RMWF MMXVI SCHEDULE...RMWF MMXVI SCHEDULE THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016 Schedule is subject to change.For updates please visit Annenberg Center for Health Sciences 2:30 – 6:00 pm CHECK-IN

RMWF MMXVI SCHEDULE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016

Schedule is subject to change. For updates please visit www.rmwritersfest.org.

The Annenberg Center for Health Sciences

2:30 – 6:00 pm CHECK-IN

6:00 – 7:00 pm ANDREW ROBERTSThe Helene Galen The Storm of War: A New History of the SecondAuditorium World War

Hailed by The Economist as “Britain’s finest military historian,” Andrew Roberts offers an important new history of World War II and the Axis strategy that led the Germans and the Japanese to their eventual defeat.

7:00 – 8:00 pm A. SCOTT BERGThe Helene Galen Berg on LindberghAuditorium

Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. Scott Berg will speak aboutaviator and hero Charles Lindbergh who is an enduring yet controversial icon in American history. This is the third year Scott Berg will open the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival.

8:00 pm CELEBRATE OPENING NIGHT PARTYLobby

Following the presentation, join authors, angels andall pass-holders for cocktails and a light supper.

Rancho Mirage Public LibraryTuesday and Wednesday, January 19 and 20, 2016

9:00 – 5:00 pm CHECK-IN

Rancho Mirage Public Library

9:00 – 9:50 am JESSICA FELLOWESSteinbeck Room Downton Abbey: Behind the Green Baize Door

Jessica Fellowes, niece of Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes, brings to the RMWF audience unique insight into the real-life inspirations for the television series. She draws on family legends and will give socio-historical context to the era—all in costume!

9:00 – 9:50 am GEOFFREY COWANLondon Room Let the People Rule

According to the glowing review in Kirkus Reviews, Geoffrey Cowan “brings to life the wheeler-dealer, back-alley shenanigans and political intrigue embedded within the legislative saga” in Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of the Presidential Primary.

9:00 – 9:50 am SHORT TALKSDidion Room

CHAD HARBACHThe Art of Fielding

Baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom until a routine throw goes disastrously off course and the fates of five people are upended. Chad Harbach’s best-seller is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition, family, friendship and love, and about commitment to oneself and others.

JASON MATTHEWS Palace of Treason

Jason Matthews’ latest spy novel continues the trail of Russian agent Dominika Egorova and the CIA’s Nate Nash who are enmeshed in a star-crossed cat-and-mouse game played out in Putin-era Soviet Union.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2016


10:00 – 10:50 am POLITICS GO VIRAL Steinbeck Room

MASHA GESSEN, BRET STEPHENS,MARVIN KALB, AND LORD MICHAEL DOBBS Moderated by Van Gordon Sauter

Facebook, Twitter, and cell phone videos are revolutionizing journalism and politics. Join Lord Dobbs and journalists Masha Gessen, Bret Stephens and Marvin Kalb as they discuss the complex relationship between social media and politics and debate what the future may look like.

10:00 – 10:50 pm JESSICA FELLOWESLondon Room Downton Abbey: At Home with the Family

In this presentation, Jessica Fellowes looks at how the family’s Edwardian confidence wavered as the world changed around them. Jessica will also talk about the changing lives of women and the impact of technology on their day-to-day routines.




VICTORIA KASTNERHearst Ranch: Family, Land, and Legacy

For 30 years, Victoria Kastner has been the Hearst Ranch’s official historian. She will discuss the acquisition, development and future of this famed ranch on the California Coast. Victoria will share never-before-seen photographs and stories of the Hearst family, and a fresh look at the place they called home.

BETH MACY Factory Man

Beth Macy’s riveting story of the Bassett Furniture Company—once the world’s biggest—is an American inspiration and should be required reading for anyone engaged in business today. Beth will tell how the Chinese competition underestimated John Bassett III and his will to keep his company, his employees and his town alive.

11:00 – 11:50 am ANDREW ROBERTSSteinbeck Room Napoleon: A Life

In 2015, the Los Angeles Times Book Festival awarded Napoleon the prize for best biography. Andrew Roberts has written the first book to take advantage of Napoleon’s 33,000 letters. Napoleon is a tour-de-force that should be on every history lover’s bookshelf.

