LITERATURE LIVE AROUND THE WORLD

Monday, 08 February 2021 12:56
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Louisiana Book Festival to co-sponsor; see Bay Area Book Festival press release below:

Bay Area Book Festival logo
“Literature Live Around the World” Free Virtual ‘World Tour’
Featuring Top Authors from 12 Countries Including the U.S. – February 12-22, 2021
Unprecedented international literary collaboration combats isolation amid global lockdown
 
February 3, 2021 | Berkeley, CA – In a time of isolation across the globe, “Literature Live Around the World” (LLAW) brings together literary festivals from 12 nations from the United States to India, Norway to Nigeria, Argentina to Jamaica and more in a 12-hour program that runs live on February 12.  Each festival offers a one-hour segment introducing that region’s literary scene and some of its most interesting authors, allowing viewers to take a whirlwind virtual journey around the world through contemporary literature. 
 
Organized and produced by LitFestBergen (Norway), the free program will air in its entirety on NRK Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and will livestream on all partner websites. Within 24 hours of the live program, an edited, chaptered recording will be available for free on selected partner sites, including that of the Bay Area Book Festival (BABF) in Berkeley, California, www.baybookfest.org, through February 22. The Louisiana Book Festival, presented by the Louisiana Center for the Book, State Library of Louisiana, is a co-sponsor and local partner.
 
BABF will represent the United States with a program featuring authors Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, moderator Daniel Gumbiner, and BABF founder/director and host Cherilyn Parsons. Viewers from around the world will be able to submit questions live. 
 
LitFestBergen will open the program with Norway’s segment featuring Karl Ove Knausgård, among other authors. The 10 other festivals, besides LitFest Bergen and BABF, are in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Dubai, UAE; Edinburgh, Scotland; Jaipur, India; Kabul, Afghanistan; Lagos, Nigeria; Lyon, France; Perth, Australia; Toronto, Canada; and Treasure Beach, Jamaica. (Listing of festival names appears below.)
 
For the full schedule with program descriptions, featured authors, and live viewing times, visit www.baybookfest.org/bergen2021. Viewers can watch the edited, chaptered recording with this same link through February 22.  
 
Each hour will be opened by NRK hosts Siss Vik and Mona B. Riise, who will announce the country that viewers now will “visit.” A short video, provided by the relevant festival, will introduce viewers to that region and its literary scene. Watch BABF’s video about the Bay Area here: youtu.be/4iMC1svQrH4. Vik and Riise will converse with that festival’s director, who will introduce the authors and mention the co-sponsoring festivals. Each nation’s presentation is quite different, making for a dynamic overall world tour of literary creativity.
 
Cherilyn Parsons, BABF’s founder and executive director, notes, “Who says you can’t travel the world during COVID lockdown?" This program is incredibly timely. Our world is more interconnected than ever, and yet we can’t cross each other’s borders. LLAW leaps those borders, showcases the diversity of world culture, and exhibits values of global cooperation, all through the power of literature. Through this unprecedented program, viewers can explore twelve fascinating nations through the lens of each region’s top authors – truly unique, insightful perspectives that provide a ‘travel experience’ that even in-person, on-the-ground visits rarely attain. These authors and their hosts will take us far beyond the usual tourist sights and clichés about each region. We are beyond thrilled to represent the United States.”
 
Cherilyn Parsons, as well as LitFestBergen’s director Teresa Grøtan, are available for interviews.
 
Key links:
Full schedule, authors, best platform for U.S. viewers: https://www.baybookfest.org/bergen2021/schedule/
Graphics (LLAW, BABF, author photos) and other resources:  https://www.baybookfest.org/llaw-press-room/
Bay Area Book Festival: www.baybookfest.org
Louisiana Book Festival: http://louisianabookfestival.org/ 
LitFestBergen: www.litfestbergen.no/en/
 
Full list of participating festivals:
Bergen International Literary Festival (LitFestBergen); Bay Area Book Festival, Berkeley, USA; Writing Western Australia, Perth; Writer's House, Kabul; Jaipur Literary Festival, India; Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, UAE; Aké Arts and Book Festival, Lagos, Nigeria; Festival Internacional de Literatura de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Edinburgh International Book Festival, Scotland/UK; Assises internationales du roman, Lyon, France; Toronto International Festival of Authors, Canada; Calabash Festival, Jamaica.

Media Contacts:
Julia Drake | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Bradley Jones | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it