence, real and imagined; family ties, to community and to murder; a realistic look at the state of the American economy, from past influencers to necessary changes; how failure influences science; diner food, traditional to modern; and odes to poets, ancient and contemporary.

At the event, Festival director Jane Kulow confirmed the participation of seven headliners for 2017:

• Neurobiologist Stuart Firestein, author of Failure: Why Science Is So Successful, will speak at the Leadership Breakfast on Wednesday, March 22.
• Novelist Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train and the forthcoming A Piece of the World (February 2017), will speak at the Festival Luncheon on Thursday, March 23.
• Detective fiction writer Laura Lippman, author of the Tess Monaghan series and Wilde Lake, will speak at the Crime Wave Brunch onSaturday, March 25.
• Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, author of The Great Divide and The Price of Inequality, will headline a three-part series on economic inequality, to be held as part of the Festival.
• James Beard Award-winning chef Ashley Christensen, author of Poole’s: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner, will speak and lead a cooking demonstration during the Festival.
• Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander, author of The Crossover, and Caldecott winner Ekua Holmes, illustrator of Voice of Freedom, will give presentations to local students in addition to a public program about their forthcoming collaboration, Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets (March 2017).

In making the announcements, Kulow said, “These authors make up a very short list of all who will come to Charlottesville next March, yet they are representative of the breadth of programs we present in every Festival, offering a fascinating take on science, new fiction from a major bestselling author, beautifully illustrated poetry for children, a wonderful new cookbook for foodies, one of our premier crime writers, and a Nobel Laureate in economics. We’re off to a great start!”

Tickets for select events go on sale at VaBook.org on Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 9:00 AM. Additional authors and events will be announced as they are confirmed.