The Fall for the Book festival is making some radical changes this year. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the festival going virtual. Organizers are also expanding the 22-year-old festival from four days to three months, running from September to November and offering “a whole season of great literary events right at your fingertips,” said Kate Lewis, the festival’s marketing director.
This year’s headliners are award-winning authors Rainbow Rowell and Tommy Orange. Other authors appearing throughout the fall are Porochista Khakpour, Emily Wilson, David Marwell, and George Mason University alumnus and English professor Art Taylor, among others.
The festival will be hosting #FallfortheBookFridays at noon on Fridays throughout the fall semester, as well as special events.
“With fewer barriers to access, we’re elevating our status to ‘on demand,’” said Lewis. “Now you can settle in with your kids to watch a live, interactive event with their favorite illustrator, or get a front-row seat to a talk with a writer who lives half a world away, no plane ticket required. By bringing the festival online, we hope to further unite the Mason campus with the local community, while making meaningful connections with people wherever they live.”
Like many nonprofits, the festival is feeling the effects of the lockdown. As a result, they are hosting their first online Trivia Night fundraiser at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 16. Details can be found at fallforthebook.org/trivianights.
Fall for the Book is Northern Virginia’s oldest and largest festival of literature and the arts. All events are free and open to the public, thanks to the generous support of sponsors including Mason, the Fairfax County Public Library, the Fairfax Library Foundation, and the City of Fairfax.