It wasn't until I got rid of my TV in my 20s that I began to read, to devour books actually, to find the magic. For that I am truly grateful.
There were 200 authors and many gave presentations. C-Span was there to record most of those presentations. There were many many publisher tents, a whole science area, a teen area and a children's area. There were panel discussions, entertainment tents, and food. 150,000 folks came during the weekend and it was free! The UofA
campus was abuzz on a sunny weekend.
The Science City Committee was very excited to welcome all these organizations and activities to the festival this year.
- Arizona Astrobiology Center
- Arizona Institute for Resilience
- Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center
- Arizona Project Wet
- Biodiversity Outreach Network
- Center for Quantum Networks (CQN)
- Code Ninjas
- College of Veterinary Medicine
- Cooper Center for Environmental Learning
- Cooperative Extension/Take Charge America Institute
- Department of Environmental Science
- Department of Mathematics
- Department of Neuroscience / NSCS Faculty
- Department of Philosophy
- Department of Physics
- Department of Physiology
- Department of Psychology
- Desert Legume Program
- EarthSeed, Inc
- Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory
- Kartchner Caverns State Park
- Linguistics Department
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
- Marine Awareness and Conservation Society
- MMT Observatory
- Mt Lemmon SkyCenter Observatory
- Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM)
- NSF's NOIRLab
- Optics Valley
- Physicists for Inclusion and Equity (PIE)
- Pima County Master Naturalists
- Planetary Science Institute
- Precision Aging Network
- Program to Advance Women Scientists (PAWS)
- Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center
- Raytheon
- Richard F Caris Mirror Lab
- Rincon Research Corporation
- Sam Hughes Elementary
- SARSEF
- Save the Scenic Santa Ritas Association
- School of Mining and Mineral Resources
- SciTech Institute
- Society for Neuroscience - Tucson Chapter
- Southern Arizona Beekeepers Association
- Southwest Center for Resilience in Climate Change and Health
- Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center
- The Center for Neurosciences Foundation
- The Science Kit
- Tierra del Sol Institute
- Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association
- Tucson Audubon Society
- Tucson Electric Power
- Tucson Herpetological Society
- Tucson L5 Space Society
- Tucson Plugs In / Tucson Climate Coalition
- Tucson Symphony Orchestra
- UA Campus Arboretum
- UA Insect Discovery
- UA Microbiology Club and Pre-Veterinary Club
- UA Sky School
- UA-Banner Health, All of Us Research Program
- US Metric Association
- Vatican Observatory
- Wyant College of Optical Sciences
Sheela Prakash
Sheela Prakash is a food and wine writer, recipe developer and the author of two cookbooks: "Salad Seasons: Vegetable-Forward Dishes All Year" (named one of the best cookbooks of 2023 by WIRED, San Francisco Chronicle and Food Network, and of Spring 2023 by Bon Appétit) and "Mediterranean Every Day: Simple, Inspired Recipes for Feel-Good Food." She works extensively with a number of other outlets and brands such as Simply Recipes, New York Times Cooking, Food & Wine, TODAY.com, Serious Eats, Culture Cheese Magazine, Kerrygold, OXO, California Walnuts and more, and was previously on staff at Kitchn, Epicurious and Food52.Prakash received her master's degree from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy, holds Level 2 and Level 3 Awards in Wines from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), graduated from New York University's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies and is also a Registered Dietitian.
Aomawa Shields is an astronomer, an astrobiologist, the Clare Boothe Luce Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine and a classically-trained actor. She was named a 2015 TED Fellow and is the recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award, and NASA Habitable Worlds and Exoplanets Research Program grants, among others. She is the founder and director of Rising Stargirls, a program dedicated to encouraging girls of all colors and backgrounds to learn, explore and discover the universe using theater, writing and visual art. Her book, "Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe," was published by Viking in July 2023.
Patty Lin
Patty Lin is a former TV writer and producer whose credits include "Freaks and Geeks," "Friends," "Desperate Housewives" and "Breaking Bad." She has also written pilots for Fox, CBS and Nickelodeon. Her "Breaking Bad" episode was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Script in the Episodic Drama category. She retired from television writing to save her sanity and is the author of "End Credits: How I Broke Up with Hollywood."
Elizabeth Camarillo Cutierrez
Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez was born and raised in Tucson, Ariz. as a second-generation immigrant. She graduated high school at the top of her class and in 2018, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics. She worked as a banking analyst at Wells Fargo and is now a product manager at a big tech company where she uses her background and knowledge to empower communities. She has been featured on NPR's Latino USA and delivered a viral Ted Talk on finding opportunity and stability in the United States while examining flaws in narratives that simplify and idealize the immigrant experience. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her first book, "My Side of the River," is a memoir about her childhood in the U.S. when, at 15, her parents were forced back to Mexico.
I was so impressed with the entire event. For years there has been talk that books are becoming obsolete. Come to the Tucson Book Festival and you will see otherwise!
My take on the reality?
tucson festival of books -
what a crowd
all 100,000+
searching for a magical doorway
a source of adventure
possibility
of knowledge
a book
the written word
a book
a place to make friends
live a dream
feel fear
share tears and laughter
expand the horizon
literature
an opportunity
to light up your life
books are a key to wisdom’s treasures
a place of captured imagination
books are words
magic
and mystery
the festival
is endless opportunity