11:00 – 11:50 am DINAW MENGESTULondon Room All Our Names

All Our Names is a transfixing exploration of the relationships that define us. Dinaw Mengestu writes of the conflicted emotions of someone who has survived the loss of family, country and identity. Dinaw, a MacArthur Fellow, is one of the most important new voices on the global stage.




SCOTT MCEWEN American Sniper

Scott McEwen’s interest in military history and his intense patriotism merged with his experience with long-range hunting rifles. He was then compelled to accurately record the battlefield experiences of Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in United States military history. The blockbuster movie is based on this exciting book.

MOLLY GUPTILL MANNINGWhen Books Went to War

Molly Guptill Manning tells the tale of how the War Department and publishing industry worked together to deliver 120 million pocket-sized paperbacks to enlisted men in WWII, providing soldiers their only entertainment.

12:00 – 12:40 pm LUNCH Outside

12:40 – 1:30 pm BOOKS BECOME MOVIESSteinbeck Room

LEE CHILD, DAVID EBERSHOFF, SCOTT MCEWEN, HAMPTON SIDES, AND HÉCTOR TOBARModerated by Peter Bart

What happens when your book has been optioned for a major motion picture with a box office star? For some authors, seeing their book turned into an extravagantly funded film is the fulfillment of a dream. But is having your book adapted for film always a good experience? Let’s find out from Lee Child, David Ebershoff, Scott McEwen, Hampton Sides, and Héctor Tobar. This lively panel is sure to be full of true Hollywood stories.



12:40 – 1:30 pm JODI KANTORLondon Room Amazon and Starbucks

Jodi Kantor will discuss the controversial work conditions of the two companies that she exposed in front-page articles for The New York Times. Jodi’s investigative reporting has spawned a vigorous debate in the media as Amazon and Starbucks publicly defend their reputations.

12:40 – 1:30 pm SHORT TALKSDidion Room

PETER HELLER The Dog Stars

The award-winning adventure writer Peter Heller sets his original story in a post-apocalyptic America. Hig and his copilot, Jasper (his dog), use all their skills to survive myriad threats. Their interdependence and mutual affection give readers one of the most touching relationships between a man and his loyal dog in modern fiction.

WILLIAM D. COHAN The Price of Silence

William D. Cohan addresses some of the larger issues facing America’s elite educational institutions in his account of the 2006 Duke University lacrosse team scandal: sexual misconduct, underage drinking and bad-boy behavior. He recounts what happens when the combustible forces of American culture, the justice system and the media collide on a powerful university campus.

1:40 – 2:30 pm BOB MANKOFFLondon Room How About Never. Is Never Good For You?

The legendary cartoon editor of The New Yorker discusses cartoon selection and delves into the rigors of creating a cartoon for this highly regarded publication. Bob Mankoff will share some of his favorite cartoons and the stories behind their inspiration.



1:40 – 2:30 pm THE MODERN SWASTIKA: THE RISE Steinbeck Room OF TERRORISM AND ANTI-SEMITISM IN EUROPE

BRET STEPHENS, ANDREW ROBERTS, AND ARI SHAVITModerated by Hal Gershowitz

Join our esteemed panelists Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal, historian Andrew Roberts, and Israeli columnist Ari Shavit as they discuss the revival of anti-Semitism across Europe, how it can be combated, and who the heroes are on the frontlines of the struggle against it.


HAMPTON SIDESIn the Kingdom of Ice

Hampton Sides tells a spellbinding tale of heroism and determination in the most unforgiving territory on earth—the Arctic. In the late 19th century, people were obsessed with the North Pole, as if it were its own world. In The Kingdom of Ice tells the tale of George Washington De Long and his team who sailed in 1879 to discover the truth.

SALLY DENTONPassion and Principle

Sally Denton has written a fascinating double biography of John C. Fremont and his wife Jessie Benton, daughter of the powerful pre-Civil War senator Thomas Hart Benton. The original power couple, Jessie and John contributed to the shaping of 19th century America. This is a story of ambition, betrayal and intrigue that makes the current state of our politics look almost tame.



