It’s never too early to plan ahead. If you’d like to attend the Harbor Springs Festival of the Book, we recommend planning well in advance to register. The festival, an annual collection of writers and illustrators, rivals gatherings anywhere in the country or even more, takes place from September 23rd to 26th in various locations around town.
This year’s festival features more than 30 presenters in genres ranging from noir fiction to poetry and everything in between.
Among them is Chris Dombrowski, author of “The River You Touch,” a first-time parenting story set against the backdrop of the adventures of a river guide near his home in Montana.
A native of Michigan, Dombrowski is also the Assistant Director of Creative Writing at the University of Montana in Missoula and an accomplished poet. He calls the new book from the milkweed edition “an oarsman’s ode… full of anxiety” about parenthood and “his own complicity in destroying what he claims to worship.” This is neither an excuse nor a warning, but a candid assessment of his state of mind at the confluence of responsibility and aspiration.
The timeless Dombrowski recalls his youth when he first saw chasing wild trout following “some sort of map — one partially sketched out by a beloved book.” He also explains how he met and married his bride, Mary. Mary also explained that she was hell-bent on hopping around the region like Matsudahu—Oregon, Colorado, and Idaho—until she landed a teaching job just outside the charming hill country town. become a city. “
In prose, often expressed in poetic means and tone, Dombrowski shows how to keep the flame alive while paying attention to the day-to-day responsibilities of parenthood. Harbor his attendance at Springs is highly anticipated.
Harbor Springs’ most anticipated illustrator is Rob Harrell, author/illustrator of the new Bat Pig series featuring his latest installment, Too Pig To Fail. Harrell is also the creator of the syndicated daily comic strip Adam@Home.
“Our hero, Bat Pig (also known as Gary)” worries that perhaps his bad dreams are due to “Spicy Tuna Jelly Beans” as the story begins. But soon, he settled into Mr. Patel’s math class for fractions day. Hmm.
When Mr. Patel suggests it’s time for naps, minutes, snoozers, etc., Gary realizes that this may be “the work of Bat Pig.” Do something drastic and they will be bogged down in math class forever.
Eventually, Batpig runs into Mr. Gaffin, a school clerk who is “already a villain” and says, “Time guy or something.” Bat-his-Pig must do something to rescue his pals Carl and Brook, and the rest of the gang, before the Gaffin ruins them.
Bat Pig takes on stinky gym socks, alien invaders, and more with other hilarious turns and unexpected twists. And in Harrell’s illustration, the meek middle schooler Gary transforms into Batpig to help his friends and save the day.
The Harbor Springs Festival of the Books is a literary highlight not to be missed, and Chris Dombrowski and Rob Harrell are the bright lights of this year’s festival, so plan ahead and attend.
good reading.
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