Sarah Silverman Gets Distracted from Writing by her Bed

This year’s 5th annual Book Festival at Borough Hall was a hit once again, despite the rainy weather, and we were fortunate enough to catch a lot of great authors.  Watch the video below for a taste of the fest.

The day was a success for smaller publishers. We spoke to Bec Zajac, who was manning the One World Press table, who told us, “Often we don’t get as much exposure as the big presses in the stores but here we get equal, and even more exposure.”

We also learned that Sarah Silverman has a hard time writing at home, and prefers to work in hotel lobbies.  She told the crowd, “Writing at home didn’t really work for me, there’s way too many distractions, especially my bed.”

Over at the St. Francis Auditorium, Naomi Klein recommended Bill McKibben’s book, Eaarth.  Author Jennifer Egan suggested that areas with community book stores provide a personal book buying experience, whereas customers of less personable larger big box stores might be more inclined to go for e-books.

Thankfully there was also some musical entertainment, provided by Fort Greene author and editor Rakesh Satyal, who revved up the crowd at the main stage with a new Brooklyn-centric rendition of Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York.

See you all next year!

(Video by Natalie Peart, photo courtesy Kathryn Kirk, via Marty Markowitz)