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Libraries present Wisconsin Book Festival events

Posted 10/19/2006

MADISON, Wis.—It’s a book-lover’s delight this weekend, as the city and campus will be bustling with activities surrounding the fifth annual Wisconsin Book Festival. UW-Madison Libraries are involved in several events.

  • Friends of UW-Madison Library Book SaleThe Friends of the UW-Madison Library semiannual used book sale continues through Saturday, Oct. 21. Browse 15,000 books in nearly every subject on Thursday, Oct. 19 and Friday, Oct. 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. During Saturday’s $2-a-bag sale, bring a bag and fill it for $2 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. After 2, the remaining books are free. For more information, visit the Friends book sale page.

  • Wisconsin Center for the BookOn Friday, Oct. 20 from 1-7 p.m, the Wisconsin Center for the Book presents thesecond annual Wisconsin Publishers Showcase and "Book Bash" at the Wisconsin Historical Society and Memorial Library. The Historical Society will host the Poetry Publishers & Events; "Other Genre" (non-poetry and general topics) Publishers & Events will take place across Library Mall at Memorial.
     
    Wisconsin authors, poets, and publishers will share words, art, and books with the public. Each location will host a book fair, while author appearances and sessions for writers will be held in adjacent lecture rooms: check the detailed schedule for specifics.

    The Wisconsin Center for the Book is affiliated with Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters and the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

  • On Friday, Oct. 20  from 2-4:30 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theatre, the libraries’ Silver Buckle Press and UW-Madison Department of Art host “Book-off: A Competitive Book Making Event.” Talented artists will be in a frenzy of folding and gluing! Modeled on TV shows like "Iron Chef" and "Project Runway," the elimination-style tournament will feature artists, all students enrolled in Professor Jim Escalante's artists' book class, competing against each other and the clock to solve book design challenges. Six contestants will go three rounds making cool book structures, but there will be only one winner.

    The competition will take place on the theater stage with live video feed projection onto a rear screen. Color commentary will be provided by Professor Emeritus Phil Hamilton, and the judges will be Tracy Doreen Dietzel and Amy Newell. A looped slide show will feature more than 900 images from the Kohler Art Library's artists' book collection.

  • On Friday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. in the Wisconsin Historical Society auditorium, Gary Taylor, professor of English and director of the History of Text Technologies Program at Florida State University, will present "What is an American Book? From Movable Type to Downloadable Files."

    New digital technologies have called into the question textual boundaries gradually established over the centuries since the invention of movable type. Taylor will examine the relationship between two questions, usually treated separately: "What is a book?" (in relation to the emergence of new digital media) and "What is American?" (in relation to international corporate conglomerates and/or immigration). The lecture is presented by the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America and sponsored in part by the General Library System and the School of Library and Information Studies.

  • On Friday, Oct. 20 at 9 p.m. in the Orpheum Theatre, 216 State St., the Wisconsin Humanities Council, with sponsorship from both the libraries and the Friends, present Ted Kooser and Jane Hamilton, two nationally acclaimed Midwestern writers.

    Kooser was the 2004 poet laureate appointed by the Library of Congress. He has been writing and publishing poetry for more than 40 years. Born in Iowa and currently living in Nebraska, Kooser is the first poet laureate to hail from the Great Plains. His weekly newspaper column, "American Life in Poetry," appears in many newspapers around the nation, and his book "Delights and Shadows" won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

    Hamilton is a best-selling author from Rochester, Wis. Her first novel, "The Book of Ruth," won the PEN/Ernest Hemingway Award for best first novel. Her second novel, "A Map of the World," was an international bestseller. Both books were also featured by the Oprah Book Club. Hamilton will read from her new novel, "When Madeline Was Young," a tale of a family moving through the routine frustration of domestic life, personal tragedy and global strife.

  • On Saturday, Oct. 21 from 10-11:30 a.m. in the Wisconsin Historical Society auditorium, A panel discussion will tackle the topic, "New Technology in Book Publishing: Horseless Library?" Is there a future for print? What is the economic viability for print editions of non-blockbuster bestsellers?

    The panel includes: Gary Taylor, professor of English, Florida State University; James P. Danky, director, Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Peter Osnos, executive director, The Caravan Project; Ken Frazier, interim chief information officer, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Gwen Walker, acquisitions editor, University of Wisconsin Press. The discussion is presented by the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America and sponsored in part by the General Library System and the School of Library and Information Studies.

  • Zine festOn Saturday, Oct. 21 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., College Library will host the annual Madison Zine Fest, a celebration of independent media, alternative publishing and freedom of speech. This year's Fest includes 14 workshops and a Zine Fair, all in different locations throughout College Library.

All of the above events are open to the public at no cost.

 

 

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