2:40 – 3:30 pm THE WAR THAT FORGED A NATION: Steinbeck Room WHY THE CIVIL WAR MATTERS

H.W. BRANDS AND ROBERT HICKSModerated by David Bryant

We celebrate the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War with two of America’s most eminent historians, H.W. Brands and Robert Hicks, who will discuss the causes of the war, its major events and aftermath. If the American Revolution created the American state, the Civil War was yet another revolution.

2:40 – 3:30 pm BARBARA ISENBERG London Room The Year of Frank Gehry

Barbara Isenberg will share an unprecedented look into the life and work of a brilliantly creative, amusing, and articulate man: one of the most influential architects of our time. Barbara discusses Gehry’s early influences, work process and inspirations, and will show the architect’s sketches and models to illustrate how his thoughts unfold.


DANA GIOIA Pity the Beautiful

Dana Gioia’s first new poetry book in over a decade offers emotional revelations and careful construction. The new poems show Dana’s craftsmanship at its finest. Dana Gioia is the California Poet Laureate.

DAVID EBERSHOFF The 19th Wife

A compelling story of the estranged wife of Mormon founder Brigham Young. David Ebershoff’s remarkable book has sold over 400,000 copies.



6:00 – 7:00 pm LORD MICHAEL DOBBS The Helene Galen House of Cards Auditorium

Lord Dobbs’ House of Cards became the most successfultelevision series ever produced by the BBC. Following that success, 20 years later Netflix produced the American series, which has garnered numerous awards and devoted fans. Lord Dobbs will tell us how he created this dark tale of greed, corruption and unquenchable ambition.

7:00 – 8:00 pm WHAT DOES VLADIMIR PUTIN WANT?The Helene Galen

BRET STEPHENS, MASHA GESSEN,Auditorium JASON MATTHEWS, AND MARVIN KALBModerated by Cinny Kennard

This distinguished panel of journalists and influential voices will bring their knowledge and experience to the subject of Vladimir Putin, emerging as one of the most powerful and hated men in the West. Our panel includes Bret Stephens, foreign-affairs columnist for the Wall Street Journal; Masha Gessen, Russian-American author, journalist and activist; Jason Matthews, an ex-CIA officer and author of two novels set in the Kremlin; and famed journalist Marvin Kalb, whose recent book is about Putin. The panel will offer much insight on the power of Putin, his place in our foreign policy and his threat to the U.S. Moderator Cinny Kennard, managing director of The Annenberg Foundation, is a former Moscow bureau chief for CBS.



9:00 – 9:50 am ARI SHAVIT Steinbeck Room My Promised Land

Ari Shavit offers us an authoritative and deeply moving narrative history of the State of Israel. He will share his passionate views on the Middle East developed from interviews, historical documents, private diaries and letters as well as from his own family’s personal story.

9:00 – 9:50 am ADVENTURE STORIES London Room

PETER HELLER, HAMPTON SIDES,AND JONATHAN GOTTSCHALLModerated by Angela Ledgerwood

A grand adventure or reckless machismo derring-do? Join Peter Heller, Hampton Sides and Jonathan Gottschall as they ponder why men seek life on the edge in pursuit of exploration, conquest, extreme physical challenge or just plain thrills. In their books, these authors all seem to agree that ultimately it’s about what happens when the human spirit is put to the test.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2016



PHIL KLAY Redeployment

U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Phil Klay takes us to the front lines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Phil asks us to understand what happened there and what happens when soldiers return to their civilian lives. This book sets in devastating clarity the two worlds a soldier inhabits: one of fighting for victory and one of loss.

ROBERT HICKS Widow of the South

Carnton Plantation, 1894: Carrie McGavock is an old woman who tends the graves of nearly 1,500 Civil War soldiers buried there. As she walks among the dead, an elderly man appears—a former soldier she met long ago. He asks if the cemetery has room for one more. Based on an extraordinary true story, Robert Hick’s novel flashes back to 1864 and one memorable afternoon.

10:00 – 10:50 am A CONVERSATION WITH LEE CHILDSteinbeck Room AND PHIL KLAY

LEE CHILD AND PHIL KLAYInterviewed by Major Josh Silver

Lee Child sits down with the 2014 National Book Award winner Phil Klay in a free form conversation that will be memorable.



