ENTERTAINMENT

Unbound Book Festival poised to finish March run strong

Aarik Danielsen
Columbia Daily Tribune

If voracious readers can't get enough books — buying more or making library holds before finishing their bedside stack — perhaps a steady stream of book events holds similar thrall.

The Unbound Book Festival is in the third month of a four-month slate, delivering virtual programming progressively rather than on one in-person weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three events remain in March before the festival enters a busy April. 

"Avery Colt is a Snake, a Thief, a Liar"

Thursday, the festival tethers its programming to Missouri's August bicentennial with Show Me Stories, a panel that promises to investigate the state's influence on literature and the ways its narrative should be told or re-told. The panel consists of St. Louis writer Ron Austin, whose story collection "Avery Colt Is a Snake, a Thief, a Liar" received several awards; R.M. Kinder, a deeply instrumental figure in the arc of the University of Central Missouri-based Pleiades journal and its accompanying press; and Mary Troy, a novelist and short-story writer and professor emeritus at University of Missouri-St. Louis.

"Like Home"

March 23, a trio of authors discuss the Changing Landscapes in YA Fiction. Nigerian-Canadian writer Louisa Onomé ("Like Home"), Chicago-based writer Anuradha Rajurkar (whose "American Betiya" released last week and author-illustrator Brie Spangler ("Beast").

One of the potential highlights of this year's festival arrives March 25. Poetry From Healers teams three writers who also work in healthcare. Psychologist Hala Alyan has published four collections of poetry and a new novel, "The Arsonist's City" released this week; Amy Haddad, a nursing professor at Creighton University, has contributed to several anthologies around writing and health; and C. Dale Young is a physician, poet and novelist. 

Unbound will complete its sweep in April with a number of events. Potential highlights include:

A reading from poets Kerrin McCadden, Janine Joseph and Cate Marvin April 15.

A Missouri bicentennial panel featuring journalist Sarah Kendzior and historian Walter Johnson April 20.

This year's keynote address, moved from last year's pandemic-canceled festival, features luminous poets Tracy K. Smith and Jericho Brown in conversation April 23.

All events are virtual and free and can be accessed at unboundbookfestival.com

adanielsen@columbiatribune.com 573-815-1731