The Salem Literary Festival is returning to Salem this weekend for a celebration of literature and the writers who created it. Events will take place at the Salem Athenaeum and the Cellar at Hotel Salem starting on Friday evening and going through Sunday
Now presented by the Salem Athenaeum, the Salem Lit Fest aims to inspire and promote literacy and a love of books and reading through programming featuring both contemporary authors and engagement with classic works of literature.
Learn more at http://salemlitfest.org
Friday, September 20
In The Cellar at Hotel Salem
7:00 p.m. Opening Keynote Speaker: Whitney Scharer, The Age of Light
Whitney holds a BA in English Literature from Wesleyan University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous journals including New Flash Fiction Review, Cimarron Review, and Bellevue Literary Review. Her first novel, The Age of Light, based on the life of pioneering photographer Lee Miller, was published by Little, Brown (US) and Picador (UK) in February, 2019, and is forthcoming from over a dozen other countries. She lives with her husband and daughter in Arlington, MA.
8:30 -11:00 p.m. Words and Music
Flash Poetry and Prose featuring local writers: Sara Johnson Allen, Susanna Baird, Beth Anne Cooke-Cornell, Danielle Jones, Jennifer Martelli, Colleen Michaels, Dawn Paul, J.D. Scrimgeour, Enzo Silon Surin, and Elisabeth Weiss.
Followed by live music at 9:30 p.m. from Rule of Three.
Saturday, September 21
In The Cellar at Hotel Salem
Book signings follow each panel.
10:00 a.m. The Truth of the Matter
- Kim McLarin, Womanish: A Grown Black Woman Speaks on Love and Life
- Cheryl Suchors, 48 Peaks
- Jabari Asim, We Can’t Breathe
- Deborah Blum, The Poison Squad
- Moderator: Diane Stern
11:00 a.m. Real Life, Represented: Honesty in Fiction
- Belle Brett, Gina in the Floating World
- Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, The Nine
- Katrin Schumann, The Forgotten Hours
- Chaya Bhuvaneswar, White Dancing Elephants
- Moderator: Randy Susan Meyers, Waisted
12:00 p.m. Lunch with the Authors on The Roof at The Hotel Salem.
1:30 p.m. The Heard Word
- Peter Berkrot, audiobook narrator, When Hell Struck Twelve
- Gary Galone, audiobook narrator, Dark Site, author: Patrick Lee
- Matthew Phillion, author of The Crimson Child (Book 5 of The Indestructibles)
- Moderator: Steven Jay Cohen, Creative Director of Spoken Realms, producing original stories in audio, and publisher and distributor of over 1,700 audiobooks.
2:30 p.m. Delectable Tales
- Ann Hood, Kitchen Yarns
- Crystal King, The Chef’s Secret
- Louise Miller, The Late Bloomer’s Club
- Moderator: Michael Ruhlman
3:30 p.m. License to Thrill
- JR Walcutt, Gaia Hunted
- Edith Maxwell, Charity’s Burden
- Susan Oleksiw, Below the Tree Line
- Hallie Ephron, Careful What You Wish For
- Moderator: Hank Phillipi Ryan, The Murder List
4:30 p.m. History, Reimagined
- Jane Healey, The Beantown Girls
- Juliette Fay, City of Flickering Light
- David Gillham, Annelies
- Marjan Kamali, The Stationery Shop
- Moderator: Brunonia Barry, The Lace Reader
6:00 p.m. Saturday Keynote Speaker: Hank Phillippi Ryan, The Murder List
Hank is on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV. She’s won 36 EMMYs and dozens more journalism honors. The nationally bestselling author of 11 mysteries, Ryan’s also an award-winner in her second profession—with five Agathas, three Anthonys, two Macavitys, the Daphne, and for The Other Woman, the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. Critics call her “a master of suspense” and “a superb and gifted storyteller” and she is the only author to have won the Agatha in four different categories: Best First, Best Novel, Best Short Story and Best Non-Fiction. Her novels have been named Library Journal‘s Best of 2014, 2015 and 2016. Her highly-acclaimed first standalone psychological suspense, Trust Me, is an Agatha Nominee and was also named a Best Thriller by New York Post, BOOK BUB, Real Simple Magazine, CrimeReads and Criminal Element. Hank’s newest book is The Murder List. NYT bestseller Liv Constantine calls it “an exhilarating thrill ride,” A.J. Finn says, “exciting, explosive, relentless,” and B.A. Paris says it’s “her best yet.” Hank is a founder of MWA University and past president of National Sisters in Crime.
8:00-11:00 p.m. Gothic Readings with FunDead Publications writers Nancy Brewka-Clark, Laurie Moran, Amber Newberry, Joey Phoenix, and E. F. Sweetman.
Followed by music with DJ Zombi.
Children’s Programs
At Salem Public Library
10:00-11:00 a.m. Act!vated Story Theatre Performance
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Crafts, lunch provided
12:00 -2:00 p.m. Stories read by the Author
- Kim Chaffee, Her Fearless Run
- Erin Dionne, Secrets of a Fan Girl, Capt’s Log: Snowbound
- Karlin Gray, Serena
- Ioana Hobai, Lena’s Slipper’s
- Jacob Kramer, Noodlephant
- Annie Cronin Romano, Before You Sleep / Night Train
- James Weinberg, Contrary Creatures
Sunday, September 22 — YA Day
At House of the Seven Gables
10:00 -10:50 a.m. Writer Workshop: Plotting, Portals & Dreamt Worlds
Ryan La Sala, author of Reverie, offers a crash course in building intricate fantasy plots that span vast fantasy realms, and tips on harmonizing world and plot so that your reader doesn’t get left at the base of the beanstalk.
11:00 a.m. Meet the Debuts
- Laura Sibson, The Art of Breaking Things
- Alexandra Villasante, The Grief Keeper
- Janella Angeles, Where Dreams Descend
- Ryan La Sala, Reverie
- Joe Moldover, Every Moment After
- Rebecca Kim Wells, Shatter the Sky
- Moderator: Lauren Cepero
12:00 p.m. Walls, Racism, Captivity & Guns: YA of Today
- Alexandra Villasante, The Grief Keeper
- Sara Farizan, Here to Stay
- Laurie Faria Stolarz, Jane Anonymous
- Joe Moldover, Every Moment After
- Moderator: Meredith Goldstein, Chemistry Lessons
1:00 p.m. Break
2:00 p.m. Something Wicked: Witches & Historically Inspired YA
- Rebecca Podos, The Wise and the Wicked
- Kendall Kulper, Salt & Storm
- David Elliott, Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc
- Moderator: Adriana Mather, How to Hang a Witch / Haunting the Deep
3:00 p.m. Found and Blood: Family Relationships in YA
- Hillary Monahan (Eva Darrows), Belly Up
- Jen Malone, The Arrival of Someday
- Laura Sibson, The Art of Breaking Things
- Moderator: Alexandra Villasante, Grief Keeper
4:00 p.m. Dragons, Dreams, and a Drag Queen Sorceress: YA Fantasy
- Janella Angeles, Where Dreams Descend (2020)
- Rebecca Kim Wells, Shatter the Sky
- Erin Cashman, Uncharted
- Ryan La Sala, Reverie (January 2020)
- Moderator: Matthew Phillion, Poseidon’s Scar
5:00 p.m. Chemistry, Mischief, Escape, and Assassins in YA
- Meredith Goldstein, Chemistry Lessons
- Erin Callahan, The Art of Escaping
- Adriana Mather, Killing November
- Mackenzi Lee, Loki: Where Mischief Lies
- Moderator: Ashley Hern YA Editor
6:00 p.m. Author Signings
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