The Utah Humanities Book Festival is dividing and conquering.
Instead of hosting an array of author presentations and signings, book events and activities all at once, Utah Humanities, which produces the festival, will spread things out on a weekly basis, said Adriane Herrick Juarez, Park City Library executive director.
“In the past, they would present authors in one place and another place, and it was hard if you wanted to get to all of the events,” she said. “So, for 2024, they decided to present regional book-festival events.”
The Wasatch Back’s experiences will run from Oct. 21-27, and they will include gatherings made possible by a partnership with the Park City Library, the Summit County and the Wasatch County Library, Juarez said.
“As the Wasatch Back, we thought it would be a wonderful idea, and we committed to do a big shebang of events in cooperation with our partners to bring as much author representation as we could,” she said. “And we’re thrilled to get things started.”
The festival kicks off with “The Art Thief” author Michael Finkel on Monday, Oct. 21, at the Park City Library’s Jim Santy Auditorium. (See accompanying schedule).
“Michael Finkel is an award-winning author, and we think he will bring a wonderful viewpoint to the Park City Library as a local resident,” Juarez said. “He’s been on the New York Times best-seller list for quite some time. And he is a wonderful speaker as well.”
Speaking of local authors, the Park City Library will Meet the Authors on Saturday, Oct. 26, according to Juarez.
“We have a great number of local authors who will have tables on the second floor,” she said. “Each of them will have an opportunity to display their books and talk about their writing processes,” she said. “The community can come in between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to do a number of things including crafts, paper-making demonstrations, and Meet the Authors will be part of that rich experience. We have so many people writing fantastic books in Park City, so this is a great way for us to get to know them all.”
The Park City Library sent out a call for local authors earlier this year, Juarez said.
“We got a number of fantastic submissions, and all of them were able to get a table for this event,” she said.
At 2 p.m. that day, another local author, Jack Carr, will give a presentation and do a book signing, Juarez said.
Carr is a former Navy Seal, and the Netflix series “Terminal List” is based on his book of the same name, she said.
“He’s a wonderful supporter of the library,” Juarez said about Carr. “His mom was a librarian, so he will be able to give a unique perspective from an author’s standpoint about libraries.”
Juarez interviewed Carr for a Utah Humanities podcast called “Check Your Shelves” a few weeks ago.
“I was able to work with the head of the Utah Center for the Book, Kase Johnstun, on that exciting podcast,” Juarez said. “He’s going to be a wonderful speaker.”
Oct. 26 is a big day for the Wasatch Back Festival, Juarez said.
“We will have the ‘History of the Book’ exhibit with rare artifacts,” she said. “We’ll have the Rare Books Division of the University of Utah’s Willard J. Marriott Library in Room 301, and they will bring a number of rare literary artifacts with them. I’m not sure which ones they’ll bring, but if you look on their website, you will see they have cuneiform tablets and rare manuscripts. They will bring some of these items so people can have firsthand experiences with these amazing historic pieces from literary history.”
In room 201, the Marriott Library will present “The Art of the Book exhibit, Juarez said.
“Artists have created one-of-a-kind art that are books,” she said. “This is a truly unique art form, and the books they have made are exquisite. Each is hand made, hand written and hand printed, and they will bring in many of them.”
At 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., kids and families will be treated to a puppet show called “Moose on the Loose,” Juarez said.
“Young students from the community will present the show in the Community Room,” she said. “They wrote and rehearsed this show that is set in the library and has a lot of surprises in it.”
The fun continues on Sunday, Oct. 27, with author Julia Lyon, author of “A Dinosaur Named Ruth: How Ruth Mason Discovered Fossils in Her Own Backyard.”
The presentation is looking to be a hit with readers of all ages, Juarez said.
“She’ll be with us on Sunday, and that will be a great day for kids and families,” she said. “At 1 p.m., we’ll have the kids Dinosaur Stomp, which is kind of like a pre-party for Julia, where kids can do all kinds of movement activities and get their wiggles out with Miss Katrina Kmak, before Julia speaks.”
During the time the kids will do the Dinosaur Stomp, parents and adults can meet in room 301 and hear a presentation called “40 Diverse Children’s Books in 50 Minutes.”
“We have three renowned librarians coming up from the Salt Lake Valley who will give the talk,” Juarez said. “Then after that, Julia will talk about her book, which is based on a true story about Ruth Mason, who discovered fossils in her own backyard.”
