Literary festival spotlights authors, business gurus

Renowned business writers Norm Brodsky, Bo Burlingham and Jack Stack will be in Springfield on Oct. 2 to talk about surviving the tumultuous economy during Business by the Book, a two-hour seminar and luncheon at the Hammons Field Indoor Training Facility.

The event is part of the 2009 Missouri Literary Festival, which takes place Oct. 2-4 at Hammons Field and The Creamery Arts Center.

"Jack Stack was the sole driving engine on making this (Business by the Book) event happen," said Kirk Elmquist, vice president of sales and marketing for the Springfield Cardinals and board member of the three-day festival. "It's going to be a wonderful experience for people in business to learn from people who have been through unique businesses challenges and let them share their wisdom with us."

Stack is president of SRC Holdings Corp., the outcome of a turnaround effort in the early 1980s by Stack and colleagues, who rescued an International Harvester engine division from the brink of closure. He went on to write with Burlingham "The Great Game of Business" and "A Stake in the Outcome," both detailing the open-book management strategy.

Brodsky and Burlingham are columnists for Inc. magazine and last year co-authored "The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up."

Brodsky has founded seven businesses, including a three-time Inc. 500 company, and he writes The Morning Norm blog for Inc., where Burlingham serves as an editor-at-large.

Stack said each of the writers on his panel will choose a paragraph from their books and discuss how they developed them. "We'll open it up to the audience for questions about what they want to know about the writing process of the books," he added.

Attendees of the Missouri Literary Festival will get to meet 45 guests across a variety of genres and enjoy live entertainment, storytelling, workshops, contests and readings.

"As a university and college town with a very large public school system and many private schools, it is a festival intended for everyone in Springfield, southwest Missouri and the state to attend in celebration of the written and spoken word," said Bucky Bowman, festival chairman and a longtime supporter of the arts.

Planned since October 2006, the festival is designed as a fundraiser for the Springfield Regional Arts Council and will benefit local writing and literacy programs, including Writers Hall of Fame, Ozarks Literacy Council, Springfield Public Schools Title I Program and Family Literacy Centers of Springfield Inc.

"Funding from the generous support of the Missouri Literary Festival will go toward all our programming," said Charlie Johnson, president and founder of the Family Literacy Centers of Springfield. FLCS funds literacy programs that aid 300 SPS and Republic R-III School students and their families, promote early childhood literacy and aid students who struggle with reading or have learning disabilities.

Bowman said the festival already has raised $71,000. Although organizers say the total cost of the three-day event is still unknown, the event is being funded through donations and sponsorships. Vendors also are invited to purchase booth space.

"There has been outstanding financial and moral support from Missouri State University, Drury University, Evangel University, Ozarks Technical Community College, private and public foundations, corporate businesses, and many, many generous individuals," Bowman added.

General admission is $5 for adults and free to children 10 and under. The Business by the Book seminar, sponsored by SBJ Publishing Inc., requires a $35 ticket that also covers general admission.

"The whole concept of the Springfield Regional Arts Council is wonderful community involvement; it touches a lot of people's lives," Stack said. "Anytime we can contribute to people who have the desire to understand the business, we feel an obligation to share what we know."

Two other special events will require advance ticket purchases. Mix and mingle with Missouri Literary Festival authors at the Meet the Authors Gala 7-10 p.m. on Oct. 3 at Hammons Field. Tickets are $75. Tickets are $25 for the Oct. 3 brunch with writer Laura Shapiro, author of "Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century," "Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America" and the biography "Julia Child."

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