10th Annual Festival Spreads Events Throughout Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland

As part of its mission to introduce area readers to the world’s finest living writers, Fall for the Book is expanding the scope of its offerings this year — partnering with businesses and organizations throughout the region to host events across Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland. Capitalizing on this new approach to our events, the festival truly makes good on the promise of “bringing the rock stars of writing to YOUR backyard.”

A special preview event at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C., helps to kick-off the festival’s new model. Award-winning journalist Alan Weisman (right) will discuss his new book, The World Without Us, at the famed bookstore on Saturday, September 6, at 1 p.m.

While many events will still be based at George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus, the listing below offers a look at this year’s other venues. Complete information on these and all of our events (including times and addresses) can be found on our calendar here.

ALEXANDRIA, VA
Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library — Short story writer David Taylor, Thursday

Sherwood Regional Library — Children’s authors Lulu Delacre and Katy Kelly, Sunday

ANNANDALE, VA
Northern Virginia Community College — Poet Brian Turner, Tuesday

ARLINGTON, VA
Arlington Central Library — Historian Clint Johnson, Sunday

Busboys and Poets
• Poet Jon Pineda, Sunday
• Journalist Lonnae O’Neal Parker, Thursday

Cherrydale Library — Novelist Tim Wendel, Thursday

George Mason University — Political scholars Michael Fauntroy, Scott Keeter, and Colleen Shogan, Tuesday.

BETHESDA, MD
The Writer’s Center — Richard Currey and other contributors to D.C. Noir, Sunday

BOWIE, MD
Prince George’s County Library — Children’s author Jerdine Nolan, Sunday

FAIRFAX, VA
Circa Home and Garden — Novelist Kathleen McCleary, Sunday

City of Fairfax Regional Library
• Children’s author Moira Donohue, Sunday
• Former Virginia Governor Linwood Holton, Wednesday

Fairfax Museum & Visitors Center — Historian Ryan Coonerty, Tuesday

Firehouse Grill — Poets Karen Anderson, Dan Beachy-Quick, Suzanne Buffam, and Srikanth Reddy, Friday.

Old Town Hall
• Northern Virginia Writing Project, Sunday
• Young adult authors Beckie Weinheimer and Kathy Erskine, Sunday

Old Town Village
• So To Speak Faculty and Fellows, Sunday
• A Celebration of Alan Bennett, Tuesday

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute — Tuskegee Airman Christopher Robinson and author George Norfleet, Wednesday

Potbelly Sandwich Works — Novelist Jenny Gardiner, Wednesday

The Sweet Life Café — Memoirist Nani Power, Sunday

The Wine House — Wine author and tasting, Monday

LARGO, MD
Borders — Teen author Kyndall Brown, Thursday

LEESBURG, VA
Harper Park Middle School — Young adult author P.W. Catanese, Thursday

MCLEAN, VA
Maggiano’s — Business columnist Steven Pearlstein and Dept. of Labor Commisioner Keith Hall, Friday

OAKTON, VA
Oakton Library — Novelist and comedienne Alison Larkin, Wednesday

STERLING, VA
Mason in Loudoun — Novelist and legal scholar Garrett Epps, Tuesday

Northern Virginia Community College — Poet Brian Turner, Tuesday

Potomac Falls High School — Children’s and young adult author Chris Crutcher, Wednesday

WASHINGTON, DC
Busboys and Poets — Short story writers Nicole Shivers and Tahra Nicols, Wednesday

Just Announced: Novelist Frank Delaney to Preview Work-in-Progress at 2008 Festival

Internationally bestselling novelist Frank Delaney has just joined the line-up for this year’s Fall for the Book. Delaney will not only discuss his first two highly praised works of historical fiction — Ireland and Tipperary — but will also offer festival attendees a sneak peek at the eagerly awaited third volume, Shannon, set for publication in March 2009.

Delaney’s first book in the series was lauded by The Washington Post as an “intimate epic that is at once a sprawling account of 2,000 years of tumultuous Irish history and a meditation on the enduring importance of stories.” In the second book, Delaney sought to continue that mix by offering, in his own words, “a passionate romance within an epic struggle for nationhood.” Shannon, in turn, promises to be a treat for Delaney’s fans and to bring new readers into the fold.

Although his stunning success as a novelist has been more recent, Delaney’s career stretches back over four decades, including his work covering bombings, shootings, kidnappings and more troubles as a BBC reporter in Northern Ireland during the 1970s, delving into the arts and culture with his shows Bookshelf and Frank Delaney in the 1980s, and creating a number of other highly popular series, including Word of Mouth and The Celts, the latter syndicated around the world. In addition to his novels, Delaney has also written several works of nonfiction, ranging from James Joyce’s Odyssey, his first book, in 1979, to Simple Courage: A True Tale of Peril on the Sea, published in 2006.

For more information on Delaney, visit his website or come meet him in person on Monday afternoon, September 22, at 1:30 p.m. in the Provident Tent, outside the Johnson Center on George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus.