OCTOBER 18 & 19 2019
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO Free Literary Arts Festival
#FoCoBookFest Writing workshop registration opens Oct. 1

Fort Collins Book Fest Announces Headliners for 2019 Festival

September 4, 2019 by

“Food for Thought” continues the Festival’s tradition of bold discussions of important community issues and the celebration of local literary arts.

Poudre River Public Library District has announced the dates and headliners for the fourth annual Fort Collins Book Fest, October 18 and 19 at unique venues throughout Old Town Fort Collins. The free literary festival offers two days of author interviews, panels, keynotes, performances, writing workshops, readings, and other community activities.

The 2019 theme, Food for Thought, is designed to be a literary feast for book enthusiasts, foodies, and anyone curious about food systems, agriculture, current food movements, and culinary practices.

“We’re excited to bring in cutting-edge thinkers and authors from around the country and from right here in Colorado,” says Anne Macdonald, Fort Collins Book Fest director and librarian with Poudre River Public Library District. “We hope Food for Thought will resonate with people and spark discussions around food, sustainability, and local and regional food culture.”

Nearly 3,000 attendees are expected over the two days, Friday 9 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. and Saturday 9:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. Information about the festival is available at FoCoBookFest.org.

2019 Fort Collins Book Festival Headliners

Headliners for the 2019 event include Saturday night keynoter Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota chef, founder of The Sioux Chef, recipient of the 2019 James Beard Leadership Award, and winner of the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award (“The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen”); and Saturday morning opening keynote speaker Rick Bass, a National Book Critics Award finalist and environmental activist (“The Traveling Feast: On the Road and at the Table with My Heroes”). Also scheduled to appear is Joe Neguse, U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 2nd congressional district.

The headliners will be joined for book talks, panel discussions, readings and writing workshops by featured authors including food historian and award-winning writer Ken Albala (“Noodle Soup: Recipes, Techniques, Obsession”); author Stephanie Anderson (“One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture”); poet Adam Dickinson (“Anatomic”); Esquire magazine food and drink editor Jeff Gordinier (“Hungry: Eating, Road-Tripping, and Risking it All with the Greatest Chef in the World”); 2018-2020 Poet Laureate of San Antonio, Texas Octavio Quintanilla (“If I Go Missing”), and award-winning food journalist, community activist, and James Beard Award winner Toni Tipton-Martin (“The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African-American Cookbooks”).

Notable Colorado authors attending the festival include Ramona Ausubel (“Awayland”); Michael Carolan (“The Food Sharing Revolution: How Start Ups, Pop-Ups, and Co-Ops Are Changing the Way We Eat”), Bailey Cates (Magical Bakery Mystery series), Mark Easter (“Blue Plate: A Food Lover’s Guide to Climate Change”); Kathy Fish (Wild Life: Collected Works from 2003-2018”); Susan Harness (“Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption”); Christina Marie (“Cooking with Beer in Colorado”); Laura Resau (“Tree of Dreams”); Joshua Sbicca (“Food Justice Now!”); Kayann Short (“A Bushel’s Worth: An Ecobiography”); and George Wallace, Emeritus Professor, CSU Warner College of Natural Resources.

A full list of authors and presenters will be announced later this summer along with the festival schedule.

About the Fort Collins Book Festival

The Fort Collins Book Festival was conceived by librarians, writers, book lovers, and community members with the simple purpose: to combine the community’s passion for the literary arts and our unique cultural, social, and economic heritage in a celebration of literature, literacy, and social conversation. The festival is produced annually by Poudre River Public Library District in partnership with Colorado State University’s Morgan Library. Information about the event can be found online at FoCoBookFest.org or by calling the Library District at (970) 221-6740.

The 2019 event is offered free to the community through the support and generosity of the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, the City of Fort Collins Office of Economic Health, Bohemian Foundation, Poudre River Friends of the Library, Rocky Mountain Student Media, KUNC and the Colorado Sound, CSU Native American Cultural Center, Downtown Fort Collins Creative District, Northern Colorado Writers, Downtown Development Authority, Front Range Community College, Poudre River Library Trust, First National Bank, Savory Spice Shop of Fort Collins, Woodward Inc., Biblioboard, and other local businesses and creative arts organizations.

 

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Bestselling Sci-Fi Author Andy Weir Joins FoCo Book Fest

July 24, 2018 by

Andy Weir, Author of the New York Times Bestsellers The Martian and Artemis, Joins the 2018 Fort Collins Book Festival

Popular sci-fi writer and “lifelong space nerd” to present Closing Keynote

(FORT COLLINS, Colo., July 24, 2018) — Poudre River Public Library District today announced that internationally acclaimed author Andy Weir will present the closing keynote at the 2018 Fort Collins Book Festival, The Big Think. This is the third consecutive year of the free community festival which features diverse local, national, and international authors, poets, and innovators.

Photo credit: Aubrie Pick

Weir’s evening presentation is scheduled for Saturday, October 20 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at the Lory Student Center* on the Colorado State University campus. A book signing will follow the presentation. Old Firehouse Books, the official bookseller of the FoCo Book Fest, will be on-hand before and after Weir’s session for book sales.

