Attendees of last year’s Boston Book Festival plot their next move. (Courtesy Boston Book Festival/Tom Quigley)
In addition to the author talks, the festival will feature more than 70 vendors including artisan shops and nonprofits. Reading Is Fundamental, a literary nonprofit, will give out free books in honor of its 60th anniversary.
“This is just a beloved tradition in this city,” said Carlin Carr, the festival’s executive director.
The festival partners with the Boston Public Library to host panel sessions across the Copley Square area, including the Copley library branch, the Old South Church and the Goethe-Institut.
Authors will cover a wide range of genres from fiction and nonfiction to poetry, young adult and more. All sessions are free and open to the public.
“What’s really great about it being free and open is that people can also wander into sessions they might not have bought a ticket for otherwise,” Carr said.
Keynote speaker Emily Wilson will discuss her new book, “Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature,” a collection of essays that explore the process and challenge of translating ancient texts for a modern audience.
“I also aimed for it to be a book that could introduce readers who might not have much familiarity or any familiarity with either translation or ancient Greek and Roman literature to a fairly wide array of both literary authors, poets, writers, philosophers, and their modern receptions and challenges of of translation, including challenges of translation for authors that I haven’t published translations of,” Wilson said.
“I know that there’s a great audience and a great vibe at the Boston Book Festival,” said Wilson, who also spoke at the festival in 2023 and is known for her translations of “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad.”
Author Maria Pinto signs copies of her book “Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless” at last year’s Boston Book Festival. (Courtesy Boston Book Festival/Tom Quigley)
Other returning authors include Howard Bryant, who will talk about his latest book, “Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America.”
Bryant, who grew up in Dorchester and lives in Amherst, said he always enjoys participating in the festival. This is his fourth time speaking at it.
“It’s a very, very Boston event,” Bryant said. “It really does give you a flavor of the literacy of the city, the historical literacy of the city.”
Bryant will be on the panel “How to Be a Citizen” alongside authors Roger Berkowitz and Eric Liu. His book explores the lives of two baseball players and their careers amid the Cold War.
“This is a Cold War story,” Bryant said. “And I think the thing that really drew me to it was the idea that you had these two Black American figures who were in the middle of the Cold War, because I don’t think people ever really associate African Americans with being in the center of the Cold War, even though they were just as American as everybody else.”
The festival is a family affair for Bryant this year – his sister, Tisa Bryant, will join him in the lineup of authors.
“Two Dorchester kids doing this event together, which is really, really special,” he said.
crowds visiting last year’s Boston Book Festival in Copley Square. (Courtesy Boston Book Festival/Tom Quigley)
In addition to the author talks, the festival will feature more than 70 vendors including artisan shops and nonprofits. Reading Is Fundamental, a literary nonprofit, will give out free books in honor of its 60th anniversary.