We all have favorite books—books that change the way we think, books that expand our sense of the world, and books that help us understand the meaning of life. The authors of those favorite books become our heroes. They become who we look to and revere.

Now, can you imagine organizing a festival to celebrate that author? A few weeks ago we met with the organizers of Kerouac Fest 2013, Stephen Gros and Tanyia Johnson. Yes, you heard me right, a festival celebrating Jack Kerouac.

Kerouac Fest 2013 takes place on Saturday, March 9, from 3 – 10 pm at the Orange Show Monument. For tickets and other details click here. We asked Stephen to answer a few questions for us, and he was kind enough to do so:

Inprint: How did the idea of Kerouac Fest come about?

Stephen: Years ago I tried organizing a marathon reading of On The Road read by local poets and writers. My friend Michael Hoerman had been involved with one in Massachusetts where Jack is from and he gave me the whole thing timed out. That reading never materialized, something about getting poets to commit to an 18-hour event just wasn’t going to stick. It wasn’t the right time.  So I filed that away and moved on to other things. Continue reading →