Hard Work by Gager, Holder Produce Fifth Festival

Hard Work by Gager, Holder Produce Fifth Festival
By Gary Wayne/Correspondent



Timothy Gager’s phone rings again. It is the fifth time it has rung in the past hour, all related to the Somerville News Writer’s Festival. Timothy Gager is very busy. He has organized this festival along with Doug Holder for the past five years. “I am still a writer,” he says. “Believe it or not I have time to write through all this.” Indeed he has. Since the last festival in November 2006 he has had seventeen works of fiction and twenty-one poems accepted for publication. He was also named a finalist in the Binnacle Ultra Short Award, The Bukowski Tavern Pint and Pen Competition and had a short story short listed as notable in the Story South Million Writer Award.


“That was exciting,” Gager notes. “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, but in this case being a bridesmaid is quite alright.”

Gager juggles many hats. Besides all of this he has run The Dire Literary Series, a monthly author series for the past seven years. “The difference between Dire and the Writers Festival is that working on the festival is like running an All-Star team. The line-up this year is packed!” On Sunday at Dilboy Post VFW Hall the event has superb lineup. Besides Gager and Holder readers include Tom Perrotta, Steve Almond (making his fifth appearance), Stephanie Gayle, Errol Uys, Joe Ann Hart, Gloria Mindock, Danielle Legros Georges, Irene Kornas, and Lo Galluccio. “It’s really fabulous reading with such heavy hitters. In the past we’ve had Pulitzer Prize winners and this year Tom Perrotta was nominated for an Academy Award for best screenplay for his adaptation of his book Little Children. “It’s just really mind blowing to be involved with such talented writers.”

Not that it’s all smooth sailing. This year’s festival has survived some bumps in the road. “With changing the venue set us back for about a day…only a day,” he laughs. That is how long it took to find the new location after Jimmy Tingle’s Off Broadway Theater decided not to renew its lease. Tingle also had to bow out because of scheduling conflicts. “As much as I will miss Jimmy, I am sure Emily Singer will do a great job,” Gager says. “Emily is a wonderful comic this October she performed at The Funniest Female Showcase at The Boston Comedy Festival. I don’t think there will be any downside about Emily taking the ball as she is absolutely wonderful. It’s a win-win for the festival.”

The event will take place on Sunday, November 11. Tickets can by charged by phone by calling The Somerville News Office, 617-666-4010 or at the door of the VFW, 371 Summer Street in Somerville, the day of the show.