Salem Lit Fest - Part 1 (Saturday)

Brunonia Barry, Julia Glass, and Katherine Howe. Note the bank safe behind them (held at Salem Five's community room)

The new, revived Salem Lit Fest was held this past weekend – actually a 3-day fest, it kicked off with a reception on Friday night (which my family schedule kept me from). Aside from the Friday evening reception and “Dinner with the Authors” on Saturday, a $5 button/pin gave admission to a full slate of panels and activities throughout the weekend.

Brunonia Barry (The Lace Reader, The Map of True Places) hosted the festival – she was everywhere, always with a smile on her face. Earlier this month she wrote an post on Writer Unboxed about “Keeping Lit Alive,” how close Salem came to folding its lit fest, and the strength in numbers of the many people who volunteered their time and talents to make the event a success. She shares tips for others who are interested in starting a lit fest in their area; definitely an informative and inspiring article!

Following the Friday reception, there were two full days of bookish fun – this post will cover the two events I attended on Saturday; another post will pick up with Sunday’s events.

I made the 40-minute drive up to Salem on Saturday afternoon. This is a wonderful small city – walkable, waterfront, historic (witch trials!), and literary (Hawthorne, Melville, Miller’s The Crucible, etc.).

The first panel I attended was Writing Strong Women, moderated by Dr. Theresa Defrancis, author of Women-Writing-Women: Three American Responses to the Woman Question, which ”examines the strong female characters created by Kate Chopin, Willa Cather, and Nella Larsen.” The panelists were Brunonia Barry, Julia Glass (whose Three Junes won the National Book Award in 2002, and whose most recent novel is I See You Everywhere), and Katherine Howe (The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane).

The three panelists addressed “strong women” specific to their own writing; some out-takes:

• Brunonia Barry
• her characters have obstacles to overcome
• author must stay true to the character – in Map of True Places, the character (and resolution of her story) was subtle, but not weak

• Julia Glass
• interestingly, has written more male characters than female; finds women characters more challenging
• the “best” strong women are up against something
• to become significant women asserting their power in the world, they have to fight a little harder
• readers empathize with the character and her struggles, even if they don’t like her
• characters are rich, challenging, frustrating – the author has to “live” with them for a few years

• Katherine Howe
• feels she writes “milquetoast” women who grow into new versions of themselves
• gender is a constraining quality (especially evident in historical fiction, such as she writes); women are denied voting rights, property ownership, and have to answer to their fathers until they’re married (at which time they answer to their husbands)
• weakness allows room for growth and strength; gives the character somewhere to grow

There was a question/answer period, in which the audience asked if, as women, these authors felt an obligation to write strong women characters. The conversation moved to a discussion of genre naming conventions (women’s fiction and chick lit vs. simply “fiction”), which led to jacket design questions, and an analysis of Bella (Twilight) vs. Hermione (Harry Potter) vs. Eloise.

An excellent panel, with many jumping-off points for further discussion!

I had over an hour before the dinner began, and spent the time chatting with Cindy Richard, a local writer I met via Twitter and who has come to a few our of events at the Concord Bookshop. Well, you know how time flies when your talking books and writing; before we knew it, it was time to head over to Colonial Hall for dinner. This was a lovely evening at the event space above Rockafellas restaurant; I believe the entire building was a former church.

When we purchased our tickets for “Dinner with the Authors” we were asked to list our top three choices of authors to sit with. Are you kidding me?  Brunonia

Personally inscribed books!

Barry, Jenna Blum, Robert Booth, Julia Glass, Megan Kelley Hall, Katherine Howe, Joshilyn Jackson, and Erin Morgenstern … this was like asking me to choose which of my children I’d save in a house fire! I sat at the table hosted by Erin Morgenstern, and we chatted all things Night Circus. The eight people at our table included writers (published and not-yet-published), a publicist, and readers of all types.

Joshilyn Jackson headlined the dinner and told an absolutely hysterical story about finding her agent and selling her first novel – it was complete with “voices,” gestures, and an authentic Southern accent (which made the agent’s New York accent even more entertaining in Joshilyn’s voice). I hadn’t met her before this evening, and was as taken in with her in-person storytelling as I was when I listened to Backseat Saints. Each of the authors’ books were for sale, and they graciously took the time to chat with individuals and sign.

I left Salem well before the ‘witching hour’ and headed home for a good night’s sleep before Part 2 (Sunday) … will plan to post about that day’s adventures later this week!