Trenton Lee Stewart, Kathy Mattea, Kate DiCamillo, Silas House, and Jason Howard were the only authors my wife and I were able to see during the three days of The Southern Festival of Books in Nashville. More than 200 authors were present, but we could only be there for 1 day.  Despite what we missed, what we attended was well worth the trip.

Several months ago when searching for some things on the Benedictines, I ran across Trenton Lee Stewart. His book series, The Mysterious Benedict Society,  does sound something like a book of church lore, but they are actually books which are gaining in popularity in the young adult literature genre. He was a good speaker, he was generous with questions and answers and he reads his work well, which is not the case with all authors.

Stewart has not yet gained the popularity of some other children’s/YA writers so the room was small and there were maybe 50 people there. He talked some about his characters; Sticky and Ledroptha Curtain are two of my favorite. He read a passage from the new book in the series and he discussed the fact that he was not heavily influenced by current YA literature, since he only began to read it as he started speaking to groups so he would have more familiarity with some of the topics. One exception is the Harry Potter books, because he said that he knew if there was anything similar between what he was writing and things that appeared there EVERYONE would think he stole it.

Stewart was asked about the title character, Benedict, who has a peculiar form of narcolepsy in which high emotions make him fall asleep. Stewart referred to Hemingway, who said that he wrote so often about food because he was hungry.  Stewart has young children, so the characters in his work may have sleep issues because he is so often sleepy. His session was a good start to the day.

Kate DiCamillo’s sense of humor is obvious from her books, and though you may not immediately recognize the name, two of her books, Because of Winn Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux have been made into movies, and I’m sure others will be forthcoming. Kate was hilarious, and the fact that she crammed so much discussion on her books and her life into one hour is still hard to believe. I hope her session will be available by podcast, and I’ll update if it becomes available. She started with a prepared speech on imagination and how she began a journey that led to being the author of great children’s books. Her thoughts were amazing, and several people, not just Amy, were tearing up with her descriptions of creativity.

Kate then immediately jumped into questions and answers and was engaged and engaging. She discussed how at age 19, she was told that she had a good command of words and thought that meant she would be a rich and famous writer, so she bought three black turtlenecks and stared at people with disdain. At 29, she decided she should probably write some things if she wanted to attain the goal.  Like Trenton Stewart, Kate also referred to Hemingway, in this case in regard to his idea that he needed to be kind to the person who will be writing tomorrow. As a result, she writes exactly two pages per day, always leaving room for more the next day.

She also discussed her doubts. Her negative side is not an early riser. If she gets up early and gets her two pages done, she can finish before it wakes. She mentioned the benefits of people who discourage you as well as those who encourage. One person in particular who always antagonized her still stands in her memory as someone who she desperately wanted to prove wrong.

If Kate had said “I think I’m just going to stay here and talk for another few hours”, I have no doubt that everyone would have stayed. I hope she’ll be around again some time. Her new book, The Magician’s Elephant, is sad and joyful and haunting and like most good children’s literature, is a great story, regardless of where it’s shelved in the bookstore.

In the afternoon, we went to a session on mountaintop coal removal. I know a little about the subject, but had not read Jason Howard and Silas House’s book, Something’s Rising: Appalachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal. I’ve always liked Kathy Mattea, but don’t listen to her often, and didn’t know about her strong connections to the story or her album Coal. This session highlighted how much I did not know about the subject and I’m looking forward to reading the book. Kathy Mattea sang two songs, one acapella, in a room that had a capacity of about 200, and was half empty. I will seriously consider something better to record things with next year.

Three hours each way, cold weather (for TN in October anyway) and we stayed in a hotel the night before so we wouldn’t have to leave early. The conference itself was free, but it did cost us in time, energy and cash. It was worth it. We have gone several years since we’ve been there for the festival, but I hope we’ll be able to make a habit of it again.