Another Upbeat Year for Ragdale’s 7th Annual Novel Affair

Ragdale’s Novel Affair 2013 offered  guests from the North Shore and Chicago a special opportunity to engage with acclaimed authors and artists from around the country September 27 and 28.  Approximately  200 people attended the cocktail reception at Calvin Durand Hall, Lake Forest College on Friday, and many of them also enjoyed an intimate dinner with a guest artist in a distinctive venue on Saturday. This year’s featured guests included: choreographer Victor Alexander, composer Elbio Barilari, visual artist Amanda Ross Ho in addition to six authors: Karen Joy Fowler, Lisa Genova, Lauren Groff,  Ruth Ozeki, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, and Marisa Silver.

The seventh annual event was chaired by Ann Merritt with the support of her capable committee and a newly formed Curatorial Board responsible for the selection of the guest artists.  Approximately $75,000 was raised to support The Ragdale Foundation, a nationally acclaimed, non-profit artist residency that provides over 150 artists and writers the time and space to pursue their work in an uninterrupted environment each year.

Photos by: Dennis Tuskan and Will Peterson