Published October 15, 2010
As written communication moves from long form to short burst, are books still relevant?
Yes, if Saturday’s second annual Boston Book Festival is any indication. Some 130 authors and scholars, comprising 40 panels and presentations, will descend on Copley Square, attracting an expected 25,000 bibliophiles.
That’s a lot to handle, so we asked founding president and program director Deborah Porter for her short list of heavy hitters:
» Joyce Carol Oates, the renowned fiction writer, will deliver the keynote at 6 p.m., Trinity Church Sanctuary, 206 Clarendon St.
» Dorchester native Dennis Lehane, author of “Mystic River” and “Gone, Baby, Gone,” will participate in a panel called “From Page to Screen” at 1:30 p.m., Back Bay Events Center, 180 Berkeley St. (Radio Boston interviewed Lehane on Thursday.)
» Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, will participate in a panel called “The Economy” at 4:30 p.m., Back Bay Events Center, 180 Berkeley St. Hosted by WBUR’s Tom Ashbrook.
Dorchester's own Dennis Lehane will speak at the Boston Book Festival. (courtesy photo)
» Influential economist Dambisa Moyo, popular Harvard professor Michael Sandel, and Nobel Prize-winner Amartya Sen will participate in a panel called “Talking About Justice” at 3 p.m., Trinity Church Sanctuary, 206 Clarendon St.
» WBUR’s Robin Young will interview the humorist and travel writer Bill Bryson at 3 p.m., Back Bay Events Center, 180 Berkeley St.
» Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of “Cleopatra,” and Peter Stothard, author of “Spartacus Road,” will participate in a panel called “The Ancients” at 12 noon, Rabb Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library.
» WBUR’s David Boeri will host a panel called “Crimes & Misdemeanors” at 11:30 a.m., Popular Reading Room, Boston Public Library
All events are free. Wi-Fi will be provided. You can download the complete BBF schedule (PDF).