Other fun events scheduled for the week include “Mystery in the Stacks” — a fundraiser for the Friends of the Park City Library on Oct 25 — and “Lines and Pies,” a partnership with Lucky Ones Coffee partnerships on Oct. 26, Juarez said.
“‘Mystery in the Stacks’ is a ticketed ‘Whodunnit,’” she said. “We’re excited for this, because it will take place Friday night after the library closes. And Audience members, who will try to solve the mystery, can come dressed in their 1940s style.”
Park City Improv will lead the audience on a clue-hunting excursion throughout the library shelves, Juarez said.
“The mystery will unfold before the audience members’ eyes in a film-noir style as they will walk around the space,” she said.
The funds from the ticket sales will benefit the Friends of the Park City Library that help supplement the library’s annual budget, and tickets can be purchased by visiting tinyurl.com/2u8wna37.
“This is the first time we’re doing something like this,” Juarez said. “We think it will be a lot of fun.”
The “Lines and Pies” is an interactive event, according to Juarez.
“There is no better way to host a literary event with pie and coffee,” she said. “Pies will be free, and we hope people will support Lucky Ones by buying coffee.”
The event will feature an open mic where people can read lines from their favorite books, Juarez said.
“It can be a line that has changed their lives or a classic piece of writing they want to share,” she said. “We’ll have an emcee to help, and we think this will be a fun way for people to share literature and the love of reading with each other.”
In addition to the events at the Park City Library, the Wasatch Back Festival will include two other events off site — A Night with Pam Houston at the Summit County Library Kimball Junction Branch on Oct. 24 (see accompanying story on page B-2) and the Utah Library of Congress’ “Great Reads from Great Places,” an author reading and book signing with Ally Condie and Stacie Denetsosie, hosted by the Wasatch County Library at Folklore Bookshop, 49 N 200 West, Suite 101, in Midway, Juarez said.
“These are two fantastic events that people will surely enjoy attending,” she said.
Juarez loves the idea for Utah Humanities to divide the Utah Humanities Book Festival into regional sections.
“We know this community has a lot of interest in literature and reading, so having a week to celebrate that is a dream come true,” she said. “We’ve been talking about hosting something like this for a long time, and to have the opportunity to partner with such esteemed organizations like Utah Humanities, the Summit County Library and the Wasatch County Library makes this dream a reality. We think people are ready for an event that celebrates learning, literature, reading and all things book. It’s so nice to think someone can come to the Wasatch Back, get a hotel room and enjoy the whole week.”
Utah Humanities Book Festival: Wasatch Back Festival Events
All programs are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted
Oct. 21, 6 p.m., Park City Library, 1255 Park Ave.
Oct. 23, 6 p.m., Folklore Bookshop, 49 N. 200 West, Suite 101, Midway
- Utah Library of Congress “Great Reads from Great Places” 2024 with Ally Condie and Stacie Denetsosie a reading, discussion and book signing
Oct. 24, 6 p.m., Summit County Library Kimball Junction Branch, 1885 W. Ute Blvd.
Oct. 25, 6 p.m., Park City Library, ticketed event
- “Mystery In the Stacks:” A Ticketed Interactive Whodunnit Fundraiser for the Friends of the Park City Library. This interactive event will be held after hours at the Library. Tickets available by visiting: friends-of-the-park-city-library.square.site/events
Oct. 26, 9 a.m., Lucky Ones Coffee, 1255 Park Ave.
- “Lines & Pies” The pie is free, and the community is encouraged to purchase beverages from Lucky Ones Coffee and read favorite lines from books and poems
Oct. 26, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Park City Library
- Book Craft Extravaganza — multiple craft stations including bookmarks, origami, make a mini book and more
- Meet Local Authors — more than 20 local authors will be at the library to chat about and sign their current books and what they have in the works
- Papermaking demonstration — see how paper is made by hand
- “Art of the Book Exhibit” — Letterpress printing, book binding and more from The Book Arts Program at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Library.
- “History of the Book” exhibit with rare artifacts — The Rare Books Department at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Library will showcase rare literary artifacts
- Puppet Show: “Moose on the Loose” at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. — Hilarity will ensue when attendees find out that the moose is on the loose at the Library
Oct. 26, 2 p.m., Park City Library
Oct. 27, 1 p.m., Park City Library
- Kids Dinosaur Stomp Party
- “40 Diverse Children’s Books in 50 Minutes” presentation for parents and adults by various librarians
Oct. 27, 2 p.m. Park City Library
- Julia Lyon, author lecture and book signing
For information, visit tinyurl.com/whp64fjz
