Half-sermon, half-showmanship, all Ellroy (photo by Laura Foltz)

Bestselling author James Ellroy spread the word — the printed word — at The Writer’s Center on Saturday, the closing night of the 2009 Fall for the Book Festival. Taking aim at the “internet invaders,” Ellroy delivered his unique take on the current state of the publishing industry and offered up his new novel, Blood’s A Rover, as proof that the book can prevail.

The evening proved a fitting end to a week celebrating the book, the culture of the book, the triumph of the book, and even the future of the book in the midst of the radical changes of the 21st century so far. With events including award-winners Sherman Alexie and E.L. Doctorow, Newsweek economist Robert Samuelson, bestselling historian Robert Dallek, the “Queen of Spoken Word” Georgia ME, theater critic and playwright Robert Brustein, CakeLove cookbook author Warren Brown, and (also on the closing night) our second annual “Breakthrough Poets” reading, Fall for the Book offered not just a high calibre of talent but also a wide diversity of authors. And with nearly 40% of this years events hosted by libraries, bookstores, restaurants, businesses, and other organizations throughout Northern Virginia, D.C., and Maryland, the 2009 festival also offered a wider geographical reach than ever before.

Our thanks go out to all of the people who joined us in this year’s celebration: our tireless staff, our dedicated volunteers, and — most importantly — all of the enthusiastic festival attendees who joined us for so many readings, panel discussions, performances and more over the past week.

Check back in upcoming days for reflections on the festival, information on where to catch videos of event highlights (including C-SPAN coverage), and — already in the works! — plans for the 2010 Fall for the Book.