It was great fun to again take part in the annual Six Bridges Book Festival presented over the last two weeks by the Central Arkansas Library System. During a live online session, I talked with the authors of two nonfiction works about crime in the 1800s.
Dean Jobb wrote The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer, which is a disturbing, but fascinating look at a physician who mostly targeted sex workers for poisoning. Also joining me was Dr. Courtney E. Thompson, author of An Organ of Murder: Crime, Violence, and Phrenology in 19th Century America. It delves into what for a few decades was considered a way to determine various things about people, including criminal intent, based on the shape of their heads.
Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, for the second year in a row the festival was held virtually via Zoom. I was in my office at KUAR, while the authors joined me from their homes. While I miss meeting authors face-to-face and moderating sessions in-person, the online format has allowed the festival to be expanded from four to 11 days, and there are fewer concurrent events.
Festival Coordinator Brad Mooy discussed the trade offs during an interview with me on KUAR before the start of the festival.
“Of course I enjoy having authors come to Little Rock who have never been here or to the south before, but there is some convenience to the virtual aspects. The virtual festival allows us to get a few authors who might not have been available to us if it were fully in person,” Mooy said.
Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, 36-year broadcasting veteran, photographer, interested in radio, TV and railroad history, author and host of the book and podcast series Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
