Brooklyn Book Festival

Just like any other day, there will be a whole lot of writers in Brooklyn on Sunday, September 14. But unlike the other 364 days of the year, this time there will be a lot of tents (and book-signings!) along Court Street in Brooklyn Heights.

The Brooklyn Book Festival is put on by the Brooklyn Borough President's Literary Council, chaired by Johnny Temple, of GvsB and Akashic fame.

This year's schedule features notables like Joan Didion, Nathan Englander, Jonathan Franzen, A.M. Homes, Terry McMillan, Chuck Klosterman, Walter Mosley, and Jonathan Lethem. Plus relative newcomers like Rivka Galchen and Ed Park. And—fitting for a borough in which artistic borders are routinely blurred, if not disregarded— Ian MacKaye and Thurston Moore will be there!

The schedule is a bit daunting, with events running from 10am to 6pm at nearly a dozen different locations in and around Borough Hall.

Below are a few highlights we don't want to miss:

10:00 a.m. Inside/Outside
Borough Hall Courtroom (209 Joralemon St.)
Nathan Englander (The Ministry of Special Cases), Joseph O’Neill (Netherland), and Susan Choi (A Person of Interest) discuss imagined communities, global past-times, hopeless illegitimacy, and erasing death. Moderated by Dedi Felman, Sr. Editor, Simon & Schuster. —TICKETS REQUIRED

1:00 p.m. Out of Place
Borough Hall Community Room (209 Joralemon St.)
Three writers on the exciting, disconcerting, and sometimes dangerous experience of being out of place. Featuring Moustafa Bayoumi (How Does it Feel to be a Problem?), David Rakoff (Don’t Get too Comfortable) and Rivka Galchen (Atmospheric Disturbances). Moderated by Matt Weiland.

2:00 p.m. Darkness Abroad
Center Stage/International (Borough Hall Plaza)
Readings by Paco I. Taibo II (Mexico) and Juan de Recacoechea (Bolivia), followed by a discussion about the seethingly happy marriage of crime and literature. Moderated by Carl Bromley.

2:00 p.m. PENUltimate Lit: Literature and the Small Screen
Borough Hall Courtroom (209 Joralemon St.)
Join authors A.M. Homes (The L Word) and Richard Price (The Wire) as they discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise when fiction writers take their talents from page to the small screen. —TICKETS REQUIRED

3:00 p.m. Ian MacKaye and Thurston Moore in Conversation
St. Francis Auditorium (180 Remsen Street)
Two of the most influential musicians of the past 20 years—MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi, The Evens) and Moore (Sonic Youth, Mirror/Dash)—discuss the parallel worlds of independent music and book publishing. Followed by Q&A. Introduced by Johnny Temple.

4:00 p.m. Kevin Powell and Naomi Wolf in Conversation
Borough Hall Community Room (209 Joralemon St.)
Author/activists Kevin Powell (No Sleep Till Brooklyn) and Naomi Wolf (Give Me Liberty) explore the nexus of literature and politics. Followed by Q&A. Moderated by Jennifer Baumgardner.

4:00 p.m. Race for 2008: Perspectives on the Presidential Campaign
Borough Hall Courtroom (209 Joralemon St.)
2008 marks the end of the Bush era. What are the prospects for real change in the November election? A panel discussion with Harper’s publisher John MacArthur (You Can’t Be President) and Nation columnists Katha Pollitt and Gary Younge. Moderated by the Brooklyn Rail’s Theodore Hamm (The New Blue Media). —TICKETS REQUIRED

5:00 p.m. Top-Shelf Fiction
Borough Hall Courtroom (209 Joralemon St.)
Readings and discussion by international bestsellers Russell Banks (Continental Drift) and Jonathan Franzen (The Corrections). Moderated by Brigid Hughes of A Public Space. —TICKETS REQUIRED

5:00 p.m. The Consequences to Come
St. Francis Auditorium (180 Remsen Street)
Frequent contributors to The New York Review of Books Joan Didion, Mark Danner, Ronald Dworkin, and Darryl Pinckney discuss the challenges and opportunities that will face the next American presidential administration. Robert Silvers, editor of The New York Review, will introduce and moderate the panel.

5:00 p.m. Thirsty for Fiction
Main Stage (Borough Hall Plaza)
Chuck Klosterman (Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs), Ed Park (Personal Days) and Charles Bock (Beautiful Children) read from three of the most eagerly anticipated debut novels of 2008.