Prior to the evening keynote, Weir will participate in a discussion on space colonization at Block One Events Center beginning at 3:00 p.m. that explores the possibilities, realities, and challenges of humans living on other planets. He will be joined by featured Colorado author and planetary scientist Dr. Amanda Hendrix (Beyond Earth: Our Path to a new Home in the Planets).

“I’m excited to share my love for space exploration with fellow sci-fi fans during the Fort Collins Book Festival,” says Weir. “It’s a great opportunity to discuss how science, technology, and literature come together to envision future possibilities.”

Andy Weir built a career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, The Martian, allowed him to live out his dream of writing full time. He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects such as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He also mixes a mean cocktail. His most recent novel, Artemis, was published in November 2017 and was a New York Times bestseller. Geneva Robertson-Dworet is set to adapt Artemis for the big screen, and Phil Lord and Chris Miller will direct.

*Schedule subject to change. Seating for presentations is on a first come basis. No ticket required. A final schedule and author lineup will be released prior to the event.

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Loudon Wainwright III Joins FoCo Book Fest Lineup

September 25, 2017 by

Legendary Folk Singer-Songwriter to Discuss New Memoir

We’re excited to announce that singer/songwriter, actor, and author Loudon Wainwright III has joined the Writings and Riffs lineup of presenters. His memoir, Liner Notes: On Parents & Children, Exes & Excess, Death & Decay, & a Few of My Other Favorite Things, was published earlier this month, and he’s going to join the FoCo Book Festival to discuss his life, lyrics, relationships, and major influences.

Plus, he’s even going to play a bit of live music for us!

Wainwright, the son of esteemed Life magazine columnist Loudon Wainwright, Jr., is the patriarch of one of America’s great musical families. With a career spanning more than four decades, Wainwright has established himself as one of the most enduring singer-songwriters who emerged from the late 1960s. Not only does he perform regularly across America and in Europe, but he is a sought-after actor, having appeared in many movies and TV series.

He joins fellow headliner, Kim Gordon, of Sonic-Youth fame, and featured authors G. Brown, Steve Knopper, Khadijah Queen, and Craig Werner, among many other exciting voices at this year’s book fest.

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More Featured Authors Announced

August 29, 2017 by

Last week, we announced the headlining author at this year’s FoCo Book Fest: author-musician-artist, Kim Gordon!

This week, we want to tease out a few more featured presenters who’ve joined our lineup. We’re excited to have them participate in Writings and Riffs and can’t wait until October 21!

Drum roll please….

G. Brown is a Colorado guy who’s not only an author but is the founding director of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. His most recent book is Red Rocks: The Concert Years. G is going to talk about the Colorado music scene, share stories, & discuss his favorite books.

Steve Knopper might be best known as a contributing editor to Rolling Stone Magazine, but he also has some serious book cred including MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson and Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age. Look for Steve throughout the book festival talking about the King of Pop, favorite books, & other fascinating topics.

Khadijah Queen is our featured poet who also happens to be a playwright, novelist, and faculty member for the new Mile-High MFA in Creative Writing at Regis University. Her most recent novel is I’m So Fine: A List of Famous Men & What I Had On. Khadijah will be joining a few different panel discussions during the festival & reading her poetry.

Craig Werner returns to Fort Collins to talk about his forthcoming book, a history of the 1960s told through music. If you had the chance to see him present on the music of the Vietnam War a few years ago, then you know how engaging and interesting Craig is. He also serves on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominating committee.

And more…

We’re not done yet — there’s still a list of local and national authors we’re working with to round out the FoCo Book Festival. We’ll continue to announce more participants and roll-out the day-long festival schedule, so stay tuned.

Be sure to follow us on social and use #FoCoBookFest to grab our attention!

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Kim Gordon’s Coming! #FoCoBookFest

August 17, 2017 by

Sonic Youth Musician, Visual Artist, and Author Joins Writings and Riffs

We’re excited to share that Kim Gordon, rocker, writer, artist, and all around bada$! is headlining the 2nd Annual Fort Collins Book Fest on Saturday, October 21, 2017.

Kim Gordon is the first of a wide selection of authors and presenters to be announced. She’ll discuss her New York Times bestselling memoir, Girl in a Band, and participate in panel discussions. Book purchases and signings will follow hosted by Old Firehouse Books.

The day-long event is FREE, open to the public, and will include awesome presentations, panel discussions, writing workshops, author readings, book signings, & much more.

Stay tuned for more announcements about festival presenters, classes & workshops, lead-up activities, and more!

“We’re thrilled with the success of last year’s Fort Collins Book Festival and programs, and we’re looking forward to another exciting festival this year. Attendees will have the opportunity to experience from their favorite authors how books and music are flip sides of the same artistic coin,” says Anne Macdonald, festival co-founder and librarian at Poudre River Public Library District.

#FoCoBookFest #FoCoBooks

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