After 16 years, the Arkansas Literary Festival is ready for a makeover. The Central Arkansas Library System, the team behind the fest, recently announced the event will be getting a new name: the Six Bridges Book Festival.
The title, a nod to Little Rock’s six structures spanning the Arkansas River, brings with it a new intentionality to reach and receive input from a broader array of demographics. The hope is the end result will be a stronger, more varied festival with the focus of “bridging communities and bringing people together.”
“The Six Bridges Book Festival is a diverse, energetic celebration of all kinds of stories and topics, both literary and mainstream, and we feel the new name reflects the festival’s nature more accurately,” said Nate Coulter, CALS executive director. “Our goal is to draw a wider audience by removing any barriers of perception that this event is only for highbrow tastes.”
The fest is well known for featuring award-winning authors and storytellers, but according to festival coordinator Brad Mooy, it has also grown exponentially in the assortment and range of offerings in recent years.
“We want to let people know that everyone is represented here,” Mooy said, “with topics and interactive activities that appeal to all age levels, cultural backgrounds and reading tastes.”
The first Six Bridges Book Festival is slated for April 23-26, 2020, and is set to feature Tim O’Brien, author of “The Things They Carried.” For more information, visit the festival website.