After reflection and consultation, we have decided to replace the 2020 Eastern Sierra Book (in-person) Festival with an online event. We’ll be doing author interviews and talking about books and publishing all day on Sunday, Jul 12, starting at 10 a.m.
Click here for the Facebook Live stream of the event. Here is the lineup and the approximate start times of the speakers so you can navigate this long video: 0: Jennifer Crittenden (host) 10 min: Christopher Platt 40 min: RD Kardon 1 hr 10 min: Kendra Atleework 1 hr 40 min: Kim Steinhardt 2 hr 10 min: Corrinn Davis 2 hr 40 min: Janet & David Carle 3 hr 10 min: Ann Parker 3 hr 40 min: Robert Joki 4 hr 10 min: Terry Pierce 4 hr 40 min: T. Jefferson Parker 5 hr 10 min: Kristen Fogle 5 hr 40 min: Danny Nielsen 6 hr 10 min: Suzanne Roberts
Here are some of the books we’ll be talking about. Get your copy, fire up your glasses and join us.
1:30——–Robert Joki – Editor ——————“Production of an Art Book”
2————Terry Pierce – Author ————–Love Can Come in Many Ways
2:30——–T. Jefferson Parker – Author ——–Crazy Blood & 20+ Books
3————Kristen Fogle-SD Writers Ink——-“Building a Writing Practice”
3:30——-Danny Nielsen – Writer —————“People Watching on Earth”
4————Suzanne Roberts – Author, Teacher —-Bad Tourist
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS:
Christopher Platt, Mono County Librarian and former New York City System Librarian, will kick us off at 10 a.m. with a review of what he’s been reading. This is a not-to-be-missed time slot (I’m serious). You’ll learn more of value in 30 minutes than all those Book Review sections you’re always putting aside to read later. [Photo by Don Chambers]
R.D. Kardon is a former pilot who has written two thrillers about a female pilot navigating a man’s world. We’ll be talking about some of the writing choices she made: memoir versus fiction, multiple points of view, and others. On at 10:30 a.m.
Kendra Atleework’s new highly-acclaimed memoir Miracle Country about growing up in Swall Meadows will be released on Jul 14. “Blending family memoir and environmental history, Kendra Atleework conveys a fundamental truth: the places in which we live, live on—sometimes painfully—in us. This is a powerful, beautiful, and urgently important book.” She’s speaking at 11 a.m.
We are delighted that “keen observer and wonderful storyteller,” Kim Steinhardt, will join us to talk about “Writing for Change” at 11:30 on Jul 12. He is an award-winning marine wildlife photographer who interprets the natural world for all ages and audiences and has been an adviser and photo contributor to National Geographic Kids Explore My World. He serves on the board of directors of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center at the University of California at Santa Cruz.Life coach Corrinn Davis is coming! She’ll be talking about coping with adversity (timely!) and her new book Useful Questions, endorsed by Jack Canfield. Pick up some pearls of wisdom at 12 noon on Jul 12.Former park rangers, David and Janet Carle set out on an around-the-world journey in search of water-related environmental and cultural intersections along the 38th parallel. This book is a chronicle of their adventures as they meet people confronting challenges in water supply, pollution, wetlands loss, and habitat protection. At the heart of the narrative are the riveting stories of the passionate individuals—scientists, educators, and local activists—who are struggling to preserve some of the world’s most amazing, yet threatened, landscapes. On at 12:30.A native Northern Californian, Ann Parker slings science and technical verbiage for a living during the day and writes fiction at night. The first five books of her Silver Rush historical mystery series are set primarily in 1880 in the silver boomtown of Leadville, Colorado. The most recent two mysteries bring her protagonist, Inez Stannert, to San Francisco in the early 1880s. Ann joins us at 1 p.m.Robert Joki, president of the Southern Mono Historical Society, will talk about the new book about Stephen Willard, the Eastern Sierra’s most famous artist, renowned for his postcards, paintings, and photography. Robert will talk about the technical aspects of getting an art book produced, from printing to pricing. You won’t want to miss his session at 1:30 p.m.We are fortunate that well-known children’s author Terry Pierce can join us at 2 p.m. A former Montessori teacher and the author of 23 children’s books (at last count), she now writes full-time and teaches children’s writing courses for the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. Long inspired by the Eastern Sierra, she drafted one of her books while resting at a vista point along a Mammoth Lakes bike path.courtesy Marion EttlingerWe are thrilled that T. Jefferson Parker can join us at 2:30 to talk about his books, Crazy Blood (set in Mammoth Lakes), his new book Then She Vanished, plus 20+ other books (we’ll talk fast). Jeff has won the Edgar award three times (!), and his books are New York Times bestsellers. A lifelong California native, he usually sets his police procedurals in specific locations in Southern California. His hobbies, which include hiking and fishing, sometimes bring him to the Eastern Sierra.We are honored to welcome Kristen Fogle, executive director of the literary center, San Diego Writers Ink, to the festival at 3 p.m. She’ll talk about (very) non-traditional publishing, writing prompts, and building a writing practice. She is also a theater director, producer, and teaching artist, as well as a writing instructor and a former magazine editor. Writer Danny Nielsen joins us at 3:30 to talk about his work “People Watching on Earth.” He says, “Much of the last decade I have worked in, and explored, the American West. I have enjoyed countless hours behind the wheel driving along the Eastern Sierra, days spent exploring remote desert canyons, and moonless nights illuminated by only the stars above. My favorite memories end with sinking my bare toes into the sand and sipping a cold beer while watching the sunset over the desert landscape. I am currently working on a Ph.D. in ecology and evolution at the University of Nevada in Reno where I live with my wife, daughter, and our Corgi.” He’ll be doing a reading from his amazing writing.We are honored Suzanne Roberts can join us at 4 p.m. National Geographic’s Traveler magazine named Roberts “The Next Great Travel Writer.” She holds a doctorate in literature and the environment from the University of Nevada-Reno and teaches for the low residency MFA program in creative writing at Sierra Nevada College. Her latest book, Bad Tourist, is funny, honest, nostalgic, romantic, anti-romantic, and hard to put down.