Have you ever read Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera and upon coming to the passage in which Erik declares to “have tasted all the happiness the world can offer,” thought, “no, he hasn’t. He has yet to taste his anguish in the form of a bread sculpture!” Well, I have news for you!
Share your love for literature and food-based conversations with literary characters by submitting a dessert to Read It and Eat It, the Sheridan Libraries’ annual edible book festival! The idea for an edible book festival was originally created by two book artists back in 2000 and is meant to be a whimsical, literary way to celebrate both April Fool’s Day and the birthday of Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, an incredibly snarky French gourmand of yore. It has since been celebrated at various libraries and museums throughout the world, including at Johns Hopkins University since 2014. Our festival seeks entries that showcase a book or literary character in a dessert or baked good genre of your choice, including cupcakes (a noted subgenre of cake), cookies, and even flan!
After two fun-filled years of hosting our annual festival online, we are thrilled to bring edible books back to the Glass Pavilion! That’s right! You will able to view and eat the edible books on Monday, April 3rd from 12:30pm-2pm and vote for your favorites in a variety of categories, including Most Delicious and Best Literary Theme! Prizes will include gift cards to places like Greedy Reads, Miss Shirley’s, and The Charmery.
Still not convinced that edible books are classified as non-fiction and not just a figment of my imagination? Well, just look at some of the amazing entries created by members of the Johns Hopkins University community last year, and remember to enter your edible book in our contest by Wednesday, March 29th.
