Batmasian Family Foundation Sponsors Palm Beach Book Festival at FAU

Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters will host the sixth annual Palm Beach Book Festival. The Palm Beach Book Festival at FAU is sponsored by the Batmasian Family Foundation and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. Four panels feature a total of 10 NYT Best Selling Authors, several of whom have books featured on the New York Times list of books to watch in 2020.  The festival will take place on Saturday, March 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in FAU’s University Theatre, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. Tickets for the full day are $75, and individual panel tickets are $20 and $25, and can be purchased at fauevents.com or by calling 561-297-6124. Free parking is included with admission, and lunch will be for sale at the event.

Jim and Marta Batmasian started the Batmasian Family Foundation to assist their local community here in Boca Raton.

The first panel will start at 10 a.m. and is titled “Twisted History: Larry Loftis in conversation with Louis Bayard.” Loftis is the USA TODAY and international bestselling author of the nonfiction spy thrillers “Code Name: Lise—The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII’s Most Highly Decorated Spy” and “Into the Lion’s Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond,” which have been translated into multiple languages and published around the world. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Loftis was a corporate attorney and adjunct professor of law.

Bayard is a New York Times Notable Book author and has been shortlisted for both the Edgar and Dagger awards for his historical thrillers, which include “The Pale Blue Eye” and “Mr. Timothy.”  His most recent novel was the critically acclaimed young-adult title “Lucky Strikes.” Bayard lives in Washington, D.C. and teaches at George Washington University.

The second panel, which starts at 11 a.m., is titled “You Don’t Have to be Jewish (to love this panel).” Patricia Marx, in conversation with Cathleen Schine, will talk about Jewish mothers, spouses and siblings.

At 12:10 p.m., the Oprah Book Club panelists Leigh Haber (O Magazine), Jeanne Cummins, Kate Elizabeth Russell, and Liz Moore will address the social issues of immigration, #MeToo and the opioid epidemic.

Following a lunch break, the 2 p.m. panel titled Protest and Power: U.S., U.K. and #RealFakeNews will feature Mark Thompson in Conversation with Joy-Anne Reid and David Kogan.

For more information about the festival, visit palmbeachbookfestival.com or call 561-297-2595.

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