Welcome to the fifth annual Succeed2gether's Montclair Literary Festival on Saturday October 2 and Sunday October 3, 2021.
You can read more about all the authors on our Author page here.
Most of the events will be held in-person, with two online. In-person events will be held in spacious tents outside the Montclair Public Library and the First Congregational Church. Both venues are located on South Fullerton Ave, Montclair 07042.
Please come back to this page to see our updated Covid-safety protocols which may include required vaccinations, masks, and social distancing between groups when seated.
All events are FREE, except for the Colm Tóibín (online) and Stevie Van Zandt (in-person) talks which will be held on October 3, 2021. Click on the links to purchase tickets.
All our authors appear for free so the best way of supporting them is by buying their books. You can support local by buying from Festival partner Watchung Booksellers.
Proceeds from all events benefit Succeed2gether, a Montclair-based non-profit 501(c) organization that addresses unequal access to educational resources for low-income families and children from Montclair and Essex County, NJ.
Please note that there are no refunds for the two paid events. If you would prefer to pay by check, please contact Succeed2gether on 973-746-0553.
Any questions or to join our mailing list, please email montclairliteraryfestival@gmail.com.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 10:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M.
FAMILY EVENT
LIVE FROM HOLLYWOOD
Henry Winkler "The Fonz" with Lin Oliver
Henry Winkler aka “The Fonz” will be in an online conversation with co-author Lin Oliver, discussing his journey from dyslexic student to Hollywood superstar to children’s author of the Hank Zipzer & Alien Superstar series. Henry and Lin will be live on the screen, beaming in from Hollywood, with an in-person audience.
This event is free AND the first 50 kids through the door will receive a copy of Henry Winkler’s most recent children’s book Hollywood vs. The Galaxy: Alien Superstar. Thank you to Stanton Company Realtors for their generous support by providing these books to our families.
Recommended for the whole family! Books suitable for ages 8-12. This event will be held INDOORS and we ask that accompanying adults be vaccinated and everyone to be masked.
Venue: Montclair Public Library Auditorium
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 10:00 A.M. – 10:45 A.M.
YA/TEEN
Mean Girls, Friends and Frenemies
Author and journalist Hayley Krischer will read from her new YA book, The Falling Girls, a psychological thriller that follows best friends Shade and Jadis whose relationship is in jeopardy once Shade is drawn into a clique of mean girls. In conversation with poet, author and professor Nicole Cooley about the complexities of teenage girls’ relationships.
Venue: First Congregational Church Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 10:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M.
CHILDRENS
Sankofa Stories Storyteller with Shirley Johnson
Enjoy listening and participating as Sankofa Stories storyteller, Shirley Johnson brings to life Frog and Centipede (a story from Tanzania), Kulu (story from Mashsona Bantu People of Southern Africa), Brer Opossum (African American traditional folktale), and other animal friends that teach life lessons through story. Accompanied by Chris White III, percussionist and drummer. Recommended for ages 4-12.
Venue: Montclair Public Library Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
NON-FICTION
Adoption in America
Gabrielle Glaser looks at the shadow history of adoption with her book American Baby, and Megan Culhane Galbraith searches for her past as an adoptee in The Guild of the Infant Saviour. Moderated by journalist and author Dale Russakoff.
Venue: First Congregational Church Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 11:15 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
CHILDRENS
Bunny's Staycation with Lori Richmond
Gather round to hear author/illustrator Lori Richmond read her picture book Bunny’s Staycation. Then following the reading, there will be an interactive live drawing activity with kids calling out ideas and brainstorming together while Lori draws them the picture they describe. Recommended for ages 4-6.
Venue: Montclair Public Library Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 12:15 P.M. – 1:00 P.M.
CHILDRENS
Library Mouse with Daniel Kirk
Bestselling author/illustrator of the beloved Library Mouse series, Daniel Kirk, will read several of his picture books and novels for young readers, including Chugga Chugga Choo Choo and Library Mouse. He will also give a drawing demonstration so young children can learn to draw their own Library Mouse, and lead a sing-a-long about the joys of writing your own stories. Recommended for ages 4-12.
