This article is published in issue 37 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until September 10, 2024.
There are two types of readers: the contrarians who refuse to read the newly released book that everyone is talking about and those who can’t do without it. The festival-goer has both options: he can meet the authors of the last year but also those who go there to present their new book for the first time. I, who am among the first and this summer I read Cormac McCarthy’s last two wonderful novels several months after their release, will not have the opportunity to meet him at the September literary festivals because McCarthy died in the meantime. And in any case, he didn’t go to the festivals. From September 4th to 8th there is the Festivaletteratura of Mantua, 28th edition, with the Turkish writer Elif Shafak, the usual Emmanuel Carrère but also Jean-Baptiste Andrea (winner of the Prix Goncourt), Colum McCann who talks about the mother of the American reporter beheaded by Isis and Sorj Chalandon, the legendary reporter of Libération (who I present in the bookshop on September 11th in Milan). The Festival della Mente of Sarzana has also just closed. It is the 21st edition, the theme was Gratitude: among the guests Mariangela Gualtieri, Alessandro Barbero and the American Pulitzer Prize winner of South Vietnamese origin Viet Thanh Nguyen.
At a festival many years ago I met Alicia Giménez-Bartlett and we have always remained in touch: she is the most affable and funniest of the writers. This year at Pordenonelegge (ok, I’m there too, with Rosella Postorino) the director of the Turin Book Fair Annalena Benini will be talking with her. And at Pordenone, Azar Nafisi, the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran.
In Milan there is Il Tempo delle Donne del Corriere, in Turin Torino Spiritualità, in Puglia I Dialoghi di Trani and in Procida Maretica, the Baricco and Parrella Festival where this year Concita De Gregorio and Luca Marinelli are joining the jury and I am leaving, who could no longer go because in September there are too many festivals, but it remains the most special, at least in my heart.
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Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
