WHICH BOOKFEST IS WHICH?: I have received queries from several writers confused about the upcoming book festival. They recently received a postcard promoting the Wyoming Book Festival, scheduled for Cheyenne in September 2007. They wondered if that is the same book festival set for Oct. 19-21, 2006, in Casper.

Alas, no, dear readers. The Casper version is the Equality State Book Festival. Named for Wyoming’s motto, it’s the brainchild of the Casper College Literary Conference planning committee. I’ve represented the Wyoming Arts Council on that committee since 2003. In December 2004, we began brainstorming ideas for the first statewide bookfest. Planning kicked into high gear last fall. The Casper College Foundation pledged major funding for the bookfest, which also includes the 20th anniversary version of the college’s literary conference. We applied for – and received – grants for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Natrona County Travel and Tourism Council. Other organizations pledged their support. Here’s a partial list: Casper College, ARTCORE, Natrona County Library, University of Wyoming Creative Writing Program, Nicolaysen Art Museum, the National Historical Trails Interpretive Center, Wyoming Council for the Humanities, and the Casper Area Community Foundation. Talented young book/magazine illustrator (and Casper native) Zak Pullen designed our poster. AdBay Inc. designed our web site. To sign up for the Oct. 21 author readings, e-mail Kathy Coe.

Forty authors (e.g., Annie Proulx, C.J. Box, Linda Hasselstrom, David Romtvedt) who either live in WYO or have WYO books will be featured presenters. We expect another 30-40 writers to sign up for readings on Oct. 21. Publishers, literary organizations, and educational entities are signing up for the vendor fair at the Nic on Oct. 21. Children’s writers and illustrators will talk about their books. Several panels of historians and writers will convene at the Trails Center to discuss (and possibly argue about) the legacy of the Mormon Trail. Olympic wrestling champ Rulon Gardner will visit with K-12 students in Natrona County and former UW and pro rodeo champ Abe Morris will be on a panel about the myths and realities of modern-day cowboys. As we get closer to the festival dates, nervousness grows as we contemplate the enormity of the project. But Director Tom Rea and Chair Laurie Lye have kept us all focused and motivated, sometimes with doughnuts.

Now, about this other bookfest, planned for September 14-15, 2007. The Wyoming Book Festival will be held in Cheyenne and sponsored by the Wyoming Center for the Book, which recently mailed promotion postcards with Sarah Rogers' colorful buffalo art. It is possible that we may alternate the Casper and Cheyenne sites year-to-year. That’s still unclear. One thing that is clear: Wyoming, one of the few states without a book festival, now has two.
- posted by Michael Shay @ 8:55 AM