Skip to main content
 


Organizers of the 2009 North Carolina Literary Festival, set for Sept. 10-13 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, imagine that those planning to attend the event have questions. And festival director Amy Baldwin has answers.

Below are her responses to common questions about how best to enjoy the free public festival, which will present readings and talks across the campus by 101 authors. Exhibits, performances, book signings, sales and children’s activities also will be part of the festival.

When is the festival? The festival will take place on these days, dates and hours:

·         Thursday, Sept. 10 from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

·         Friday, Sept. 11 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

·         Saturday, Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with keynote events at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

·         Sunday, Sept. 13 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a keynote event at 4 p.m.

For a schedule, visit http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2816/73/.

What are keynote events? The following keynote speakers will appear in Memorial Hall during the festival:

·         John Grisham and Kathy Reichs – Thursday, Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m.

·         Anna Deavere Smith – Friday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m.

·         Elizabeth Strout – Saturday, Sept. 12, 5:30 p.m.

·         Authors Lee Smith, Jill McCorkle and musicians Matraca Berg and Marshall Chapman performing “Good Ol’ Girls,” Saturday, Sept. 12, 8 p.m.

·         Clyde Edgerton and Mike Craver with a performance based on Edgerton’s book “The Bible Salesman,” Sunday, Sept. 13, 4 p.m.

Visitors should obtain tickets to reserve seating for all keynote events except the talk by Anna Deavere Smith, giving this year’s Frank Porter Graham Lecture sponsored by the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences. Tickets are not needed or available for Smith’s lecture.

Tickets for the other keynotes are available at the Memorial Hall Box Office, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays; 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 12; and 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 13. Tickets can be reserved by calling (919) 843-3333.

Where should I start? An information booth with volunteers to direct visitors will be between Wilson Library and South Building. Besides Memorial Hall, locations will include Wilson Library; Carroll, Gerrard, Hamilton, Hyde, Manning and Murphy halls; Chapel of the Cross and University United Methodist Church on East Franklin Street; and the children’s area near Bynum Hall and Steele Building. For a campus map, visit http://www.maps.unc.edu/MapBook/Index.asp.

Do I need to reserve seating for festival sessions? Seating will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. All venues will be open as soon as seating from previous sessions has been cleared. Lines are expected for some of the more popular programs, so arriving early is recommended. Tickets are not required for sessions other than the keynote events listed above.

How long will each session last? The sessions will last 55 minutes each, including audience question-and-answer time.

Will books be sold at the festival? The Bull’s Head Bookshop’s main book sale area will be located beside Memorial Hall. Each venue will house a mini book sale area where authors’ books will be sold directly before and after their session.

When and where will the book signings take place? Authors will sign books after they speak. Depending on the length of the book-signing lines, visitors may be permitted only one or two signed books per author. The only authors unavailable for signings are John Grisham and Anna Deavere Smith. Rick Bragg will sign books only after his second scheduled appearance, at 2:40 p.m. Sept. 12.

How far are the venues from one another? All venues are within a two- to 10-minute walk of each other and are handicapped accessible. Signs, information booth staff and festival volunteers will provide guidance. 

May I record or photograph the sessions? Recording of the events, including photography, is not permitted. There are currently no plans to disseminate recordings of the programs.

Is the festival a green event? The festival has been classified as a green campus event for its waste reduction plans, including compost bins, recycling bins outside each venue and green signage.

Are animals allowed at the festival? Aanimals are not permitted at the festival for your safety and theirs. Official, registered service dogs are allowed.

Where can I park? Festival parking will be free to the public in campus parking areas on Sept. 12 and Sept. 13, including the Cobb Parking Deck behind the Center for Dramatic Art off Country Club Road; and the McCauley Street lot, accessed from the back off Wilson Street, which is off Cameron Avenue west of campus. Paid parking will be available in the Rams Head Parking Deck off Ridge Road for $1.50 per hour.

On Sept. 10 and Sept. 11, some visitor parking will available at the Visitors’ Center in the Morehead Building parking lot for $1.50 per hour. Visitors may also park in metered spaces and seven designated pay lots in the Town of Chapel Hill and on campus. Campus visitor lots and meters cost $1.50 per hour. Town rates vary from 75 cents to $2 per hour. Campus hourly locations include the Ambulatory Care Center lot off Mason Farm Road; Swain lot off Cameron Avenue; Hill Alumni Center lot off Stadium Drive; Ramshead Deck off Ridge Road; Highway 54 lot on Raleigh Road east of Country Club Road; and the Dogwood Deck off Manning Drive.

Town of Chapel Hill parking lots are open from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday. They are located at the corner of Rosemary and Henderson streets (Rosemary Street is one block north of Franklin Street); at the corner of North Columbia and Rosemary streets; at the corner of Church and West Rosemary streets; at 150 E. Rosemary St.; and at 415 W. Franklin St. Metered parking spaces are available on Franklin (one-hour maximum) and Rosemary, Henderson and Columbia streets (two-hour maximum). For more information, visit www.ncliteraryfestival.org/page/parking.

Will there be shuttle buses? Chapel Hill Transit provides two bus routes around campus, the U, for University, and the RU, for reverse University. Rides are free to the public. The U travels west on Manning Drive, north on Columbia Street, east on Franklin Street, south on Raleigh Street and returns to Manning, with a loop through Bowles Drive at the Dean E. Smith Center. The RU accesses the same points, traveling in the opposite direction. For bus route schedules and maps, visit http://www.townofchapelhill.org/ and click “departments,” then “transit.”

During the festival, the buses will start one and a half hours before the first festival session, end one and a half hours after the final session and run every 10 minutes.

Where should I stay? The Carolina Inn (www.CarolinaInn.com) is the official hotel for the North Carolina Literary Festival. Other accommodation information in Chapel Hill and Orange County can be found at www.VisitChapelHill.org/lodging.

Where can I eat? Restaurants including Subway and Chick-fil-A will be open in Lenoir Hall, as will several food vendors in the festival area. Restaurants abound nearby on Franklin Street. More information is online at www.VisitChapelHill.org/dining.

Will there be disability services? Persons with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations, such as a sign language interpreter, by contacting the festival office at (919) 843-7691. Requests should be made by Sept. 7 and as early as possible.

N.C. Literary Festival Web site: http://www.ncliteraryfestival.org/

A list of festival authors is available at http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2742/73/

For a schedule and venues, visit http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2816/73/

For activities and authors for kids, go to http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2708/107/

N.C. Literary Festival contacts: Amy Baldwin, (919) 843-5615(602) or 619-9191, amy_baldwin@unc.edu; Martin Armes, (919) 608-7260, martinarmes@nc.rr.com
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

 

Comments are closed.