Colson Whitehead, Elif Batuman Among Writers to Appear at Brooklyn Book Festival

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Each year, the Brooklyn Book Festival brings together hundreds of authors and literary personalities for panels, readings and events around the city. On June 15, the festival announced its initial list of attendees. Among the more than 130 participants scheduled to appear at the event on September 17 are writers Elif Batuman, Julie Buntin, Mira Jacob and the MSNBC host Chris Hayes.

Also announced was this year’s Best of Brooklyn (BoBi) Award winner, Colson Whitehead, whose novel, “Underground Railroad,” won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. The BoBi, presented to authors who speak to the diverse spirit of Brooklyn, has in the past celebrated authors like Jacqueline Woodson and Lois Lowry.

International writers from nearly two dozen countries will be represented, including Erna Brodber (Jamaica), Santiago Gamboa (Colombia), Young-ha Kim (South Korea), Peter Kimani (Kenya), Yanick Lahens (Haiti), Hisham Matar (Libya), and more.

In the week leading up to the festival, literary events will be held across the city, everywhere from bookstores to ferries, that will tackle politically and culturally significant topics like reporting on refugees and big data. The specifics of these will be announced.

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