UPDATE – postponed until Fall 2020 – date TBD
The Bristol BookFest Steering Committee has voted to postpone our inaugural event on March 27-28 and to take steps to find a suitable date in the fall to reschedule our All the King’s Men weekend. This, of course, depends on how the COVID 19 pandemic travels, but we will not abandon our goal of bringing a major literary festival to Bristol.
We are deeply grateful to our partner organizations — The Friends of the Rogers Free Library, Linden Place, Arts in Common, Roger Williams University, and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities as well as many private donors — for supporting this decision and carrying forward their financial sponsorship into the fall.
For now, our plan is to keep existing registrations and the waiting list. When we have consulted with our speakers and established a new date for the festival, we will be back in touch with you, we hope by June 1.
We were pleasantly surprised by the fact that we reached our capacity of 150 with a 50+ waiting list within 24 hours of opening registration in January, then saw 50 people attend the screening of All the King’s Men at the Rogers Free Library in February, and had 85 guests sign up for the Founders’ Dinner.
Given the hundreds of hours of volunteer time and the great wave of goodwill that greeted BookFest, we are saddened by this postponement. But our decision was made in consideration of the health and safety of our speakers and attendees.
Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you at Bristol BookFest in the fall.
Charles Calhoun
For the Bristol BookFest Steering Committee
Questions? Contact the Bristol BookFest Steering Committee at: hello@bristolbookfest.com
A thought-provoking event bringing together serious readers with scholars of literature, history, political science, and film.
NOTE: THE EVENT IS CLOSE TO CAPACITY — If asked, please join the wait list!
Bristol BookFest is a free public humanities program devoted to a close reading of a literary text. Join them in consideration and conversation around politics and populism via Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1946 book, All the King’s Men, often said to the finest novel ever written on American politics. All the King’s Men tells the story of an ambitious young country lawyer who finds he has a gift for winning votes – a gift that almost takes him to the Presidency. Based on the colorful career of Louisiana governor and U.S. Senator Huey Long, All the King’s Men is both a political thriller and a psychological study of human frailty and self-deception.
The 2020 program includes a keynote talk, reception, optional Creole-Cajun dinner, and a day of presentations and discussions in historic settings in beautiful downtown Bristol, Rhode Island.
Friday, March 27, 2020 5:00 pm
BookFest Evening Keynote
Linden Place, 500 Hope Street, Bristol, RI
Friday, March 27, 2020 6:30 pm – Drinks Reception
Rogers Free Library, 525 Hope Street, Bristol, RI
Saturday, March 28, 2020
9:00 am to 4:00 pm – BookFest Day Program
Linden Place, 500 Hope Street, Bristol, RI
As space is limited to 120, registration is required. For additional details, find us online or email us:
BristolBookFest.com
Facebook.com/BristolBookFest
Hello@BristolBookFest.com