Venue: Montclair Public Library Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 12:15 P.M. – 1:15 P.M.
TRUE CRIME
Missing Girls and the Women Who Write
About Them
Katherine Dykstra tells the story of Paula, a woman found murdered in Iowa. Her book is part true crime story, and part memoir, a timely and powerful look at gender, autonomy, and the cost of being a woman. She’ll be joined by Carolyn Murnick, author of The Hot One, a memoir of friendship, sex and murder. Moderated by book critic Kate Tuttle.
Venue: First Congregational Church Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 1:30 P.M. – 2:30 P.M.
FICTION
Lost in Translation with Katie Kitamura
Katie Kitamura, author of A Separation, speaks about her new bestseller, Intimacies, about an interpreter who travels to The Hague to work at the International Court, where she translates for war criminals. One of Barack Obama’s favorite summer reads and named on the National Book Award 2021 longlist. She'll be talking with Real Life and Filthy Animals author Brandon Taylor.
Venue: First Congregational Church Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 2:30 P.M. – 3:30 P.M.
NON-FICTION
A Life of Surfing and Addiction
Thad Ziolkowski illuminates the connection between waves, addiction, and recovery, exploring what surfing can teach us about the powerful undertow of addictive behaviors, and the ways to swim free of them. In conversation with bestselling author Garth Risk Hallberg.
Venue: Montclair Public Library Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 2:45 P.M. – 3:45 P.M.
MEMOIR
Growing Up Asian in America
Anna Qu’s fierce memoir Made in China: a Memoir of Love and Labor details her traumatic childhood, while exploring the meaning of work, the costs of immigration, and living between two worlds. In her debut House of Sticks: A Memoir, Ly Tran recounts her journey from war-torn Vietnam to Queens, and her struggle to find her voice amid clashing cultural expectations. In Beautiful Country, Qian Julie Wang puts readers in the shoes of an undocumented child living in poverty in New York City and “forced to navigate the yawning cracks in the American Dream”. Three debut authors discuss growing up in America with The New Yorker writer Jiayang Fan.
Venue: First Congregational Church Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 3:45 P.M. – 4:45 P.M.
MYSTERY/FICTION
The Last Mona Lisa
Bestselling author Jonathan Santlofer discusses his thrilling tale of art theft, forgery and murder in The Last Mona Lisa with author Laurie Albanese.
Venue: Montclair Public Library Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 4:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.
NON-FICTION
Where Big Tech Went Wrong and
How It Can Be Fixed
Stanford professors reveal how big tech’s obsession with optimization and efficiency has sacrificed fundamental human values, and they outline steps we can take to change course, renew our democracy, and save ourselves. With authors Rob Reich and Mehran Sahami, moderated by author and journalist Dale Russakoff.
Co-presented by Montclair Public Library's Open Book Open Mind Program.
Venue: First Congregational Church Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 5:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.
FICTION
Dark and Witty Worlds on the Edge of Reality
Mona Awad, author of the acclaimed, Bunny, is back at the festival with her new novel, All’s Well, a dazzling and darkly funny story about a theater professor who is convinced staging Shakespeare’s most maligned play will remedy all that ails her—but at what cost? She speaks with novelist Alexandra Kleeman, whose book, Something New Under the Sun, looks at the dark side of Hollywood as it reckons with ambition, corruption, and connectedness in the age of environmental collapse. Moderated by bestselling novelist Nancy Star.
Venue: Montclair Public Library Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 5:15 P.M. – 6:15 P.M.
BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY
Jimmy Carter: His Triumphs and Tragedies
Kai Bird, author of The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter, and Jonathan Alter, His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life, speak with presidential expert and historian David Greenberg about the legacy of President Jimmy Carter.
Venue: First Congregational Church Tent
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 6:30 P.M. – 7:30 P.M.
FICTION
Breathe: A Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates and Jonathan Santlofer
Acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates in conversation with friend and bestselling author Jonathan Santlofer about her new novel, Breathe, the story of a married couple that takes residency at a distinguished academic institute. When the husband is stricken with a mysterious illness, misdiagnosed at first, their lives are uprooted and husband and wife each embark upon a nightmare journey.