10:00 – 10:50 am H.W. BRANDS London Room Reagan, The Life

Professor H.W. Brands writes that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. H.W. had access to never-before-available archival material and was granted dozens of interviews with members of the Reagan administration. The result is an exciting narrative and fresh understanding of an important president and his legacy.


CELESTE NG Everything I Never Told You

Lydia is dead. But they don’t know it yet…So begins the story of a Chinese-American family living in 1970s small town Ohio. Celeste Ng crafts a moving story of family, history and the meaning of place, exploring the divisions between cultures and the complexity of family dynamics.

RON LIEBERThe Opposite of Spoiled

Ron Lieber will deliver a taboo-shattering manifesto that explains how talking openly to children about money can help parents raise modest, patient and grounded young adults who are financially wise beyond their years. Ron will leave us with lots of practical advice on how to deal with one of parenting’s thorniest issues.



11:00 – 11:50 am ELITE SOLDIERSSteinbeck Room

SCOTT MCEWEN, PHIL KLAY, ANDHAMPTON SIDESModerated by Major Josh Silver

Today’s elite soldiers are handpicked for physical, mental and emotional superiority, and trained to perform dangerous, often life threatening, special operations. Scott McEwen, Phil Klay and Hampton Sides will talk about this revered, yet mysterious, group of soldiers from their unique and knowledgeable perspectives.

11:00 – 11:50 am PHILISTINES AND PHILANTHROPISTSLondon Room

DANA GIOIA AND LORD MICHAEL DOBBSModerated by David Bryant

Dana Gioia, California Poet Laureate and former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Lord Dobbs, author of House of Cards, will discuss the dumbing down of the English Speaking Union. The discussion will include the relevance of the cultures of elite universities and why Government remains a point of discussion for conservatives and liberals.




HÉCTOR TOBAR Deep Down Dark

Crisis of faith is one of the themes of Héctor Tobar’s story of 33 men buried for 69 days in a collapsed Chilean mine in 2010. With exclusive access to the survivors, Héctor graphically recounts the quandaries that beset the men, their families, government officials and rescue workers as a worldwide audience watched and waited.

T. GERONIMO JOHNSON Welcome to Braggsville

PEN/Faulkner Award finalist T. Geronimo Johnson will speak about his socially provocative Southern-fried comedy about four Berkeley students who stage a dramatic protest during a Civil War reenactment. “Organic, plucky, smart, Welcome to Braggsville is the funniest sendup of identity politics, the academy and white racial anxiety to hit the scene in years.” (The New York Times)

12:00 – 12:40 pm LUNCH Outside



12:40 – 1:30 pm BRET STEPHENS Steinbeck Room America in Retreat

Bret Stephens will discuss his view that we live in a world that needs American leadership. Many Americans seek to withdraw from the world to focus on domestic problems. Terrorists and our enemies see this as an opportunity. Bret identifies Vladimir Putin, Chinese military expansion, and the civil war in Syria as threats to our security.

12:40 – 1:30 pm THE BIOGRAPHY: LIVES LIVED London Room

SALLY DENTON, STACY SCHIFF, ANDJODI KANTORModerated by Barbara Isenberg

Since Plutarch, biography has been one of the most important and compelling literary forms. Panelists Sally Denton, Stacy Schiff and Jodi Kantor will share their experiences delving deeply into larger-than-life subjects and explain the process for writing page-turning books.




MATT BAI All the Truth is Out

Matt Bai brilliantly revisits the Gary Hart affair and looks at how it permanently changed the intersection of American media and politics. Matt makes the compelling case that Hart’s fall from grace (and overlooked political legacy) was the moment when the paradigm shifted: private lives became public, news became entertainment, and politics became the stuff of Page Six.

BEVERLY JOHNSON The Face that Changed it All

A revelatory and redemptive memoir from Beverly Johnson, the first black supermodel to grace the cover of Vogue and who, after 500 magazine covers, remains one of the most successful glamour girls and businesswomen.

