Boston Book Festival binds neighborhoods through literature

Author George Pelecanos will be part of a panel discussion of the HBO series “The Wire.”

The third annual Boston Book Festival (BBF) will attract thousands to the Copley Square this Saturday for twelve hours of free book-related events. If you imagine this shaping up to be a congress of bespectacled librarians in moth-eaten cardigans, think again.

Options include a celebration of all things Steampunk and “Alone Together: Anti-Social Networks?,” an exploration of the isolating repercussions of technology.

Tomorrow night things kick off with a festival-eve ticketed event: a panel discussion on “The Wire”, the HBO series that ran from 2002-2008 and that became one of the most critically acclaimed series in TV history.

Several cast members and writer/producer George Pelecanos (best-selling Boston/Maine crime novelist) will discuss “The Wire” and issues of race, class, institutional failure, and the visual novel. The panel includes Donnie Andrews (the basis for the character “Omar”), Tray Chaney (“Poot”), Robert Chew (“Prop Joe”), and Jamie Hector (“Marlo Stanfield”) and will be be moderated by Dorchester resident Rev. Eugene Rivers.

Festival events include presentations and panels featuring the internationally-known writers, scholars, critics, and commentators including Michael Ondaatje, winner of the 1992 Booker Prize for his novel “The English Patient,” who will give the keynote.

There will be programming for children, teens and families, writing workshops and competitions, and spoken word and music performances.

In just three years, the BBF has become one of the most anticipated events in the cultural life of the city. Organizers estimate that about 25,000 people took part in last year’s event. The festival takes advantage of the great architectural treasures in Copley Square, utilizing such venues as Trinity Church, Old South Church, and the Boston Public Library. A street fair in the square features exhibitors and live music throughout the day.

Last year the BBF inaugurated its One City One Story (OCOS) initiative, in which free copies of a short story were disseminated throughout greater Boston, culminating in a town hall discussion with the author and satellite neighborhood events. This year’s selection is Richard Russo’s “The Whore’s Child,” which chronicles a Belgian nun’s efforts to write an autobiographical story in a writing class.

Dorchester residents want to be part of OCOS. Copies of “The Whore’s Child” have been flying out of local branch libraries as well as restaurants like Dot 2 Dot Café and the Ashmont Grill, where General Manager Tara O’Riordan says the restaurant’s copies were gone within a few days.

“The same thing happened last year - so it seems as if people are interested in the Book Festival,” O’Riordan said.

To download Russo’s story in a variety of languages and formats, or simply to browse through all the BBF options, go to bostonbookfest.org.