The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writers.
The board of directors and steering committee of the Tucson Festival of Books make numerous decisions all year round to implement the best book festival possible for Tucson. On Monday morning, the directors and committee members made the tough decision. Authors had begun withdrawing by the dozens and author panels were impossible to schedule. It was obvious that many authors did not want to fly and travel. Within hours, it was unanimously decided that canceling the festival for 2020 was the best option.
The economic impact to the Tucson community was certainly on our minds. Twenty-seven food vendors were beginning to order food for thousands of people. Exhibitors had already started driving across the country to set up on the University of Arizona mall. T-shirts printed with the Tucson Festival of Books logo were packed on trucks to bring to campus. Five thousand children’s books were ready to be moved by volunteers on dollies to the free book giveaway tent. The SubZero Wolf demonstration kitchen was loaded on a special truck for Tucson. The OverDrive bus and the C-SPAN bus with their staff were headed this way. Twenty-plus hotels that house the authors now have hundreds of empty rooms. Airline reservations were canceled for traveling authors, exhibitors and visitors headed to our beautiful city. The list is endless.
People are also reading…
There is no community more capable of holding a book festival than Tucson. The event brings so much joy to a very diverse audience. The pride every volunteer feels is contagious to the authors, attendees and guests on campus. It will be no different in 12 months. We have never seen such positive reactions to a difficult situation. Many of the 2020 authors and sponsors have already committed to return in 2021.
What can you do to help? Frequent the sponsors whose financial donations enable this festival to be free for all who attend. Eat at the restaurants and buy from the food vendors that were planning to serve meals at the festival. Visit the bookstores here in town, especially the ones that were going to be selling their books and merchandise on the mall. The UA Bookstores is our primary book seller and is currently displaying many of the author books. Purchase a copy or subscribe to the Arizona Daily Star. Buy a Tucson Festival of Books T-shirt and wear it proudly. Read a book to a child. Read a book to a friend or just cuddle up on the couch and read for an hour. Sign up to volunteer in a local literacy program to help a child or adult learn to read.
Be the first to sign up next year as a festival volunteer. Become a Friend of the Festival. Every single one of you is needed and deeply appreciated.
Tucson is an author- and book-loving town. With your support, 2021 promises to be the best festival yet. We hope to see all 140,000 of you at the next Tucson Festival of Books.
Bill and Brenda Viner are co-founders of the Tucson Festival of Books.
