There is More to the Internet Than Cat Videos: Come Out to the LA BookFest
If you’re a book purist, there is no substitute for the feel and smell of an actual book in your hand. But if there was ever a time to take a step forward into the digital world, it is now. Your favorite bookstore might be closed, but the LA BookFest proves that literature is still thriving online.
On Saturday, May 9th, the LA BookFest begins. If you’re sheltered at home, it’s high time to give your brain some much-needed exercise and a respite from the boredom. What better way to do it than with like-minded people from around the world? Join your fellow book lovers for a celebration of all things bookish. And after the event streams live, go back and check out all the archived content. LA BookFest is the gift that keeps on giving.
A Veritable Who’s Who in Established and Up-and-Coming Authors
Whether you’re looking for the latest from some well-established authors or looking for some new talent just making their way into the literary world, the LA BookFest will delight you with its line-up. You’ll start your journey with a keynote speech from NJ Ayuk as he discusses the African energy sector in relation to the current COVID-19 pandemic. And he’s a proper authority on the topic as the author of the Amazon best-seller, Billions at Play, a thoughtful exploratory on the rising energy companies on the African continent.
Panels will have a strong focus on current events and how it affects the literary world. Sit down with some of the world’s most respected journalists, including former White House correspondent Dan Lothian and award-winning journalist Deborah Zara Kobylt and others as they candidly discuss: Integrity in Journalism in the Age of Covid-19, Fake News, and Partisan Politics.
Literature Comes Full Circle
If you feel online literature is some new-fangled oddity for a younger generation and Kindle readers are some Faustian trap to take away your beloved books, here is some food for thought. In the 19th century, most novels came in the form of periodicals, printed weekly or monthly. Even Charles Dicken’s famous The Pickwick Papers was originally published in a serialized format.
When you attend the LA BookFest you can hear directly form Mitch Albom who’s put a modern, digital twist on this most classic of formats with his new Human Touch. Human Touch is an online serialized story and a current work in progress. Albom is crafting a message of hope in uncertain times, Human Touch helping to transcend the current pandemic in search of a brighter future to come.
So, if you consider yourself a purist, traditionalist, old-fashioned, or just plain stubbornly clinging to those lovely yellowed pages of literary treasure, just know you’re picking up a story in the most traditional of formats, pioneered by the likes of Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Who’s traditional now?
Look at All Those Authors, Speakers, Celebrities, and Thought-Leaders
There is a long list of notable names who are part of the LA BookFest. You are sure to find your favorite, or meet your new favorite among these notables: Bilal Alaji; Mitch Albom; Maria Alexander; NJ Ayuk; Sheryl Benko; Scott Brody; Diana Lee Brown; Jenna Busch; LaFern Cusack; Bob Difornio; John Dracup; Celeste Duckworth; Debra Eckerling; Lisa Goich; Gerald Everett Jones; Steven Joseph; Sarah Kendzior; Kathleen Kaiser; Deborah Kobylt; Paul S. Levine; Dan Lothian; Kiera Lyons; Joanna Dodd Massey, Ph.D.; KJ Matthews; Jonathan Maberry; Monica Matulich; Bill MicCormick; Ray Mitchell, Esq.; Ora Nadrich; Russell Nohelty; Claudia Puig; David Ruggerio; Edgar Scott; Robin Quinn; Ray Richmond; Sue William Silverman; Ryan Southwick; Danny Trejo; and Sara Winokur.
It Is as Easy a Click of the Mouse
Your literary journey is only a click away. Go to LA BookFest to sign up to attend. The LA BookFest is hosted by the Greater Los Angeles Writing Society in conjunction with a host of other sponsors, including such well-known names as Black Château Enterprises, Books That Make You, TEDxResedaBlvd and plenty more.