Visitors had plenty of books to peruse at the 2017 Quarry Festival of Books. Photo by Rodney Margison
BY TRACY ZOLLINGER TURNER
When Indiana University alumni make the trek back to Bloomington this year, they and their families will have even more to explore. That’s because the Quarry Festival of Books, sponsored by IU Press and Bloom Magazine, has moved from an end-of-summer event to one that coincides with homecoming weekend.
“The fest was great over Labor Day and we did get traffic, but the festival was a little bit off the beaten track,” says Dave Hulsey, associate director of IU Press, regarding Quarry Fest’s location in Dunn Meadow while the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Crafts was taking place downtown. “With so many people walking around campus to celebrate homecoming, we felt we might have a little more traffic and exposure.”
The festival, now in its third year, will feature autograph sessions with more than 25 authors, including Gerardo González, author of A Cuban Refugee’s Journey to the American Dream (review, page 37); Scott Russell Sanders, who penned Crawdad Creek, Meeting Trees, Stone Country: Then and Now, and Dancing in Dreamtime; and Matt Williams, who will be signing copies of Endangered and Disappearing Birds of the Midwest as well as The Complete Guide to Indiana State Parks.
New, interactive events are also planned, including book readings for children and workshops for adults. “We have a couple of books by really good photographers,” Hulsey says. “We thought we would have them come in and explain how to take a great shot of people or nature and what kind of equipment to use.”
With the release of a new coffee-table book called Indiana University Bloomington: America’s Legacy Campus (see page 84), a walking tour highlighting the history of campus architecture is planned.
The Bloomington community is also taking part, with organizations setting up information tables and adoptable dogs from the animal shelter making their way to the event.
The Quarry Festival of Books will be held October 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Dunn Meadow on the IU campus.
For more information, visit magbloom.com/quarryfest18.
