George Mason University’s annual fall literary festival, Fall for the Book, is back from October 7 to 11. Big names in literature will attend, including headliner Erik Larson, Jeff Goodell, and Maggie Stiefvater.
Every year, GMU hosts a free festival of literature and the arts, including author talks, book signings, and other events. This year marks Fall for the Book’s 27th festival.
On the lineup this year, the festival headliner is Erik Larson, author of The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War. This is a nonfiction work focusing on the five months between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the start of the Civil War.
Larson will speak on October 10 at 7:30 p.m., at the Harris Theatre on GMU’s Fairfax campus. Free tickets will go on sale on September 10.
Another noteworthy event within the festival is the Beck Environmental Lecture, featuring Jeff Goodell. Goodell will discuss his book The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet on October 8 at 6 p.m. Free tickets are on sale September 10.
Also part of the festival is the Institute for Immigration Research New American Voices Award, a literary prize for immigrant authors. The three finalists are Olufunke Grace Bankole’s The Edge of Water; Cristina Jiménez’s Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change; and Shubha Sunder’s Optional Practical Training: A Novel. The winner will be announced on October 9.
See the full schedule of events here.
Celeste Ng was previously announced as a headliner, but her event was cancelled.
Feature image by Evan Cantwell, George Mason University
