Best Bookstore in Palm Springs hopes to offer alternative to Rancho Mirage writers fest

Bookworms in the Coachella Valley may have two festivals to choose from to scratch their reading itch next year as the owners of a Palm Springs bookstore said they hope to put on a competitor to the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival.

And the would-be upstart is directly positioning itself as a rival, criticizing the Rancho Mirage festival as too expensive to attend and saying its lineup of authors lacks diversity.

The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs said in a newsletter on Sunday it wants to put on its own literary event called the Palm Springs Readers Festival. The store's owners don't have speakers lined up or a venue secured, but want to hold the event Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, 2024, the same days as the 10th annual Rancho Mirage Writers Festival.

They're collecting $25 deposits from people who'd like to attend at https://buy.stripe.com/bIY8zfce9fGn8KcdQT. If the event happens, the deposit can be applied to the ticket price. If it does not happen, the bookstore will refund people in full, either in cash or as a bookstore gift card, depending on the buyer's preference.

Within a few hours of the newsletter coming out on Sunday, Paul Bradley Carr, co-owner of Best Bookstore in Palm Springs with partner Sarah Lacy, said more than 250 slots were already reserved. He added that potential speakers have started to reach out as well.

Local writer Maggie Downs, author of the memoir "Braver Than You Think," was among those who immediately registered on Sunday for the Palm Springs Readers Festival after reading the announcement.

“I whipped out my credit card so fast, it had flames leaping off of it,” Downs said. “(The festival) does seem to be targeted for readers and that’s a robust market here. Readers are excited to see authors, and I’m all for creating an event that puts it within people’s price ranges and makes it more accessible."

Carr said the Coachella Valley deserves a "better book festival" that represents the area's diversity. The lineup at the Rancho Mirage event, he wrote, caters to wealthy donors who "might believe that many of the 'finest writers' in the world happen to be old, white historians or establishment journalists."

The Rancho Mirage Writers Festival, back for its 10th year and sold out already, will be held at the Rancho Mirage Library. It was founded by Jamie Kabler in 2014 and features a wide-spanning lineup of writers, journalists, politicians, historians and others.

While the event is run by a private foundation, the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival Foundation is a "related organization" to the city of Rancho Mirage, according to a 2020 financial statement. The city performs all financial reporting functions of the foundation.

Related: 2024 Rancho Mirage Writers Festival to celebrate 10 years of furthering love of reading

‘Lack of diversity’

Carr has not attended the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival in the past, but he has followed its lineup for a number of years. He said there is a "lack of diversity" and valley representation among those selected.

Carr's newsletter pointed to speakers such as Karl Rove, former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush; Reince Priebus, former chief of staff for President Donald Trump; and Bari Weiss, a former New York Times opinion writer and founder of The Free Press, an independent media outlet that has come under fire for pieces regarding gender-affirming care and has published the podcast series "The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling" about the author's opinions on transgender people.

"People have said, 'You know, they have Chasten Buttigieg and a couple of people from MSNBC.' They do, but you don't counterbalance extreme conservative voices with mild-mannered, slightly liberal voices whose job is to be very middle of the road and say that that's balanced," Carr said in an interview Monday.

He also believes there is a lack of people who are, above else, known authors. On the Rancho Mirage lineup, those who are labeled as "author," "novelist" or "writer" include Jonathan Franzen, author of "Crossroads" and "The Corrections"' Elin Hilderbrand, writer of romance novels such as "The Five-Star Weekend"; James McBride, author of "The Color of Water" and "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store"; Billy Collins, a former U.S. poet laureate; and Julia Whelan, author of "Thank You for Listening," among others. The lineup also features several historians, journalists, filmmakers, politicians, political advisors or strategists, many of whom have written books.

"With love to Elin Hilderbrand and Jonathan Franzen, they are old and they're white. That does not represent the Coachella Valley, and it doesn't represent the wider world of books, reading, writing and literacy," Carr, an author himself, said. "Where are the young adult authors? Where are the writers of literary fiction with LGBTQ voices?"

Palm Desert resident Tod Goldberg, a New York Times bestselling author, was among five authors who addressed the lack of diversity at the festival in 2020. On Monday, Goldberg described the festival as “Mariachis on the outside and not a Mexican on the inside," referencing the Mariachi band that performs as guests arrive on the red carpet during the festival.

