LA Times Festival of Books - Day One

Day one of the LA Times Festival of Books was full of great panels, and offered plenty of sunshine, sweat, blisters and hunger for those who came ill-prepared or those who were simply to enthralled with all the writerly goodness and didn't bother to stop and eat or reapply sunscreen as needed (toss me in with this lot.) I stayed away from the stages, the booths and the author signging tables, opting instead to soak up the spouted wisdom and witty asides that are the stuff of LATFOB panels.

I made it to four panels in total, narrowly missing the 10am Tod Goldberg panel due to traffic, parking, and a snafu at media check-in. I was sad to have missed it and will link you over to highlights from that panel as soon as he and/or anyone else writes it up.

Here are the the authors I managed to see on panels and I'll be writing up each panel separately this evening and over the next day or so: Bruce Bauman, Gina Nahai, Andrew O'Hagan, Jill Bialosky, Nicholas Delbanco, Brian Hall, Marianne Wiggings, Laila Lalami, Tony Earley, Dinaw Mengestu, Stewart O'Nan, Ann Packer, Antonia Arslan, Pamela Erens and Ellen Litman. It was a full day and my notes dwindled with each panel as I found myself wrapped up in the work, the words, and the discussions.

My big take-away from Day One: although we can agree here that much of process is elusive, at least two audience questions for each panel tried to pin down the writers on what, exactly, makes them writers and how, exactly, they "come up" with ideas for their books.  The answers ranged all over the place from "I hear voices in my head" to "I have little fragments of stories in my head for years and then one day they all snap together and I know I have to write about it." What I loved most about all these questions and answers is that it provided confirmation for me that my process is similar - and isn't that why those questions are always asked in the first place? Aren't would-be writers and struggling writers and people who fancy writing but will never take it up always asking those very questions because they're looking for clues on how to begin or a yardstick they can measure their own process against?  I never ask these questions, but I found it oddly exciting to learn - this year more than any other year - that I am, in fact, a writer.

Possibly not a surprise to you all, but an unexpected kick-in the rear for me.  I am strangely looking forward to the festival being over so that I can get back to what I'm writing. Renewed. Refreshed. Serious.

This was further reinforced when I met up with John of Book Fox and Carolyn Kellogg of Jacket Copy and Pinky's Paperhaus. We spoke of submitting work. Of MFA programs. Of PhD programs. Of me not yet applying to them, of me not sending out any work for over a year. John then pointed out, "Didn't you talk about these very things last year?" Indeed, I had. And so here is the law I've set down for myself: I will use the Festival of Books as a marker. I will return next year with wholly different complaints, wholly different worries. These worries will not include sending my stories out into the world, or writing seriously for the next year. And so - you've read it here first, the gauntlet has been tossed my way (unknowingly) and I'll be spending the next year writing and sending my work out.  Just as I reminisce about my last trip every time I head to the airport, next year's Festival of Books will serve as the checkpoint for what was accomplished since the last time I attended.  It will be an interesting ride and I hope you'll join me.

More coverage: John had a brilliant idea this year and decided to forgo the booths and panels in favor of interviewing writers once their signing lines had dwindled.  He even let me in on one of his main interview questions about literary pilgrimages...a topic very dear to me as I returned last year from a few weeks in literary Ireland and loved tracing the footsteps of some of my favorite writers. Nearly every writer he interviewed answered this fascinating question and the answers are equally interesting. The first day of his interviews is up now and they're excellent!  This is must-see TV, so go check it out.

Jacket Copy has a team of reporters on the ground who are offering real-time posts throughoug the day and the # of bodies on the ground mean a LOT of panel coverage.  Go check it out.

More panels: Here's my overly ambitious panel schedule for the day. I may only hit the first two and call it a day, but we'll see...

Fiction: Unconventional Visions
   Moderator   Ms. Carolyn Kellogg
   Mr. Ben Ehrenreich
   Mr. Keith Gessen
   Ms. LydiaMillet
   Ms. Yannick Murphy

Fiction: The Magic in Everyday Life
   Moderator   Ms. Christine Smallwood
   Ms. Aimee Bender
   Mr. Alex Espinoza
   Ms. Alice Hoffman
   Ms. Yxta Maya Murray

Fiction: Alternative Visions
   Moderator   Mr. David L. Ulin
   Mr. Steve Erickson
   Ms. Shelley Jackson
   Mr. Zachary Lazar
   Ms. Nina Revoyr

Fiction: Finding Truth in Imagined Places
   Moderator   Mr. Nick Owchar
   Mr. Gary Amdahl
   Mr. Kevin Brockmeier
   Ms. Lauren Groff
   Mr. James Howard Kunstler

Fiction: Straight Talk
   Moderator   Ms. Sara Nelson
   Ms. Lisa Fugard
   Mr. Dagoberto Gilb
   Mr. Adam Langer
   Ms. Marisa Silver