Literary Road Trips: The Savannah Book Festival

Last weekend I attended the Savannah Book Festival. The event is a real treat for book lovers, with over forty authors sharing their stories and signing books in Savannah’s beautiful historical district.

Marjan Kamali, Author 

In the beautiful sanctuary of the Lutheran Church of the Ascention on Wright Square, Marjan Kamali, author of The Lion Women of Tehran and The Stationery Shop, talked about her childhood in Iran and her love of books.

Historical fiction author Chanel Cleeton spoke about her family’s Cuban heritage and her books The House on Biscayne Bay, When We Left Cuba, and The Last Train to Key West.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to listen to two of my favorite psychological suspense authors Peter Swanson and Jean Hanff Korelitz talk about their publishing journeys and share their writing insights. The Kind Worth Killing author Peter Swanson advised aspiring authors to eliminate what’s obvious from their manuscripts and to “read bad books and read good books.” Jean Hanff Koreliz spoke about her inspiration for The Plot and writing in multiple genres.  

Cara Giaimo, editor of Atlas Obscura: Wild Life shared fascinating facts about unusual animals like flying squirrels and platypuses that glow under UV light and Australian firehawks, black kites, whistling kites and brown falcons who cluster around savanna fires, and swoop down to seize burning sticks in their beaks or talons in order to spread fires. As the vegetation burns and insects flee the flames, the firehawks swoop in and devour the terrified creatures midair. While firehawks are a real problem for Australian firefighters; spreading fires over rivers, roads, and manmade barriers designed to stop the spread of fires, the behavior has only been observed in Australian birds.  

The Savannah Book Festival was started in 2008 to bring a focus to the power of stories to change lives. I really enjoyed talking with readers from other states and the librarians from the Live Oak Public Library System who were registering patrons for library cards in Telfair Square under the lovely oak trees draped with Spanish moss. It was a wonderful way for a book lover to spent the afternoon and I can't wait to see which authors will be attending next year's festival.  

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist