It is sad to say that due to COVID-19, the annual Brattleboro Literary Festival will be occurring online for a second time. However, there is good news. Due to the online mode of the event, there will be availability to plug in some amazing talent. Starting today there will be reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa attending, both authors of the bestseller Peril.
This event is free to the public, and this year there was hope that it would resume its venue in downtown Brattleboro, however, due to the new Delta variant it seemed safer to resume online for a second year.
Things seemed challenging when Montpelier author Katherine Paterson canceled abruptly on being the festival’s kickoff speaker after a paper shortage delayed publication of her next novel, Birdie’s Bargain. Luckily Woodward and Costa’s publishers offered them to save the day and substitute in for a special event today at 7 p.m.
The program of Woodward and Costa requires advance registration, and this event will feature the journalists speaking out on their former reporting on Donald Trump. Brattleboro Literary Festival is one of three festivals that offer White House connections.
Furthermore, NBC political analyst Jonathan Alter will talk with Vermont author Megan Mayhew Bergman about his recent book, His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life.
Lynn University Professor Robert Watson will discuss his latest history work, George Washington’s Final Battle: The Epic Struggle to Build a Capital City and a Nation.
Brattleboro boasts of its long history of book associations. Royall Tyler was the author of the first American comedy: The Contrast which was published in 1787. He lived out his years in Brattleboro and is buried in town. Additionally, Kipling wrote The Jungle Book in the 1890s in his home in Brattleboro. Many many years later, the U.S. edition of Harry Potter was printed in a nearby Book Press.
Since its beginnings in 2002, the festival has aimed to highlight the town’s rich literary history.
People seeking more information on the festival can log in to its website.