1:40 – 2:30 pm FUNNY MONEYSteinbeck Room

DAVE BARRY AND RON LIEBERModerated by Bruce Fessier

Join Dave Barry and Ron Lieber as they chat about kids and money. Ron will offer practical advice on how to navigate the tricky issues and questions posed by children while Dave, the father of a teenage daughter, will contribute his own perspective that will keep you laughing.



1:40 – 2:30 pm PLACE AND IDENTITY IN FICTIONLondon Room

CELESTE NG AND DINAW MENGESTUModerated by Angela Ledgerwood

Novelists Celeste Ng and Dinaw Mengestu will share insights on how place shapes identity. This is one of the main subplots in their acclaimed novels where issues of home, family and loss define identity.


WILLIAM D. COHAN Working on Wall Street: Relentless and Rewarding

In the Fall of 2015 William D. Cohan wrote a disturbing article in The New York Times about the apparent suicide of a 29-year-old investment banker. Family members believe his death was directly related to the stress he was under as a junior banker at Goldman Sachs. William’s think piece is a tragic commentary on our society’s relationship with the relentless pursuit of financial gain.

MARVIN KALB Imperial Gamble: Putin, Ukraine, and the New Cold War

Marvin Kalb examines how Putin’s invasion of Crimea led to the deterioration of East-West relations. He takes a critical look at the recent political history of post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine. Marvin journeys deep into Russian history to explain the roots of that country’s nationalism and why its people support Putin’s dangerous and controversial actions in Ukraine.



2:40 – 3:30 pm WHAT MAKES A PRESIDENT GREAT?Steinbeck Room

GRAY DAVIS, MARVIN KALB, MATT BAI,H.W. BRANDS, AND JODI KANTORModerated by Patt Morrison

As we head into the New Hampshire primary, let’s hear from our experts and nationally respected commentators on what attributes and circumstances make a President great. Join The Honorable Gray Davis, Marvin Kalb, Matt Bai, H.W. Brands, and Jodi Kantor in what promises to be an informative and lively debate.

2:40 – 3:30 pm JONATHAN GOTTSCHALLLondon Room The Professor in the Cage

Professor Jonathan Gottschall’s unlikely journey from the classroom to the cage drives an important new investigation into the science and history of violence. In the last decade mixed martial arts has evolved from a fringe spectacle to one of the fastest growing spectator sports in America. Jonathan’s captivating retelling of his personal journey crystallizes his epiphany, that taming male violence through ritualized combat is the key to the success of the human race.




SALLY DENTON The Profiteers: Bechtel & the Men who Built the World

Sally Denton will give us the inside story of the Bechtel family and the empire they’ve controlled since the construction of the Hoover Dam. The tale of this family dynasty is a classic American business story and presents a complex and riveting narrative.

STACY SCHIFF The Witches

It began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a minister’s daughter began to scream and convulse. It ended less than a year later, but not before 19 men and women had been hanged as witches. As psychologically thrilling as it is historically seminal, The Witches by acclaimed historian Stacy Schiff unveils the collective movement that led to this violent, fear-driven and enduring American mystery.



6:00 – 7:00 pm LEE CHILDThe Helene Galen Auditorium Lee Child will share his personal story—one that

goes from his being a successful television producer to being fired as “redundant.” Lee then bought $6 worth of paper and pencils and sat down and wrote Killing Floor, the first of his Jack Reacher series. A film, based on Lee’s ninth novel, One Shot, starred Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall and Rosamund Pike. Make Me is Lee’s latest novel, currently on the best-seller list.

7:00 – 8:00 pm DAVE BARRYThe Helene Galen Auditorium The Festival closes with Dave Barry, America’s funniest

writer, sharing his unique perspective on life and happiness. A sense of humor, according to Dave is “a measurement of the extent to which we realize that we are trapped in a world almost totally devoid of reason. Laughter is how we express the anxiety we feel at this knowledge.” An audience favorite in 2015, Dave returns through the generous support of Jan Salta.

THE END.. . .UNTIL WE MEET AGAINJANUARY 19-21, 2017


Documents

RMWF MMXVI SCHEDULE...RMWF MMXVI SCHEDULE THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016 Schedule is subject to change.For updates please visit Annenberg Center for Health Sciences 2:30 – 6:00 pm CHECK-IN