“They have spent the past decade bringing in the best old white writers in America. There’s an opportunity to be younger, more diverse and more representative of the state in which the festival takes place,” Goldberg said. “We view the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival as a public trust, but it's not and it's a private affair, and private affairs make their own rules. But if you want to have a convention of ideas, which is really what a book festival is about, then you make it open to the public in a way the public can afford.”

But even though Goldberg supports what the Best Bookstore is doing, he advises against organizing a literary festival so quickly.

"They'd be better off waiting a little while and putting together a large and powerful event. You don't need to race towards this," he said. "But if this is something they want to do, I support it 100%."

Because Carr and Lacy have their own business and have made themselves known since opening in November, they think they're ready to move forward with a festival of their own. They have not put on a literary conference before, but they have organized events in Silicon Valley that have featured speakers such as former Vice President and environmentalist Al Gore, model and humanitarian Christy Turlington Burns and The Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, Carr said. They have also been holding author readings and signings at their bookstore on a regular basis, with Melanie Benjamin, author of "California Golden," scheduled for an appearance at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16.

Carr said he and Lacy also want to make the Palm Springs Readers Festival as affordable as possible. Those who put down the deposit will be added to a special email newsletter for early bird attendees, where they'll be the first to hear about speakers, venues, logistics and other information. People can also sign up for a free newsletter at www.bestbookstore.com

A three-day pass for the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival costs $500, which has remained the same for 10 years, and includes access to more than 70 sessions, an author signing area, lunch, items from festival writers and valet parking. Donors can also receive passes and other perks depending on their donation level: Angels ($5,000), Silver Angels ($10,000), Sponsors ($15,000), Golden Angels ($20,000), Platinum Angels ($50,000) and Double Platinum Angels ($100,000).

Downs said she went to the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival with a media credential while on assignment because she otherwise couldn't afford it. She added that it's not clear who the festival is targeted to.

“It’s priced out of most writers' price ranges, so I never saw a lot of other writers there. It also doesn’t seem to be for readers, because the people I spoke to when I was waiting in line to see the different writers told me they hadn’t read the authors' books or don’t read books,” Downs said.

‘A lot harder than you think’

Kabler, founder of the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival, said he learned of the Palm Springs Readers Festival by reading the Best Bookstore's newsletter. While he supports the idea of another festival dedicated to reading in the valley, he was disappointed that Carr and Lacy plan to hold theirs the same weekend as his, and that the couple also criticized the Rancho Mirage festival.

"Perhaps I wouldn't have done it as the same weekend as ours because I think that it would have given people the choice to go to (both), but I wish them well," Kabler said. The founder added he "love(s) having an independent bookstore in Palm Springs," and he has invited the owners to the festival's yearlong Writers Series, but he said they have not come nor has he met them in person.

When it comes to the content of Carr's newsletter, Kabler was surprised to see Donna Brazille, an ABC News contributor and former FOX News contributor, called out. Kabler also said if people don't want to hear Rove speak at the festival, there are several other sessions and speakers they can turn to.

The 2024 Rancho Mirage Writers Festival will focus on three topics, Kabler said: the upcoming presidential election, the trials and tribulations the country is going through, many relating to Trump who has been criminally indicted four times and is seeking re-election next year, and Ukrainian foreign policy.

Passes to the 2024 Rancho Mirage Writers Festival have been sold out since March 1 and typically sell out within minutes, Rancho Mirage city spokesperson Gabe Codding said. Kabler said around 1,200 to 1,300 attendees are expected for the 2024 event. For those who didn't get tickets, all sessions are taped and made available to watch within two weeks of the festival at www.rmwritersfest.org/videos. The festival also puts on a free Writers Series throughout the year. Upcoming speakers can be found at www.rmwritersfest.org/rmwf-events/category/writers-series/

As Carr and Lacy work on their festival, Kabler has words of advice: "It's a lot harder than you think."

"I give up my time, and I give up my money," he said. "We all want writers festivals to succeed. Some that I've helped advise over the years are no longer (around) because it's just a lot of hard work. I hope this couple is able to do a festival."

There's plenty of unknowns currently, but what Carr can commit to is "we will work really hard to make it the literary conference that we think this valley deserves" and one that will have Palm Springs' well-known energy and diversity at its core. He cheekily added: "There aren't many places and times in America where you can 100% guarantee that Karl Rove won't just show up, but I can because I know where he'll be."

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @ema_sasic. Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs bookstore eyes alternative to Rancho Mirage writers fest