Is this a book festival? Singers, artists and more join third-annual BookFest St. Louis

From the September 18th article on St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Mary Englebreit talks about 40 years of illustrating cheery cherries and charming children. Romance specialists survey the online dating scene. And singers perform a piece from the Tony-nominated musical “The Prom.” Is this really a book festival?

Yes, they all have literary links. But at BookFest St. Louis, even what sound like traditional panels strive for an edge at the third-annual event Saturday in the Central West End.

“In previous years, we’ve mainly focused on uniting writers based on the genre they write,” says Sarah Holt of Left Bank Books, one of the festival’s organizers. “And this year, we’re doing some of that. But we’re also mixing and matching some authors to talk more about thematic similarities or how they approach their work. I think there are some panels that will be surprises to people in how interesting they are, where their discussion goes.”

Read the full article here.