Venue: First Congregational Church Tent
SUNDAY OCTOBER 3, 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY
Stephen Crane, Burning Boy of Newark,
with Paul Auster
Booker Prize-shortlisted and celebrated novelist Paul Auster talks about Burning Boy, his new comprehensive, landmark biography of the great American writer Stephen Crane, with National Book Award finalist, Jayne Anne Phillips. Auster tells the extraordinary story of Stephen Crane, best known as the author of The Red Badge of Courage, who transformed American literature through an avalanche of original short stories, novellas, poems, journalism, and war reportage. “Brilliant and beautiful…This is more than a novel, more than a biography, more than a book of critical analysis. This is a significant work of literature.”–Russell Banks
Venue: Online, go to www.crowdcast.io/e/burning-boy to register and access the talk
SUNDAY OCTOBER 3, 12:00 P.M. – 1:00 P.M.
FICTION
Love, Marriage and Family Histories
Caribbean-American fiction writer Tiphanie Yanique comes back to the festival in this online talk about her much-anticipated new book, Monster in the Middle. This romance between Fly, a musician, and Stela, a science teacher, in New York City, is interspersed with tales of their ancestors’ past loves and losses, in the Virgin Islands, Ghana and the United States. With her editor Sarah McGrath.
Venue: Online, go to www.crowdcast.io/e/monsterinthemiddle to register and access the talk
SUNDAY OCTOBER 3, 1:00 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.
HISTORICAL FICTION
Secrets and Lies: The Personal Librarian
Victoria Christopher Murray speaks about her new novel, The Personal Librarian, co-written with Marie Benedict. The book tells the story of Belle da Costa Greene, who was J.P. Morgan's personal librarian. But she has a secret; she was actually a Black woman passing as white. In this historical fictional imagining of Belle's story, she navigates the world of the rich and famous, gaining Morgan's trust and amassing an impressive collection, all the while wrestling with her hidden life. In conversation with novelist Laurie Albanese.
Venue: Online, go to www.crowdcast.io/e/the-personal-librarian to register and access the talk
SUNDAY OCTOBER 3, 2:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.
HISTORICAL FICTION
A Complex Portrait of Thomas Mann:
Colm Tóibín's The Magician
Hear renowned author of The Master and Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín, talk about his latest novel The Magician on Sunday October 3 at 2:00 p.m. He will be live in an online conversation with New York Times bestselling author Garth Risk Hallberg.
The Magician is an intimate, astonishingly complex portrait of German author Thomas Mann, his complex wife Katia, and the times in which they lived—the first world war, the rise of Hitler, World War II, the Cold War, and exile. In a marriage of research and imagination, Tóibín explores the heart and mind of a writer whose gift is unparalleled and whose life is driven by a need to belong and the anguish of illicit desire.
Venue: Online, click on Buy Tickets Here button
SUNDAY OCTOBER 3, 5:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.
MEMOIR
Steven Van Zandt: From Springsteen to The Sopranos
Join E Street Band member, The Sopranos actor, and New Jersey son Stevie Van Zandt for an unforgettable conversation about his memoir Unrequited Infatuations on Sunday, October 3 at 5 p.m. Stevie will be live in-person and chatting with broadcast journalist and current news anchor at 1010 WINS Radio Budd Mishkin.
Unrequited Infatuations chronicles the twists and turns of Stevie Van Zandt’s surprising life, from his time with the E Street Band, anti-apartheid activism, and acting on The Sopranos through his devotion to preserving access to the arts with his groundbreaking radio show (Underground Garage), independent record label (Wicked Cool), and curriculum to teach students of all ages through the medium of music history.
This event is co-sponsored by The Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America, based at Montclair State University, which explores and advances Italian and Italian American culture.
Venue: This event will be held at the First Congregational Church, 40 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair – either in an open-sided tent outside the church or inside The Sanctuary (tba closer to the event date). Covid-19 safety protocols will include presentation of current up-to-date Covid-19 vaccination card, social distancing between groups, restricted seating, and masks to be worn.
