Wish List Continued--Nonfiction
My last post was a Wish List of novelists I’d like to hear in person. Here’s a list of nonfiction writers I’d like to see, either at the Hawaii Book and Music Festival, or in a subscription series in Hawaii.
Michael Beschloss/Presidential Historian
Taylor Branch, The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President, (2009)
David Brooks/ NYT columnist
Jim Collins/Business/Good to Great
Elizabeth Gilbert/Eat, Pray, Love
Malcolm Gladwell/Blink, Outliers, etc.
Al Gore, Our Choice, (Nov 2009)
Ariana Huffington/Columnist, etc.
David Ignatius/WPost Columnist (also thriller writer)
Walter Isaacson/Biographer
Doris Kearns Goodwin/Presidential Historian
David M. Kennedy/WWII historian
Tracy Kidder, Strength in What Remains; The Soul of the New Machine
Elizabeth Kolbert –Environment
John Krakauer/Into Thin Air; Pat Tillman
Ann Lamott/Essayist
Michael Lewis/Financial-Wall St/ Liars Poker; Moneyball
Barry Lopez/Arctic Dreams
Robert McNeil/Breaking News/PBS/ etc.
David McCullough/ Historian, biographer /Truman, John Adams, etc.
Greg Mortenson/Three Cups of Tea
Michael Pollan/In Defense of Food
Frank Rich – NYT Columnist, Politics
More suggestions most welcome.
And check out the Portland series, going since the 1980’s.
http://www.literary-arts.org
Tags: . David McCullough, Al Gore, Ann Lamott, Ariana Huffington, Barry Lopez, David Brooks, David Ignatius, David M. Kennedy, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Elizabeth Gilbert, Elizabeth Kolbert, Frank Rich, Greg Mortenson, Jim Collins, John Krakauer, Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Lewis, Michael Pollan, Our Choice, Robert McNeil, Tracy Kidder, Walter Isaacson
October 12th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Hi Roger,
I see that the Portland Arts & Lectures series is sponsored by Gard Communications, Powell’s Books, The Paul G. Allen Foundation and Willamette University. Major support is also provided by The Oregonian. How do you envision bringing about your dream of a Literary Arts series in Hawai'i?
October 12th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Hi KB,
One way is to introduce such a series gradually, extending from the Hawaii Book and Music Festival. This year we had 35,000 attendees, so we know there is an interest in live authors.
We are trying to find individual sponsors to cover the basic cost, to insure that speaker's fees, travel etc. are covered. But before even going there I'd like to get a sense that the idea has legs.
-Roger
October 12th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Hi Roger,
Love Anne Lamott--humor is always welcome! And David Brooks would be so interesting. Barry Lopez has been here before, of course; he's quite good.
On my wish list: Patricia Hampl (magnificent essayist). Verlyn Klinkenborg. Steve Almond. Tobias Wolff. And if Michael Pollan, why not David Mas Matsumoto (Epitaph for a Peach)? Or Jennifer 8. Lee (The Fortune Cookie Chronicles)?
Ruth Reichl, RIP Gourmet. Joan Didion.
October 12th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Oooh Joan Didion, yes! Hmm, PJ O'Rourke would be fun.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Keep 'em coming. However, until the series has established cred, we'd have to pick authors with enough rep to be a big draw. At HBMF last May we had some 35,000 attendees, yet no major author drew more than 150 people. Possibly because we offer so much simultaneously.
RJ
October 16th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Glad you realize not to go by the total attendance at HBMF (whatever the actual numbers might be) and instead think about how many attended the individual talks by featured national authors. The top author events at UH-Manoa's Campus Center are sometimes filled past capacity, which I believe is about 800. (Overflow crowds that couldn't get in the ballroom probably pushed that number closer to 1,000.) Those have generally been free, though. Smaller workshops with the same top authors have a fee. As someone noted earlier, maybe there'd be more willingness to pay for a more intimate experience with an author, rather than a public talk. Would the individual offerings at the Hawaii Writers Conference help in figuring what might work and what people would be willing to pay?
October 19th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I was going to add David Sedaris to this list, then learned he's already on his way here for a show on Nov. 6 at Blaisdell:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0A00431AA0FB26DB
Ticket prices range from $45-$65.
Yikes, I think his writings are hilarious but will think hard about spending that much to see him. At least we know he's a writer who has stage presence. Several on the list are likely better at writing than speaking...after all, that's their claim to fame.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
David Sedaris is an NPR favorite, and therefore should turn out HPR listeners in force. I believe he sold out the Hawaii Theatre for two evenings five or so years ago, so that would have been 3000.
The UH Distinguished Lecture series has been a variable draw--I've been there with 1000, and with less than 500. And they are free.
Stage presence is a sine qua non in our situation.