CONCORD LITERARY FESTIVAL
October 21-23, 2010
Presented by NHWP and more than 30 community partners
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Wednesday, October 20:
Petite Plays: Pen to Performance with Dana Biscotti Myskowski - A Writing, Directing, and Enhanced Stage-Reading Series of Workshops, Culminating in Two Performances
In this three-part workshop participants will write three-page plays, direct a plays-in-hand, enhanced stage-reading, and appear in one or more plays as an actor during the performances. Learn to create engaging characters for the stage in a tight deadline, experience the interpretation of another’s work as director, and become the characters as a reader/actor.
Venue: Red River Theatres.
Time: Wednesday and Thursday, October 20 & 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. Includes Saturday, October 23, 2010 performances at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Cost: $49 NHWP members; $79 for nonmembers. Register now.
Ongoing:
Poetry in Windows
Keep your peepers posted for Poetry in Windows throughout downtown Concord in the weeks leading up to the festival. Expect to be wowed, moved, and surprised by some of New Hampshire's finest poets, as selected by NH Poet Laureate Walter E. Butts. Look for works by Patricia Frisella, Patricia Fargnoli, Alice B. Fogel, Maxine Kumin, Marie Harris, Roger Martin, James Rioux, Mimi White, Don Kimball, and Mark DeCarteret. Poetry in Windows maps will be available for download from our website. Psst! To celebrate the presentation of the documentary film Helvetica during the festival, you can identify the fonts used in the Poetry in Windows displays. Get your copy of the contest rules and intructions, together with a map, at any of these participating stores: McGowan Fine Art, Concord Antique Gallery, Bead It, Things Are Cooking, Concord Coop, Britches, Starbellies Children's Clothing, Gibson's Bookstore, Lotions 'n Potions, and Gondwana/Divine Clothing.
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Main Festival Events
Discussion of Half the Sky
The Women's Fund of NH is offering a Brown Bag Discussion of Half the Sky, by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn, at Gibson's bookstore. The discussion will be led by Deb Baker.
Venue: Gibson’s Bookstore.
Time: Noon.
Cost: Free and open to the public. Feel free to bring a brown bag!
Understanding Your Legal Rights as Authors, Writers, and Publishers
Short presentations and a question and answer period with law professors, for persons attending the festival and for law students who are interested in entertainment law. Coverage is likely to include copyright and intellectual property law, registration and legal actions, and contract law. Both a theoretical foundation and more practical aspects of "entertainment" law will be discussed. All media, including print and internet, will be considered. Come to pick up some pointers on legal aspects of publishing or to meet authors/lawyers. Cosponsored by the University of New Hampshire School of Law, the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property, and the Lawyers for the Arts/NH Business Committee for the Arts.
Venue: UNH School of Law, 2 White St., Rich Room.
Time: 2 to 4 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Helvetica: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustvit (Also on Saturday)
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.
Venue: Red River Theatres.
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Cost: $8 for public; $6 for Red River members. Tickets will be available at Red River Theaters.
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo: An Evening of Slam Poetry and Music
A two-time National Poetry Slam Individual Finalist and current TED Global Fellow, Ieyoka (pronounced ee-yo!-kah) is, quite frankly, one of the most stunning and gifted artists we’ve ever come across. A first-generation Nigerian American, she weaves impassioned poetry and a uniquely personal musical style into inspirational stories about self-empowerment, social responsibility and peace. Her recent single The Yellow Brick Road Song was featured in the HBO series How to Make It In America.
Venue: Spotlight Cafe, The Capitol Center for the Arts.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $25 adults & $15 students. Buy your tickets.
Firoozeh Dumas - Luncheon and/or Community Presentation
As part of Concord Reads, bestselling author Firoozeh Dumas, author of Funny In Farsi and Laughing Without an Accent, will visit New Hampshire. Both books are collections of short humorous stories. The first relates the experiences of an Iranian girl growing up in America and living within two cultures. The second title explores her experiences as a global citizen, an Iranian-born American married to a Frenchman, as well as her experiences returning to her homeland. Each, in its way, illustrates the immigrant experience and our common humanity.
Luncheon with Firoozeh Dumas sponsored by NHTI and the Capital Area Colleges
Venue: Crocker Wellness Center, NHTI.
Time: Noon.
Cost: $25 (Tickets available at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce or at www.concordnhchamber.com).Community Presentation and Book Signing with Firoozeh Dumas
Venue: Concord High School Auditorium.
Time: 7 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Concord Public Library Foundation.
