Former Simpsons Head Writer Headlines West Hartford Book Festival

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Connecticut native, Emmy and Peabody Award winning writer for The Simpsons TV show, Mike Reiss will headline the Mandell JCC Book Festival this weekend. The festival will take place on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Mandell JCC, Zachs Campus, 335 Bloomfield Avenue in West Hartford. Read more from the Mandell JCC below:

Reiss, who is the former head writer for TVs longest-running scripted prime-time television show, will give fans an inside look at America’s most iconic cartoon family, including sharing stories, scandals and gossip.

“We are thrilled to have Mike share our stage,” says Jill Ziplow, Director of the Mandell JCC Hartford Jewish Film Festival. “To think that when the show first hit the airwaves, most of its writers thought it might only last six weeks, and here we are more than three decades later, and Mike was there for all of it, and giving us a first-hand look with his book.”

Reiss, who worked on The Simpsons continuously since episode one in 1989 provides a complete narrative history of the series, explaining how the episodes are created, provides an inside look at the show’s writers, animators, actors and celebrity guests and answers a range of questions from Simpsons fans and die-hards, and reminisces about his favorite episodes.

Springfield Confidential exposes why Matt Groening decided to make all of the characters yellow; dishes on what it’s like to be crammed in a room full of funny writers 60 hours a week; and tells what Reiss learned after traveling to 71 countries where The Simpsons is watched (ironic note: there’s no electricity in many of these places); and even reveals where Springfield is located!

Tickets to this event, which is sponsored by the Mandell JCC’s media partner, the Hartford Courant, are $20 and available at the Mandell JCC Box Office, 860-231-6316 or www.mandelljcc.org/tix. For full festival details, visit www.mandelljcc.org.

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