For one afternoon, Nassau County will be the center of literary universe as Montauk resident, best-selling author and legendary talk-show host Dick Cavett will be kicking off the inaugural literary event, “Word Up: Long Island LitFest.” It will be a day of live, nonfiction readings by best-selling authors and award-winning columnists and essayists. This one-of-a-kind celebration of the written word is scheduled for Sunday, May 31 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Gold Coast estate Castle Gould at Sands Point Preserve.
“Word Up: Long Island LitFest is a day to disconnect from gadgets and connect with each other,” said LitFest founder and producer Claudia Gryvatz Copquin.
As keynote reader, Dick Cavett will head up the first of three, one-hour sessions with a selection from his latest book, Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments and Assorted Hijinks.
Other notable Long Island authors include:
Susan Isaacs, Goldberg Variations
Arlene Alda, Just Kids from the Bronx
Time Magazine and PBS contributor Roger Rosenblatt, Making Toast and Kayak Mornings
Syndicated humor columnist Jerry Zezima, Leave It to Boomer
Humorist Carol Scibelli, Poor Widow Me
Plus Thurber Prize-winner Dan Zevin, (Dan Gets a Minivan); New York Times humor columnist Henry Alford (Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That); author Julie Klam (Friendkeeping); columnist Susan Konig (Teenagers and Toddlers Are Trying to Kill Me!) and more.
In addition to the featured readers, “We’ve left a few spots open for selected voices from the community,” said Copquin, who will also be in the line-up. To be eligible, previously published writers must submit their essays online by April 1. Writers will be chosen to participate by a blind judging process.
Books will be available on-site for purchase through sponsor Book Revue of Huntington and author signings will follow each session. In addition to Book Revue, sponsors include Friends of Sands Point Preserve, NYU Langone, Bloom Media, AriZona Iced Tea, Anton Media Group and Jill Blau Publicity. For more information, please visit LongIslandLitFest.com. Admission is $20; tickets will be sold at the door.
—Submitted by Long Island LitFest