Petite Plays: Pen to Performance with Dana Biscotti Myskowski - A Writing, Directing, and Enhanced Stage-Reading Series of Workshops, Culminating in Two Performances
In this three-part workshop participants will write three-page plays, direct a plays-in-hand, enhanced stage-reading, and appear in one or more plays as an actor during the performances. Learn to create engaging characters for the stage in a tight deadline, experience the interpretation of another’s work as director, and become the characters as a reader/actor.
Venue: Red River Theatres.
Time: Wednesday and Thursday, October 20 & 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. Includes Saturday, October 23, 2010 performances at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Cost: $49 NHWP members; $79 for nonmembers. Register now.
Friday, October 22:
John Walters Reading and Book Signing
John Walters, winner of the 2009 Donald M. Murray Outstanding Journalism Award from NHWP, will read from his book, Roads Less Traveled: Visionary New England Lives.
Venue: Gibson’s Bookstore.
Time: Noon.
Cost: Free and open to the public. Feel free to bring your lunch.
Live Free or Undead: NH Pulp Fiction Readings
Celebrate the publication of Live Free or Undead, an anthology of horror stories by some of New Hampshire's finest authors. The first in a series edited by New Hampshire Magazine editor Rick Broussard, Live Free or Undead comes out just in time for Halloween. Join the authors for a spooky reading of dark tales from the Granite State.
Venue: The Barley House
Time: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public. We encourage you to purchase drinks and dinner.
Bill O’Reilly
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly headlines the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications First Amendment Awards, which honor New Hampshire residents or organizations for exemplary support of free press and speech. Presented by the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications. $75 ticket includes admission to 5:45 p.m. Free Press Reception in The Governor's Hall at which O'Reilly will make a brief appearance.
Venue: The Chubb Theatre, The Capitol Center.
Time: 7 p.m.
Cost: $75 orchestra/mezzanine with reception & $50 balcony. Buy your tickets.
NHWP Literary Flash: Three Minutes to Fame
Think you have what it takes to be an NHWP Literary Flash Champion? Bring your mettle, your best 3-minute flash fiction piece (yes, we will have a stopwatch... a water gun!), and be prepared to take the stage. Contestants will face our illustrious panel of judges. Come take your shot at stardom and the chance to be crowned an NHWP Literary Flash Champion. Limit 8, first come, first served.
Venue: The Barley House.
Time: 7 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public. We encouraged you to purchase drinks and dinner.
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Saturday, October 23:
Concord Arts Market
Bring the whole family to the award-winning Concord Arts Market, a juried weekly, outdoor artisan and fine arts market that made its enthusiastic and successful debut in the Fall of 2008.
Venue: Eagle Square.
Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Newspaper Editors on the First Amendment
A panel discussion on journalism and ethics with Felice Belman, editor of the Concord Monitor; Rod Doherty, executive editor of Foster's Daily Democrat in Dover, and Jim Smith, executive editor of Connecticut's Bristol Press and New Britain Herald, discuss current and controversial affairs. Moderated by George Geers, executive director of the New Hampshire Writers' Project and New Hampshire Press Association.
Venue: Ransmeier & Spellman Building, 1 Capitol Street.
Time: 10 a.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Meet the Author: Marty Kelly - Children’s Literary Activities
Bring the kids for an afternoon of learning and fun with Marty Kelley, author and illustrator of the best-selling book, Fall Is Not Easy, as well as the Ladybug-nominated Winter Woes and his most recent book, The Messiest Desk. Marty’s program is fun, highly interactive and will have elementary-aged kids laughing while learning about writing. Marty will discuss the process of writing and illustrating a children’s book, from the initial idea to the final product. The audience will get a fun, behind-the-scenes look at how Marty’s books developed and changed over time. Sponsored by Concord Public Library Foundation.
Venue: Concord Public Library Auditorium.
Time: 2 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
NH Center for the Book of the Week Readings
Join some of New Hampshire’s authors whose work has been featured on the Center of the Book's blog as they read from their work during this day-long event.
Venue: New Hampshire State Library, Genealogy Room.
Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
The Met: Live in HD presents Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov
René Pape takes on one of the greatest bass roles in a production by renowned theater and opera director Peter Stein, in his Met debut. Valery Gergiev conducts Mussorgsky’s epic spectacle that captures the suffering and ambition of a nation. Aleksandrs Antonenko, Vladimir Ognovenko, and Ekaterina Semenchuk lead the huge cast.
Venue: The Chubb Theatre, Capitol Center for the Arts.
Time: Noon (5 hours).
Cost: $26 adults; $15 students; $22 seniors, Met members and Capitol Center members. Buy your tickets.
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Workshop: The Whole Book Approach
Discover the difference between reading with children and reading to children. This workshop, presented by an Eric Carle Museum educator, is designed to give educators the tools to evaluate the picture book as an art form and to encourage the critical engagement of students during picture book reading experiences. Adults only.
