Welcome!
The 2012 authors and presenters have been announced. An up-to-date list of all authors and presenters scheduled to appear at this year's festival can be found here. You'll also find a brief list of highlights displayed below.
All sessions, authors, and presenters are subject to change.
JUST ANNOUNCED!
Philander Smith College and the Arkansas Literary Festival will host Tavis Smiley as Bless the Mic's 2012 finale speaker. More information »
Highlights of the 2012 Literary Festival
Introduce your kids to the 2012 Festival authors Cherie Foster Colburn, Darcy Pattison, Carla McClafferty, Spelile Rivas, and Lori Spencer, whose books feature gardens, prairie storms, titans of technology, monsters, and butterflies. With prizes, refreshments and even a piñata, the fiesta is a great way to promote reading.
Celebrated producer and director Jay Russell has adapted three books to film and is currently at work on another. Russell, a North Little Rock native, screens his film My Dog Skip and then delves into his adaptation process.
Don't miss! Two national treasures in one powerhouse session – Roy Blount Jr., Alphabetter Juice, and Ian Frazier, Travels in Siberia. According to The Boston Globe, "Roy Blount Jr. is a famous American humorist. But that clipped description is kind of like saying that Paris is simply an inland French city…" and "Siberia provides Frazier with the perfect canvas to paint what may be his masterpiece."
For international flavor, add this to your must sees. Coming all the way from the Mexico, Diana Southwood Kennedy is the "foremost researcher, teacher, and writer on the regional foods" of the country to our south. The "Julia Child of Mexican Cuisine" whips up daring, tantalizing dishes from her award winning cookbook, Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online beginning March 1.
Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre presents the classic stories Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood, shown together onstage in this fun musical production. When the three bears go out for a morning stroll, naughty Goldilocks sneaks into their house and creates a mess. Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Little Red Riding Hood is on her way to her sick grandmother?s house to bring her yummy treats, but a wolf named Bill has other plans. This play is perfect for all ages.
Proving the adage that "great things come in small packages," Madras Press will release The Man Who Danced with Dolls, The Human Soul as a Rube Goldberg Device, and Three Stories as individual booklets. Authors Hannah Abrams, Kevin Brockmeier, and Ken Kalfus discuss these editions and the Madras model of distributing proceeds to a growing list of charitable organizations chosen by each book?s author.
Kim O'Donnel shares her story of growing up with a T-bone teething ring and how over the past few years she?s made room for more plants on the plate. O'Donnel will cook treats from The Meat Lover?s Meatless Cookbook. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online beginning March 1.
From 26 years making elaborate desserts for kings, queens and heads of state, former White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier shares some of the recollections and artistry of his tenure. His new book, featuring photographs of extraordinary desserts from lush presidential events, is sure to make you salivate. Samples will be served. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online beginning March 1.
