Haystack Festival returns to Norfolk

Now in its sixth year, the Haystack Book Festival brings together writers and thinkers in unmoderated conversation. Produced in conjunction with the Norfolk Foundation, whose mission is “to contribute to the vitality and sustainability of Norfolk, particularly in relation to the town’s natural setting and multiple artistic and cultural attractions,” the Haystack Book Festival takes place at the Norfolk Library. On Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1:30 p.m. the festival will have an event for middle grade readers at The HUB featuring Sarah Maslin Nir.

“We’re excited to be celebrating the sixth year of the festival. This year we have a great program discussing topics as wide ranging as ballet, interpreting the landscape, and looking at the horse as a treasured companion throughout history, along with other ideas that will be discussed on our stage,” says Michael Selleck co-director of the Haystack Book Festival.

On Friday, Oct. 4 the festival kicks off with Marina Harss, author of “The Boy from Kyiv: Alexei Ratmansky’s Life in Ballet,” speaking with Mindy Aloff, author of “Why Dance Matters,” in a conversation called “Out of Steps” at 3:30 p.m.

At 5:30 p.m. Gillian Linden, granddaughter of Brendan Gill and author of “Negative Space: A Novel,” leads the “Brendan Gill Lecture.” Linden’s latest novel follows a week in the life of an English teacher at a New York private school. Linden received her MFA from Columbia University. She is a 2011 winner of the Henfield Prize for fiction. Her previous book — “Remember How I Told You I Love You?” — is a collection of short stories. An open reception will follow at The Manor House on 69 Maple Ave.

On Saturday, Oct. 5 at 10:30 a.m., best selling author Michael Korda, whose book “Muse of Fire: WWI as Seen Through the Lives of the Soldier Poets,” speaks with Simon Winchester, author of “Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic,” in a talk called “A Conversation About Wisdom and Memory.”

William Egginton, author of “The Rigor of Angels: Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the Ultimate Nature of Reality,” and Samuel Moyn, author of “Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times,” will be in a conversation called “Institutions and Ideas” at 1 p.m.

At 3 p.m., “Reading the Landscape: How Trees Tell a Story” features Mike Zarfos, Executive Director of Great Mountain Forest, speaking with conservation biologist Noah Charney, author of “These Trees Tell a Story: The Art of Reading Landscapes.”

“A Haystack Evening at the Art Barn” is a ticketed event Saturday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. that allows patrons the opportunity to mingle with authors and friends while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres with live music. Tickets are available online at www.norfolkfoundation.net/book-talks

Sunday, Oct. 6, at 8 a.m., attendees can take a walk in Great Mountain Forest with Noah Charney and Mike Zarfos. Attendance is limited to 20 people and registration is required. Location: TBA. Registrants will be notified.

Back at the Norfolk Library at 11 a.m., “Horses and Us: Treasured Companions and Engines of Power” is a conversation between David Chaffetz, author of “Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empire,” and Pulitzer Prize–nominated New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir, the author of “Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal.”

At 1:30 p.m., kids can meet Sarah Maslin Nir at The Norfolk HUB, where she will talk to young readers about her series “Once Upon a Horse.” Nir will be giving out free copies of her latest novel in the series titled “The Star Horse.”

Together with co-director Steve Melville, former publishing executive Selleck and their hardworking committees are involved with selecting authors and putting the program together to make the Haystack Book Festival rich and intellectually stimulating.

“It’s about bringing great writers to Norfolk and exposing people to their work. We’re trying to create great conversations at the festival,” Selleck says.

The Haystack Book Festival is supported with donations from friends, sponsors, and partners including the Norfolk Foundation. For more information, see their website: www.norfolkfoundation.net