Festival of the Book announces 2022 keynote presenter

HARBOR SPRINGS — The Harbor Springs Festival of the Book is thrilled to announce New York Times bestselling author and historian, Candice Millard, as the 2022 Keynote presenter.

“Candice was the top choice of our author committee, and we are so honored to have this unrivaled historian and author for this year’s event. She will be presenting her latest book, 'River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile,'” said Katie Boeckl, the festival’s literary director.

“Candice is regarded by fans and critics for writing the highest quality narrative nonfiction, and we know our attendees will experience a captivating presentation.”

Millard is the author of three books, each of which is a New York Times bestseller and have been named best books of the year by several publications, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. She is the recipient of the 2017 BIO Award. Her first book, "The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey," was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and a Book Sense Pick, won the William Rockhill Nelson Award and was a finalist for the Quill Awards. It has been printed in Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean, as well as a British edition.

Millard's second book, "Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine & the Murder of a President," won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, the PEN Center USA award for Research Nonfiction, the One Book-One Lincoln Award, the Ohioana Award, and the Kansas Notable Book Award.

Her third book, "Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape and the Making of Winston Churchill," was an Indie Next pick, a top ten critics pick by the New York Times and named Amazon’s number one history book of 2016. Millard's work has also appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, the Guardian, National Geographic, and Time magazine. She lives in Kansas City with her husband and three children.

The 7th annual festival celebrates the wonder and wisdom of the written word and is scheduled for Friday, September 23 through Sunday, September 25 in venues throughout downtown Harbor Springs.

The keynote will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 23 at the Harbor Springs Performing Arts Center. Festival registration and ticket sales begin on Wednesday, July 20 at 9 a.m.

Advanced registration is now required for anyone planning to attend any Festival session or ticketed event. The small registration fee will be waived for all students and volunteers. For more information about the Festival and keynote address visit hsfotb.org.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Festival of the Book announces 2022 keynote presenter