215 Festival Set For Mid-October
Here’s a press release we just got, announcing details for this year’s 215 Festival.
THE 215 FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS OCTOBER 17-20, ALL OVER PHILLYPhilly’s rambunctious literary festival to touch down in four different neighborhoods; benefit event on Sept. 13
Twelve years on from its inception as the McSweeney’s Festival, The 215 Festival is slated to return this October 17-20th, touching down each day in a different neighborhood of Philadelphia, that great city of neighborhoods. This literary arts celebration serves to highlight the creative efforts of our fellow thinkers from both within our (questionably) humble area code, and beyond. And we’re pleased to announce that this year, we’re using as much of that area code as we possibly can. With festival creative director Joey Sweeney of Philebrity.com returning this year, the broad strokes of the 2013 edition of The 215 Festival are as follows:
· Thursday, October 17: Opening night festivities include: Nicholson Baker at the Free Library, followed by Writer’s Night In America, a live chat show hosted by TJ Kong, at Underground Arts.
· Friday, October 18: “Neighborhood Takeover” in Fishtown, with no less than a dozen literary events that evening, followed by a, er, “mixer.”
· Saturday, October 19: “Neighborhood Takeover” in East Passyunk, with both day programming and no less than a dozen literary events that evening, followed by a, er, “mixer.”
· Sunday, October 20: “Neighborhood Takeover” in Rittenhouse: A full schedule of YA Lit events that day at the Rosenbach Museum, followed by a final reading event/book talk/cocktail party at the Philadelphia Art Alliance.
At this time, new authors are being confirmed daily, but we can say that Neal Pollack, Nicholson Baker, Bruce Smith, Liz Moore, Wesley Stace, Tom Moon, Jason Fagone, Lord Whimsy, Thom Devaney, Nathaniel Popkin, Sarah Rose Etter, Nic Esposito and Doogie Horner have all been confirmed. Additionally, we’re happy to announce that this year’s festival will see events curated by an unprecedented amount of literary journals: Among them, our sponsor, DelanceyPlace.com, Apiary Magazine, The Head & The Hand Press, American Poetry Review, Tin House, The Paris Review, Barrelhouse, The Philadelphia Review of Books and more. Partner organizations this year include the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, SEPTA, NKCDC, GPTMC, Visit East Passyunk and The Rosenbach Museum.
But before all of that happens, we’re also pleased to announce The 215 Festival Benefit & Preview, to be held Friday September 13th 2013 at the legendary Port Richmond Books. Featuring appearances by Tom Moon’s Ensemble Novo, comedian/author Doogie Horner, poet Elizabeth Scanlon, author Sarah Rose Etter and the world-famous TYPE-IN typewriter happening, this fundraiser/preview will be held in one of the city’s most revered and awesome spaces for books — Port Richmond Books, which is an old silent movie theater on Richmond Street that is stacked wall-to-wall with, you guessed, books. For more info, check out the Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/155063471359899/
And for more info on The 215 Festival, visit: 215festival.org · facebook.com/215festival · @215festival on Twitter
ABOUT THE 215 FESTIVAL: Founded in Philadelphia in 2001, The 215 Festival is a literary arts festival celebrating the written, spoken and visualized word. The 215 Festival showcases the vibrant community of literary talent in Philadelphia, and highlights the continued relevance of letters in a growing range of mediums, from books and poetry to music, film, and blogs. To help contextualize our local scene, the 215 Festival also seeks to present national and international talent. Past events include author readings, book-themed dance parties, literature-informed musical events, book fairs, literary film screenings, and blogger panel discussions. Over the years, the 215 Fest has played host to some of today’s most interesting writers, including Jonathan Lethem, Neal Pollack, Ben Greenman, Matt Klam, Amy Fusselman, John Hodgman, Legs McNeil, George Saunders, Sarah Vowell, Zadie Smith, Jeffrey Eugenides and Patti Smith among many, many others.