Venue: The Kimball House.
Time: 1 p.m. (3 hours).
Cost: $25 per person. Ticket information coming soon!
Concord Historical Society Panel Discussion – Writing & Publishing a Twentieth Century History of Concord
Learn more about the history of Concord and about the writing of the just-published book, Crosscurrents of Change: Concord, N.H. in the 20th Century. The book’s editor, John Milne, and project manager/contributing writer Richard Osborne will lead this discussion about the way the book was conceived, financed, researched, written, edited and published. More than 15 community-based writers contributed topical chapters and sidebars, and Art Director Geoff Forester was in charge of obtaining the many dozens of historical photographs that complement the historically accurate text and make the book a must-read for capital cityans and other history buffs.
Venue: Ransmeier & Spellman Building, 1 Capitol Street.
Time: 2:00 pm
Cost: Free and open to the public (books will be on sale).
Uprooted: Heartache and Hope in New Hampshire – Sneak Preview!
In this video documentary five re-settled refugees tell their very personal stories of war, persecution, refugee camps, and remaking their lives in New Hampshire. Umija and Rasim Gusinac, Udai Baskota, Zahara Mahitula, and Manuf Mahmood come from different countries and backgrounds, but they are all part of the most recent chapter in New Hampshire’s ongoing population narrative. A panel discussion will follow the screening. Uprooted: Heartache and Hope in New Hampshire is the first in a series of documentaries based on oral histories collected by the UNH Center for the Humanities for a project called Our State, Our Stories. This project aims to understand how the experiences of New Hampshire’s most recent newcomers connect with those of past immigrants. Our State, Our Stories is funded by the New Hampshire Humanities Council and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. Formal premieres of Uprooted will take place in Laconia and Manchester in November. More information about those events will be available shortly.
Venue: Red River Theatres.
Time: 2 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
David Sibley Reading and Book Signing
The man who revolutionized the field guide to birds now brings his formidable skills of identification and illustration to the more than six hundred tree species of North America. David Allen Sibley is the author and illustrator of a series of highly acclaimed books about birds and birding. He is the recipient of the Roger Tory Peterson Award presented by the American Birding Association for a lifetime of achievement. He will discuss and sign his books.
Venue: Gibson’s Bookstore.
Time: 3 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Petite Plays: A "Scripts-In-Hand" Performance with Dana Biscotti Myskowski - A Writing, Directing, and Enhanced Stage-Reading Series of Workshops, Culminating in Two Performances
Join the workshop participants for a performance of their three-page plays.
Venue: Red River Theatres.
Time: 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Cost: $5. Tickets will be available at Red River Theaters.
Helvetica: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustvit (Also on Thursday)
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.
Venue: Red River Theatres.
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Cost: $8 for public; $6 for Red River members. Tickets will be available at Red River Theaters.
Celebrity Autobiography
One of New York City’s most buzzed-about shows pokes giant-size fun at the often-ridiculous memoirs of A-listers from Vanna White and Star Jones to Sylvester Stallone and the Jonas Brothers. Read with deadpan glee by a rotating cast of New York comic actors, the passages run the gamut from the “early poetry” of Suzanne Somers to shocking “romance tips” from Tommy Lee to the most famous Hollywood love triangle in history – Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, and Eddie Fisher. And what’s remarkable and unforgettably hilarious, it’s all in their own words. Contains adult material. Sponsored by Ross Express.
Venue: The Chubb Center, Capitol Center for the Arts.
Time: 8 p.m.
Cost: $45 gold circle; $35 orchestra mezzanine; $25 balcony. Buy your tickets.
Kick Off Events:
Oct 20: Petite Plays: Pen to Performance
Literary Festival:
Understanding Your Legal Rights as Authors, Writers, and Publishers
FESTIVAL SPONSORS:
This festival is made possible in part by our members and by the generous support of the following sponsors:
Platinum:
Byrne Foundation Inc.
Gold:
FoxFire Property Management
Bronze:
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the NH Writers' Trail please contact George Geers at ggeers@nhwritersproject.org or 603-314-7980.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS:
Capitol Center for the Arts
Center for the Book at the NH State Library
Concord Arts Market
Concord Historical Society
Concord Monitor
Concord Public Library
Concord Reads
Creative Concord & Lincoln Financial
Foxfire Properties
Gibson's Bookstore
Louis Karno & Company
Main Street Concord
McGowan Fine Art
Millbrook Gallery and Sculpture Garden
NH Business Committee for the Arts
New England College
NH Department of Cultural Resources
NH Humanities Council
NH Poet Laureate
NH State Council on the Arts
Lincoln Financial Foundation
Plaidswede Publishing
Red River Theatres
UNH Center for the Humanities & UNH