John Banville – James Sajo

Last week I visited the 20th edition of a remarkable Book Festival called PordenoneLegge. That translates to “Pordenone Reads. Pordenone is a small city (around 50,000 residents) in northeast Italy, not far from where I live.

It is simply a fantastic event. Over the years, I have met – and by that I mean had a one on one conversation with – superb authors. Included on that list are Margaret Atwood, the late Umberto Eco, John Banville, Jeffery Deaver, Peter Hoeg, Robert Harris and many more.

On any day during the Festival, you’ll see school groups (from little ones to university classes) attending author presentations. You will see hundreds, perhaps thousands of people walking around with a book in their hands, a rare sight indeed. Authors make presentations in majestic historical buildings, modern auditoriums, temporary festival tents, or even outdoors in open squares.

As I said, this was the 20th edition of the Festival, so it was well-hyped in anticipation. Here are a few interesting numbers:

366 author presentation
More than 50,000 visitors
More than 10,000 books sold
235,743 visitors to the web site (during the 5 days of the festival)
6,000 Instagram followers
30,000 Facebook followers
Top Facebook post had 684 “likes”
8,000 Twitter interactions

So, yes. This Book Festival is a big deal.

And it was a big deal for me, as well. Here is what I did.

I attended a press conference with Sara Shepard, author of the “Pretty Little Liars” series (in fact she has written more than 30 books).

Multiple best selling author Sara Shepard shared her experiences.

She talked about how much preparation she puts into her work. She begins with many weeks of research and outlining and planning before she ever begins to write. As an author of Young Adult fiction, she discussed the pressure that young people, not just in the US but all over the world, experience. Everything has become much more competitive to the point kids can’t just be kids anymore. They have to be perfect kids. That is exacerbated by the influence of so much social media, particularly on younger people, who might lack the maturity to be themselves rather than caving to peer pressure.

She believes nobody is perfect and everybody has secrets. Those are the traits she builds into her characters. She recounted a story where her mother once told her the thing she hated most was secrets. That maternal observation filled Shepard with a vivid imagination as to what kind of havoc secrets can cause. We have her 30+ books as a result and are thankful for that.

I also had the chance to sit down with international best-selling author Stuart Turton. His book, “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is winning awards at an impressive rate and has been an enormous commercial success. You can read about my interview with him right here.

Stuart Turton in Pordenone Italy to release “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” translated into Italian.

Maurizio di Giovanni signing a copy of one of his terrific books

I sat through a reading by Maurizio de Giovanni (who writes the crime series featuring Detective Commissario Ricciardi (“I Will Have Vengeance,” “Blood Curse” and “Nameless Serenade” to name a few). As he read passages from his latest work, he was accompanied by live music. It was a stirring event.

David Grossman signs one of his books

Finally, I attended the presentation given by multiple award winning and many times best-selling author David Grossman (“Duel,” “The Zigzag Kid,” “A Horse Walks Into a Bar” and “Life Plays With Me” among many others). I learned Grossman is a serious thinker. His presentation was called “The Sweet Reward for Writing,” a phrase coined by Franz Kafka. Grossman said the reward is writing itself. He elaborated by saying when he is writing, everything he observes fits; everything is interwoven into what he writes, from emotions, anecdotes, facial expressions, news events and on and on. He continued by saying everyone starts with many options for their existence but we narrow it down into – one gender, one language, one set of beliefs and so on.

Here are a few more pearls of Grossman wisdom:

There is no greater joy than to escape from doubt.
We should each look at our own memory with some suspicion.
We yearn to be seen by the understanding eyes of our enemy, the eyes that see our humanity.

Of course, this is Italy, so there was food involved, as well.

As happens each time I attend PordenoneLegge, I left with a renewed appreciation of the genius that is great writing and full of motivation to continue my own journey as a writer.

The small city of Pordenone, Italy hosts a winning annual book fair. This year was no exception.

Pordenonelegge (it translates to “Pordenone reads”), now in its fourteenth year, has become Italy’s second most important annual literature festival. This is an impressive accomplishment for a working class town of slightly less than 50,000.

Pordenone is nestled in Northeast Italy, about sixty kilometers (35 miles) from Venice. When the Pordenonelegge book festival comes to town, the city’s characteristic medieval center transforms from a quiet community to a vibrant metropolis bustling with an enormous audience keen on culture and literature.

From 18-22 September, more than 120,000 visitors attended some 200 events, featuring 263 authors, philosophers, journalists, poets, and artists of international standing.

This was not only an opportunity for authors and publishers to sell books. It was a lively intellectual exchange of ideas and philosophy. It was a hands-on discussion on how to write. And it was an exploration into the mechanics of evoking emotions through the written word.

It was a thoughtful discussion of the challenges we face as individuals (love, loss, desire, ambition, etc.) and the problems we face as a society (Syria, economics, racism, and more).

The great English novelist Martin Amis presented his newest work, “Lionel Asbo.” The title character as a very violent but not very successful criminal who wins 140 million Pounds Sterling in the English National Lottery. Amis said he tried to show how fame has become the new religion in western society, and that the only way to counteract that troubling trend is through education. Hear, hear.

English novelist Martin Amis (center) listens to an interpreter as he is introduced before receiving the prestigious “History in a Novel” Award

A well-respected intellectual and author from Greece, Petros Markaris told a large audience the economic troubles threatening the European Union are not unsolvable. He went on to say the other countries in the EU should stop blaming Germany and start making their own proposals for a new European economic plan.

His words were well received by an audience comprised almost entirely of Italians. Italy is frequently described as on the brink of financial and economic collapse, and Italians generally feel their political leaders only follow the orders of German economists, rather than taking steps to reduce taxes, create jobs, and revive their economy.

The five days of Pordenonlegge featured presentations across seven different themes. Beyond Literature, experts also spoke about Screenwriting, Poetry, and Philosophy. One program, called “Aperitif with an Author” was a chance for a small group to sit with a well-known author or journalist, share a cocktail, and engage in a lively discussion. How cool is that?

One of the most popular themes was Children’s Books. School groups, from elementary school aged brand new readers to first year university students attended lectures, participated in hands-on writing workshops, and even had a chance to meet kid’s favorite Geronimo Stilton.

Another author present was Booker Prize winner John Banville (the Booker Prize is the United Kingdom’s equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize in the US). Banville’s latest work, called “Ancient Light” is a story of obsessive love and the power of grief. His prose has been compared to poetry.

In a meeting with journalists, Banville said he felt anything “weird” in a book will not work if it is done for too long. He described “weird” as dream sequences, flashbacks, stream-of-consciousness narratives, even sex scenes. A very pragmatic writer, Banville urged writers in the audience to write to the end of their book, then go back and worry about making it readable.

Irish writer John Banville meets with a group of journalists before making his public appearance.

Irish writer John Banville (right) meets with a group of journalists before making his public appearance.

Past editions of Pordenonelegge have hosted noteworthy international authors including: Erica Jong, J.M. Coetzee, Tony Harrison, Michael Cunningham, Jeffery Deaver, and Ian McEwan.

Tag: John Banville

The Biggest Little Book Festival in the World

I just spent five days at an Italian Book Festival