We’ve had a couple of changes in the last 24 hours, and wanted you all to be sure to know:

• Noted biographer Angeline Goreau will be replacing Anne Garrels as interviewer for Francine du Plessix Gray.
• Gerald Elias will replace Megan Abbott on the “Sense of Menace: Fears, Foes, and Felons” panel.

We’ll miss Anne and Megan, but we’re very glad to welcome Angeline and Gerald!

Do you know what setting Joshua Henkin chose for his most recent novel, The World Without You? 

Why, the Berkshires, of course! Read more about Joshua and his book in Rural Intelligence.

Joshua will be reading at WordFest on 11 am on Sunday, September 16. Don’t miss it!

Megan Abbott, a member of the “A Sense of Menace: Fears, Foes, and Felons” panel, has been capturing wide accolades with the release of her newest novel Dare Me. For example: this dazzling review in the Sunday New York Times. 

Writers Digest, 1952

WordFest interviewee Francine du Plessix Gray, author of the recently released The Queen’s Lover, earned praise in The Washington Post (and numerous other media) for her “deeply intelligent” novel. “[Ms. Gray] is singularly equipped to tell us how revolution can alter love,” wrote reviewer Marie Arana.

And here’s Alexander Chee, a panelist who will discuss at WordFest the much-anticipated “When Bad is Good” topic, with his insider view on American artist colonies. He writes: “One of the burdens of life among fellow civilians is that when you enter the fugue state required for making art, you can’t really be a normal person. The good news is that at a colony, you’re not expected to—you’re expected to be civil to other colonists, and respectful, but not normal. It’s a huge relief.”

Last but not least, Roxana Robinson–a WordFest “From Insider to Informant” panelist–shares on NPR a moving tribute to the Maine loons.