Feasting on the Books

Montana Book Fest Just Keeps Growing

By Kerry McMannis, 9-28-06

Tiny bookworms and literary elite alike will find something to enjoy at the seventh annual Montana Festival of the Book kicking off this evening in Missoula.

The festival is expected to draw record crowds this year. Last year, about 5,000 people gathered for the fest and this year, organizers are expecting 6,000 at least. The festival just keeps getting bigger each year, with more authors, more venues and more events.

"Every year, we think we're going to scale it down but we can't bring ourselves to cut anything," said Mark Sherouse, Executive Director of the Montana Committee for the Humanities.

With events unfolding at locations across downtown and a plethora of talented authors, logistical planning may be wise. The big guns, Ivan Doig and William Kittredge, will be together for the Gala Reading Friday night 7:30 at the Wilma.

“If there was a Dean of western writers both Doig and Kittredge would both be up for the position,” Sherouse said.

The festival will have all of the usual elements including readings, panels, exhibits, workshops and performances. New this year, there will be a luncheon held Parkside at the Wilma. The lunchtime conversation features Brian Kahn of Home Ground radio interviewing David Sirota about his book Hostile Takeover. His book, a critical look at corporate influence on government policy, has gained national attention.

One lesser known author Sherouse recommends looking for at the book fest is Charles D’Ambrosio. He has two published collections of essays and has written for the New Yorker. D'Ambrosio is the University of Montana’s fall 2006 Kittredge Visiting Writer.

Events for the next generation of Montana readers and aspiring authors include the workshop, How One Teen Published Her Novel. The event will feature recent Hellgate Highschool graduate, Janna Nickerson who published her first novel Eyes of War at 17.

Those too small to read will not be excluded. Story Time with Snow White, Grumpy and Pirates!!! will cater to the pre-literary crowd Saturday morning at the Holiday Inn Westside Rooms.

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