The Mason Spirit

The 17^th annual Fall for the Book festival will give book lovers a chance to hear and meet some of the best-known and best-loved writers, including novelists Diana Gabaldon, of Outlander fame, and Tim O’Brien, whose classic Vietnam War novel, The Things They Carried is celebrating its 25^th anniversary. Participants will also include poets, playwrights, essayists, critics, memoirists, historians, biographers, journalists, and authors of children and young adult books.

A number of George Mason alumni will be reading at the festival this year. On Thursday, October 1 at 6 p.m. in Grand Tier III in the Center for the Arts, an MFA Alumni reading will feature poet Alyse Knorr, author of Annotated Glass and Copper Mother, poet Sandra Marchetti, author of Confluence, poet Siwar Masannat, author of 50 Water Dreams, short story writer Rion Amilcar Scott, author of Wolf Tickets, and Agatha award-winning short story-writer and novelist, Art Taylor, author of On the Road with Del and Louise.

Then on Saturday, October 3 at 1:30 p.m., three of the many Mason MFAers who are publishing today return to read from their new books in the Arts Plaza Tent.

• Huan Hsu is the author of The Porcelain Thief: Searching the Middle Kingdom for Buried China, which melds memoir, travelogue, and social and political history to offer an intimate way to understand the last two hundred years of China’s complicated history.
• Karen Guzman is the author of the novel Homing Instincts, a story of loss, change, and redemption, called a “pitch perfect debut novel” by Jacqueline Sheehan.
• Kirsten Lopresti is the author of the young adult novel, Blue Coin Moon, called “a lyrical and suspenseful debut novel” by Booklist.

These authors and nearly 150 more will make Fall for the Book a top destination for book lovers. Fall for the Book is Northern Virginia’s oldest and largest festival of literature and the arts. All events are free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of sponsors including the Fairfax County Public Library, George Mason University, and the George Mason University Bookstore, in partnership with other business and organizations.

Visit www.fallforthebook.org for more information, or download the free FftB smartphone app to get the festival at your fingertips.