CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Last year marked the inauguration of a new literary festival held in conjunction with the popular Pygmalion Music Festival, the annual four-day showcase of regional and national bands at the University of Illinois Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Krannert Art Museum, and a variety of local clubs. Pygmalion's bookish arm, dubbed the Pygmalion Literary Festival, returns this year Sept. 25 (Thursday) - 28 (Sunday) with a long list of writers reading at venues other than libraries or book stores.
Audrey Petty and Peter Orner - two critically acclaimed authors and Chicago natives - will kick off the festival with readings at 5 p.m. on Sept. 25 (Thursday) at Krannert Art Museum. Petty, a Ford Foundation grantee, was named a Chicagoan of the Year in 2013 by the Chicago Tribune for "High Rise Stories: Voices From Chicago's Public Housing." Orner is the author of six books, most recently a collection of stories called "Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge," named one of the top 10 books of 2013 by The New York Times.
Other writers reading from their works include: Jennifer Percy, winner of two Pushcart Prizes and numerous fellowships, whose first book, "Demon Camp," was an Oprah magazine booklist pick and has been acquired by Paramount Pictures for a film adaptation; Richard Siken, whose poetry collection "Crush" was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; Jamaal May, whose first book, "HUM," was an NAACP Image Award nominee; and Tarfia Faizullah, whose book "Seam" won the 2012 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award.
Percy and Siken will read at 6 p.m. on Sept. 27 (Saturday), at Mike N Molly's, 105 N. Market St., Champaign. May and Faizullah will read at 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 (Friday) at Krannert Center.
In addition to readings, Pygmalion will again host a book fair Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Esquire Lounge, 106 N. Walnut St., Champaign. Presses represented at the fair will send writers to participate in "Lit Crawl" events, described by Jodee Stanley, director of the U. of I.'s creative writing program, as "short, quick readings" by a total of 24 authors over a span of two hours at four different locations.
A complete schedule of Pygmalion events is available at www.thepygmalionfestival.com/schedule.