It’s been a great run for the fourth annual St. Albert Readers Festival, better known as STARFest. So far, there have been five events featuring six authors including homegrown superstar Padma Viswanathan, whose new book was recently announced on the shortlist for this year’s Giller Prize.
Peter Bailey, the director of the St. Albert Public Library, is thrilled with the response from local fans of the literary scene.
“It’s going really well. We’re really pleased with the numbers and the excitement of the people that are coming.”
There have even been a few sell-out crowds with a few still to go. All of the tickets for the Steven Galloway event (wrapping up the fest on Nov. 3) sold out a long time ago, he continued. That’s much the same as it was for Joseph Boyden who just made his appearance on Thursday night.
“I knew Joseph Boyden was going to go well. To me, he’s like the premier Canadian writer out there today.”
As he looks forward to the final four events featuring the last five authors on this year’s slate, Bailey reflected on how the festival has gained traction. STARFest, in some ways, has put St. Albert on the national literary map, he stated.
“I think it’s very gratifying. We started four years ago. It didn’t stop us from approaching the big names but publishers and agents would say, incredulously, ‘Where is St. Albert?’” he laughed. “I got used to explaining about this great city that’s on the outskirts of Edmonton. We don’t have to do that so much any more.”
“We’re going to keep building it and see how it goes.”
Preview
STARFest<br />The St. Albert Readers Festival<br /><br />Saturday, Oct. 25<br />P.S. Duffy & Jennifer Robson, hosted by Paula Simons (with wine reception)<br />7 to 8:30 p.m., at Forsyth Hall<br /><br />Monday, Oct. 27<br />Fred Stenson, hosted by Curtis Gillespie (with wine reception)<br />7 to 8:30 p.m., at Forsyth Hall<br /><br />Wednesday, Oct. 29 (with wine reception)<br />Yann Martel<br />7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Arden Theatre<br /><br />Monday Nov. 3<br />Steven Galloway, hosted by Marty Chan (with wine reception)<br />7 to 8:30 p.m., at Forsyth Hall<br /><br />Tickets are $5 for events in Forsyth Hall and $10 for events at the Arden Theatre<br /><br />Copies of each author's books will be available for purchase and signing at each event.<br /><br />Tickets are available from the main floor desk at the library, by calling 780-459-1530 or online from EventBrite.<br /><br />For more information, visit www.starfest.ca.
Notes
This is the second of two preview features that Scott Hayes has prepared for STARFest 2014. The first was published on Saturday, Oct. 11.<br /><br />A separate preview on Steven Galloway's appearance (that wraps up this year's fest on Monday, Nov. 3) will be published in the Saturday, Nov. 1 edition of the St. Albert Gazette.
