The literary festival Greensboro Bound is going virtual this year after last year's event was canceled due to the pandemic.
This year's festival will be a mix of pre-recorded and live broadcasts of discussions with authors. It will feature 21 writers from North Carolina in conversation with 21 writers from outside of the state.
For example, one panel includes Candacy A. Taylor, author of Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America, speaking with Natalie Pass-Miller, who is restoring the Historic Magnolia House, a Greensboro stop listed in the Green Book.
Brian Lampkin is a board member of the organization. He says they looked at having an in-person event in May, but knew the realities of COVID-19 made that impossible. But he says they didn't want to cancel outright again.
“Greensboro Bound has really prided itself on bringing all these amazing writers to Greensboro every year, so we didn't want to lose momentum,” he says. “And we have an obligation to our community and to the people who have donated and supported this event to really do our best and come up with something.”
The virtual festival will be held May 13th through the 16th, and registration opens April 1st. The event is free.
There's also a children's version of the Greensboro Bound festival. Lampkin says that is also virtual this year, with book-related content being delivered to classrooms in Guilford County Schools.
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