Poets, pie-makers mark first wave of Unbound Book Festival author announcements
Columbia book lovers eagerly await each name that attaches to the Unbound Book Festival lineup.
After the announcement of superlative novelist Emily St. John Mandel ("Station Eleven," "Sea of Tranquility") as its keynote speaker this April, Unbound has progressively divulged an author at a time. So far, just a handful of writers are inked, but the initial names are quite promising.
Bonnie Jo Campbell owns a number of compelling fiction titles, including the 2012 novel "Once Upon a River" — adapted into a 2019 film — and the acclaimed story collection "American Salvage."
"The Waters," out this month, reinforces Campbell's place as "one of American fiction's leading voices about rural life," the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Jim Higgins writes.
Novelist and essayist Dewaine Farria earned the first Veterans Writing Award with his 2020 novel "Revolutions of All Colors." Writing from his perch as a newly-minted National Endowment of the Arts fellow, Farria described how military service shifted his perspective on narratives we tell ourselves as Americans:
"Having spent much of my adult life outside of the United States, I see my country’s position in the world as at once unique, ludicrous, necessary, brutal, beautiful, and heartbreakingly tragic. No matter how layered my allegiances become, Americanness — with all its stubborn resistance to simple definitions — remains inextricably linked to my writing."
Writer and designer Stacey Mei Yan Fong will come to Columbia with an appetizing story to share. The author of "50 Pies, 50 States" baked her way across the map, treating pie as a scrumptious symbol of everything American. Subtitled "An Immigrant's Love Letter to the United States Through Pie," the author created her cookbook as a work of affection and honor, the project's website notes.
"The recipes are organized like the all-American roadtrip everyone has wanted to complete, this book is a journey through the wonders of pie for bakers of all skill levels — and the story of how I chose to make this place my home," she wrote.
Pornsak Pichetshote brings serious comic-book chops — and acclaim — to Unbound. The Eisner Award winner knows each frame of these narratives as a writer and editor on the page, and as an instrumental force behind the TV adaptations of DC titles, among other projects.
Landing on Thrillist's list of the top comic books and graphic novels of 2021, Pichetshote's "The Good Asian" earned high praise from writer Dustin Nelson:
"The tone, the twists, the double-crosses ... they would all fit among the best film noirs of the '40s and '50s. This is the kind of textured plotting you might expect from Raymond Chandler if he were writing today."
Like Farria, poet and essayist Brian Turner served in the United States military, crossing many radars with his debut collection "Here, Bullet." And Turner published not one or two, but three books last year, earning the praise of poetic peers such as Martin Espada, who endorsed "The Dead Peasant's Handbook," in part, by writing:
"Again and again, Brian Turner subjects his trauma to the demands of his craft, offering the gift of lyrical consolation even when that consolation is beyond the reach of the poet."
This year's festival is April 18-21. Watch the Unbound lineup evolve and deepen at https://www.unboundbookfestival.com/.
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Poets, pie-makers mark first wave of Unbound Book Festival authors
