KPR’s Kaye McIntyre Interviews Kansas Book Festival Executive Director Tim Bascom

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The director of the Kansas Book Festival, Tim Bascom, was recently interviewed by Kansas Public Radio. Listen to get a sneak peak at the upcoming 2022 Kansas Book Festival being held this Saturday.

Click the link to see Tim’s interview as well as an interview with Lucas Bessire, author of Running Out, who will be at the festival for his presentation titled Water, Wheat, and Us.

https://kansaspublicradio.org/kpr-news/kpr-presents-book-club

Kansas Book Festival Kid’s Events Flyer

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Kids Welcome at 2022 Book Festival

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This year the 11th annual Kansas Book Festival is hosting a range of child friendly presentations, events, and performances for children and teens. The festival, hosted by Mabee library at Washburn University, will occur on Saturday, September 24th from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and it is free and open to the public.

There are a number of presentations for younger children including Heart and Humor in Picture Books, where picture book creators, Tammi Sauer (No Bunnies Here) and Brad Sneed (Because I’m New), read from a wealth of their fun, beautifully illustrated books. Another presentation, Kansas Kids Who Publish Books, features Wichita’s Wyatt Shield (Wyatt’s Big Adventure with Shriners), Washington’s Kady Toole (Izzy the Cowgirl Corgi), and Topeka’s Anna Riphahn plus composer Paul Epp (The Timekeeper).  They will talk with Carol Settgast, coordinator of two books published by elementary students in Junction City.

Not only will there be exciting presentations, but also interactive events for kids. The Kansas Children’s Discovery Center and Paper June Bookstore will provide hands-on activities in an outdoor tent. A performance by storyteller Kyler Carpenter and puppeteer Priscilla Howe will take place at noon as well.

At 1:00 PM high school poets from Topeka High, Topeka West, and Highland Park will compete for top poet in the Topeka High School Poetry Slam. And another exciting event for young adults is the presentation at 2:00 PM titled Why Sci-fi + Fantasy = Young Adult Fascination. In this presentation YA authors Natalie Cammaratta and Kimberly Grymes discuss what makes Sci-Fi/Fantasy fiction so appealing to all readers. 

The Kansas Book Festival is targeted towards all ages and presents 60 authors with a wide range of topics including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and kids books. There will be an additional 30 exhibitors in tents with food trucks. For the full schedule go to the website www.kansasbookfestival.com 

A Sneak-Peak at the Kansas Book Festival: Table of Contents

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The sneak peek event for the Kansas Book Festival titled Tables of Contents is taking place on Sunday, September 18th from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM. The event is an evening of intimate conversations with celebrated Kansas authors, featuring literary cocktails inspired by some of their favorite authors. The event will be held at the Vibe event space and studio in Lawrence.

Said authors include Eric McHenry, Randal Jelks (Letters to Martin), Daniel Miyares (Hope at Sea), Jennifer Anne Raff (Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas), and Megan Kaminski (Prairie Divination).

We hope to see you there!

EnvistaCares Challenge Highlights Kansas Book Festival

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Envista Credit Union is pleased to announce that it will highlight Kansas Book Festival through the EnvistaCares Challenge during the month of September.

The EnvistaCares Challenge includes a challenge grant, media and marketing package, and an organizational storytelling video. Through the challenge grant, Envista will match every dollar given to Kansas Book Festival during the month of September up to $2,500. Giving can be done online at https://form.jotform.com/220743960000141. The media package provided to Kansas Book Festival by Envista is valued at more than $12,000 and includes a month of promotion through billboards, emails, social media and radio. Finally, Envista supports the production of a video for Kansas Book Festival to use to share their message and encourage members of the community to not only give, but to join in and consider becoming a partner.

“By giving to the Kansas Book Festival, you help to bring together Kansas readers and writers, honoring the rich literary heritage of the state. You encourage a thoughtful conversation about important topics that these writers explore.  You also help the Festival to provide grants to needy school and public libraries in underserved parts of the state,” said Tim Bascom, director for Kansas Book Festival. “We are thankful to our volunteers, donors and supporters for continuing the success of Kansas Book Festival through the Envista Cares Challenge!”

The Kansas Book Festival is the premier literary festival for Kansas.  Every year, the Festival brings over 50 authors to Topeka to make presentations based on newly released books, including authors of Kansas Notable Books (selected by the State Library of Kansas) and authors who are former Kansans but have established themselves outside the state, gaining national recognition.  In addition, the Kansas Book Festival foundation provides $10,000 in grants to needy Kansas libraries each year.

“Our goal at Envista is to lead, inspire and make an impact with our giving,” said Tara Dimick, chief business development officer for Envista Credit Union. “Kansas Book Festival is an incredible example of an organization that makes a wide-reaching impact on our community and state. We are honored to support them and are inspired by their leadership.”

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The EnvistaCares Challenge was created in June of 2019 and has helped raise more than $600,000 for local organizations. Envista Credit Union is a full-service financial institution established in 1957 to help members achieve their financial goals by providing quality products and services. Envista currently has more than $535 million in assets and serves more than 45,000 Kansans with 11 offices in Topeka, Lawrence and Hutchinson. For more information visit www.envistacu.com.