One day. Seven hours. Over a hundred writers and fifty events. The Oakland Book Festival brings novelists, poets, historians, philosophers, journalists, editors, and activists together at City Hall, engaging event-goers in panels, interviews, and open debate. The festival will feature Angela Davis, Judith Butler, Danielle Allen, Jeff Chang, Arlie Hochschild, Sheryl Oring, Mistah F.A.B, Wendy Brown, Ishmael Reed, Laura Albert, and Anthony Marra, among many others.
And, The Rumpus is thrilled to announce we’ll be hosting a panel of our own! “Leadership and the Literary Community” will consider how—and if—diversifying leadership within organizations and the publishing industry effects real change in the literary community. We’ll also discuss how the current administration has, and will continue to have, an effect on that community. With our country moving backward and our literary communities struggling to move forward, does diversity in leadership translate to diversity in content? If not, what additional changes are necessary to create a genuinely inclusive literary landscape?
Panelists include: Samantha Giles (Executive Director, Small Press Traffic), Anisse Gross (Author/Editor), Trisha Low (Publicity Manager, Small Press Distribution), Medaya Ocher (Managing Editor, Los Angeles Review of Books), and Arisa White (Poet/Writer/Educator). The panel will be moderated by our Editor-in-Chief, Marisa Siegel.
Our panel will take place from 12:30–1:45 p.m. PDT in the Dalziel Foyer. Can’t be in Oakland on May 21? We plan to stream our Rumpus panel live from The Rumpus’s Facebook page, so make sure you’re following us and stay tuned!
This year’s festival promises to be an amazing day. There will be live music on the amphitheater all day. Booksellers, magazine publishers and local literary organizations will have booths on the plaza. Food trucks will provide nourishment. Be there! Sunday, May 21 from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. at Frank Ogawa Plaza. The entire festival is free and open to the public!
