Join us for a day celebrating books at the A2 Community Bookfest! Formerly the Kerrytown Bookfest, the A2 Community Bookfest is thrilled to return to downtown Ann Arbor for 2023! Highlights include author talks by J. Ryan Stradal (Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, Kitchens of the Great Midwest), Sonali Dev (Lies and Other Love Languages, The Vibrant Years), and Stephen Mack Jones (Dead Winter, August Snow).
Booksellers, publishers, authors, and more will be on the vendor floor from 10am-5pm and various activities for all ages, such as hands-on crafts for kids and adults, storytimes, and discussion groups, will take place throughout the day. Additionally, the Fifth Avenue Press annual Author Reception will celebrate books published by the library in the prior year.
Featured Authors
J. Ryan Stradal
J. Ryan Stradal is the author of The New York Times bestseller Kitchens of the Great Midwest and national bestseller The Lager Queen of Minnesota. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Granta, The Rumpus, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. His debut, Kitchens of the Great Midwest, won the American Booksellers Association Indie’s Choice Award for Adult Debut Book of the Year. Born and raised in Minnesota, he now lives in California with his family.
J. Ryan Stradal Author Talk
3:30 - 4:30 PM
Author J. Ryan Stradal will discuss his latest book Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, followed by a brief Q&A. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Sonali Dev
Sonali Dev writes Bollywood-style love stories that explore issues faced by women around the world. Sonali’s novels have been in Library Journal, NPR, Washington Post, and Kirkus’s Best Books of the Year lists. She has won the American Library Association’s award for best romance, the RT Reviewer Choice Award for best contemporary romance, multiple RT Seals of Excellence, is a RITA® finalist and has been listed for the Dublin Literary Award. Shelf Awareness calls her “Not only one of the best but one of the bravest romance novelists working today.” She lives in Chicagoland with her husband, two visiting adult children, and the world’s most perfect dog.
Sonali Dev Author Talk
10:30 - 11:30 AM
Author Sonali Dev will join us to talk about her books, focusing especially on her upcoming release Lies and Other Love Languages. She'll be in conversation with local author A.H. Kim. The talk will be followed by a brief Q&A. Books are available for purchase and signing at the event.
Stephen Mack Jones
Stephen Mack Jones is a published poet, an award-winning playwright, and a recipient of the prestigious Kresge Arts in Detroit Literary Fellowship. He was born in Lansing, Michigan, and currently lives in Farmington Hills, outside of Detroit. He worked in advertising and marketing communications for a number of years before turning to fiction. His novels include August Snow, Lives Laid Away, and Dead of Winter.
Stephen Mack Jones Author Talk
2:15 - 3:00 PM
Author Stephen Mack Jones will present on his Detroit-based August Snow mystery series. Talk will be followed by a brief Q&A. Books are available for purchase and signing at the event.
Full Schedule
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM: Vendors
10:30 - 11:30 AM: Sonali Dev Author Talk
11:00 - 11:30 AM: Storytime with Suzanne Jacobs Lipshaw
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM: Block Printing with U-M Library Book Arts Studio
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM: Poetry Reading & Workshop with Andre Peltier
1:00 - 2:00 PM: Fifth Avenue Press Book Release Reception
1:30 - 2:30 PM: Kids Write with 826Michigan
2:00 - 3:00 PM: Banned Book Club with Booksweet
2:15 - 3:00 PM: Stephen Mack Jones Author Talk
3:30 - 4:30 PM: J. Ryan Stradal Author Talk
3:30 - 4:15 PM: Origami Elephants with Ian Tadashi Moore