When Slate editor Dan Kois decided to write a book about living in four different places outside of his family’s “East Coast parenting bubble,” he knew he wanted the book to include an American small town.
Hays became one-fourth of the subject matter for his new book, “How to Be a Family.”
Kois will be one of the authors present at this year’s Kansas Book Festival, which takes place Sept. 14 at the Kansas Capitol.
Kois’ family spent three months living in Hays, as well as New Zealand, Costa Rica and The Netherlands.
“The experience of living in Hays for three months and the people that we met and the pretty remarkable community that we lived in definitely made me want to make sure that people in Kansas knew about this story, and knew how the way of life in this state compares to life in all the other places,” Kois said.
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While living in Hays, Kois spent time talking to educators, Hays’ mayor, the Kansas Highway Patrol and anyone else so he could understand how family life worked in a small town such as Hays.
Out of all of the locations the Kois family spent time in, he said their favorite was New Zealand because of the mix of friendly people and social activities available.
Kois’ book comes out Sept. 17, but he said he will be signing and selling advance copies during the book festival.
“I’m really excited to talk to Kansans about the way me, a total stranger, experienced living in that state,” Kois said. “It was a pretty remarkable time in our family’s life, and I spent a lot of time writing and thinking about why the experience was the way it was, and what it meant to live in a place like that. I’m excited for people to listen to me and tell me, ‘Hey guess what, you’re absolutely wrong.’ “
During the book festival, Kois will be doing a reading of his book and answering questions at 10 a.m. in the House Chamber inside the Capitol.
There are 45 authors set to speak at this year’s book festival, according to Sarah Shipman, executive director of KBF.
The book festival will take place inside of the Capitol and outside on the Capitol lawn.
The book festival will kick off at 9 a.m. with the Kansas Notable Book Awards, where 15 books and their authors will be honored.
Authors speaking include Max McCoy, journalist and author of “Elevations: A Personal Exploration of the Arkansas River;” Rachel Devlin, author of “A Girl Stands at the Door:The Generation of Young Women Who Desegregated America’s Schools,” and Tom Clavin, author of “Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier’s First Gunfighter.”
Shipman said all of the authors and books that will be at the festival have a connection to Kansas.
“There’s some tie for every one of these authors who are presenting to the state of Kansas, and it’s just a way to showcase the amount of talent we have around,” Shipman said.
A full list of presenting authors can be found at kansasbookfestival.com.
In addition to authors speaking, Shipman said there will be several panel discussions, including one on the editing process and another on playwriting and how to use Kansas as a setting.
Shipman said the book festival board hopes to add more panel discussions and similar activities in the future.
“I hope (guests) listen to an author that is not a book that they normally would have picked up and find a new favorite book,” Shipman said.
