Timothy Egan, Joe the Plumber, and Barbara Bush's Dog

Why do we love literary festivals?

According to Wikipedia--the font of all knowledge--the primary objectives of a literary festival are "promoting the authors' books and fostering a love of literature and writing."

At Get Lit!, we're all about fostering that love. We look forward to spending part of our April talking about, hearing about, and dreaming about great literature. For those precious 11 days, Spokane goes book crazy. Books pop up in conversations at work, school, the gym, the PTA, etc. People we've known for ages suddenly reveal new sides of themselves with talk of favorite books and latest reads.

And sure, the authors come to promote their books, but they wouldn't write those books in the first place if they weren't literature lovers. Or would they?

Timothy Egan, Pulitzer prize recipient, bestselling author, columnist, former Spokane resident, and--most noteably--the 2007 Get Lit! author, recently revealed a darker side of why people write books in his New York Times op-ed, "Typing Without a Clue." Egan writes about authors that are just in it for the cash (wait...there's cash in writing?) and what's more, they aren't even the good writers! Joe the Plumber is his prime example. Egan argues that publishing companies that push books for cash hurt people who know how to create great literature

"Most of the writers I know work every day, in obscurity and close to poverty, trying to say one thing well and true. Day in, day out, they labor to find their voice, to learn their trade, to understand nuance and pace. And then, facing a sea of rejections, they hear about something like Barbara Bush’s dog is getting a book deal."

In the column, Egan acknowledges that some people who are not defined primarily as writers, President Elect Obama for example, are actually good wordsmiths, but then adds:

"For the others — you friends of celebrities penning cookbooks, you train wrecks just out of rehab, you politicians with an agent but no talent — stop soaking up precious advance money. I know: publishers say they print garbage so that real literature, which seldom makes any money, can find its way into print. True, to a point. But some of them print garbage so they can buy more garbage."

Get Lit! promises to never, ever, ever present garbage at our festival. Remember, we're all about fostering the love of literature—-great literature—-through fantastic author events and outreach programs. Make sure you join our 2009 love fest on April 10-19 and support all of our authors, the ones who work in "obscurity and close to poverty" and the ones who are a little more well known.

Check out Jess Walters and Timothy Egan interviewing each other at the 2007 Get Lit!:

Part I
Part II