Lineup announced for inaugural Palm Springs Readers' Festival; passes go on sale Monday
The owners of Palm Springs' only independent bookstore are moving forward with their own book festival next year, one they hope will be a competitor to the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival.
The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs will host the inaugural Palm Springs Readers' Festival in February. The event is described as "inclusive, thought-provoking and engaging," with a focus on "celebrating a wide range of literary voices and promoting lively conversations that spark intellectual curiosity and empathy," according to a news release. The festival will include in-depth author conversations, panels and workshops.
How did we get here?
In September, the owners of The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs wrote in a newsletter they wanted to put on their own literary event to be a competitor to the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival. The bookstore owners criticized the Rancho Mirage festival as too expensive to attend and said its lineup of authors lacks diversity.
"Since we announced the Readers’ Festival back in September, we’ve been overwhelmed by the excitement and encouragement from the community for a festival that reflects the full diversity of readers here in the Coachella Valley," co-organizer Paul Carr said in a statement. "We’re also thrilled to welcome so many incredible authors to Palm Springs, none of whom have ever publicly defended the use of waterboarding."
Read more: Best Bookstore in Palm Springs hopes to offer alternative to Rancho Mirage writers fest
When and where is the Palm Springs Readers' Festival?
The Palm Springs Readers' Festival will take place Feb. 2 through 4 at Hotel Zoso, located at 150 S. Indian Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs.
The bookstore owners initially planned to hold their festival on the same dates as the Rancho Mirage event (Jan. 31 through Feb. 2), but Carr said they decided to hold it on weekend dates so that more people could attend.
Who is on the lineup?
The lineup includes:
Christina Clancy: Author of "Shoulder Season" and "The Second Home." Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The Sun magazine, and in various literary journals
Nikki Erlick: A writer and editor whose work has appeared online with New York Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan, Indagare Travel, The Huffington Post and Vox. "The Measure" is her debut novel
Jasmine Guillory: A New York Times bestselling author whose novels include "The Wedding Date," "The Proposal" and "By The Book." Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Bon Appetit and Time, and she is a frequent book contributor on The Today Show
Jedidiah Jenkins: A travel writer, entrepreneur and Instagram personality. He is the executive editor of Wilderness magazine, and his work has appeared in the Paris Review online, GOOD Magazine, and been covered by National Geographic
Angie Kim: Author of "Miracle Creek," which won the Edgar Award and the ITW Thriller Award and was named one of the 100 best mysteries and thrillers of all time by Time, and "Happiness Falls," which was a New York Times bestseller and a book club pick for Good Morning America, Barnes & Noble, Belletrist and Book of the Month Club
Byron Lane: Author of "A Star Is Bored." He’s a playwright, screenwriter, Emmy Award–winning journalist and former assistant to the late actress Carrie Fisher
Rebecca Makkai: Author of "I Have Some Questions for You," "The Great Believers," "The Hundred-Year House" and "The Borrower," and the story collection "Music for Wartime." A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, "The Great Believers" received an American Library Association Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was named one of the Ten Best Books of 2018 by The New York Times
Chris Pavone: The New York Times bestselling author of "The Paris Diversion," "The Travelers," "The Accident" and "The Expats." He is the winner of the Edgar and Anthony awards for best first novel
Steven Rowley: The New York Times bestselling (and Palm Springs-based) author of "Lily and the Octopus," "The Editor," "The Guncle" and "The Celebrants." All of his books are in development for feature film or television adaptations
Sara Sligar: An author and academic based in Los Angeles, where she teaches English and creative writing as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California. Her writing has been published in McSweeney’s, Quartz, The Hairpin and other outlets. "Take Me Apart" is her first novel
J. Ryan Stradal: The author of The New York Times bestseller "Kitchens of the Great Midwest" and national bestseller "The Lager Queen of Minnesota." His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Granta, The Rumpus and the Los Angeles Review of Books. His latest novel is "Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club"
R. Eric Thomas: The bestselling author of "Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America," a Lambda Literary Award finalist, and the novel "Kings of B’more," a Stonewall Honor book. He is also a television writer for Apple TV+’s "Dickinson" and FX’s "Better Things"
Rufi Thorpe: Her first novel, "The Girls from Corona del Mar," was long-listed for the 2014 International Dylan Thomas Prize and for the 2014 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize
Sarah Tomlinson: A writer who has appeared in publications such as Marie Claire, the Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Salon.com, and Vol1Brooklyn.com. She has ghostwritten nine books, including two uncredited New York Times bestsellers
Jennifer Wright: Author of six pop history books, most recently "Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist." She has written for the New York Times, the New York Post and the New York Observer
More guests are expected to be announced. The festival will also include a live taping of the podcast Gays Reading hosted by Brett Benner and Jason Blitman.
How can I get tickets?
An all-access festival pass will cost $150 and will go on sale 9 a.m. PST Dec. 11 at bestbookstore.com/festival. The pass covers all three days and events.
Those who previously put down a $25 deposit for the festival have received an email on how to redeem a pass for $125, Carr said.
Additional free programming, student tickets and standby information will be announced at a later date.
When is the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival?
The 10th annual Rancho Mirage Writers Festival is scheduled for Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, 2024, at the Rancho Mirage Library.
Among those on the lineup include filmmaker John Waters, broadcast journalist Lesley Stahl, Gen. David H. Petraeus, LGBTQ+ activist Chasten Buttigieg, former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, Pulitzer Prize winner Ada Ferrer, Turner Classic Movies host Dave Karger and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile.
Read more: 2024 Rancho Mirage Writers Festival to celebrate 10 years of furthering love of reading
Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: What to know about inaugural Palm Springs Readers' Festival
