2020 Concord Festival of Authors
The 2020 Concord Festival of Authors takes place from October 16 - 31 online. The talks listed below are sponsored by the Concord Free Public Library, the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library and the Concord Free Public Library Corporation. [View Complete Event Schedule] [View Festival Home Page]
Ruth Ratner Miller Award for Excellence in American History
Friday, October 16, 7:00 p.m. (online)
The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library will present the 2020 Ruth Ratner Miller Award to recipient Jill Lepore online. Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and is also a staff writer at The New Yorker. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, her many books include the international bestseller These Truths: a History of the United States, This America: The Case for the Nation, and If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future. Click here to read more and register for the event.
Anti-Racism and Reconstruction, Then and Now
Sunday, October 18, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. (online)
The Robbins House invites us all to honor Concord’s African American History. This event features historians who authored the Robbins House pamphlet series. The conversation will explore how throughout American history, people of African descent have demanded the right to define their racial identity through terms that reflect their proud and complex history. [Register for the Zoom link]
Keynote Speaker Jennifer Haigh: Why Stories Still Matter
Friday, October 23, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. (online)
In a time of national crisis – political, medical, financial, environmental and moral – storytelling is more important than ever. Novelist Jennifer Haigh, author of Heat and Light), talks about what literature has to teach us, and why it is urgently necessary in these troubled times. Join the conversation and feel inspired to share stories that matter. [Register for the Zoom link]
Breakfast with the Authors, hosted by Dr. Suzanne Koven
Saturday, October 24, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. (online)
The 2020 Concord Festival of Authors Breakfast with the Authors online features celebrated literary authors Adrienne Brodeur (Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover and Me), Caroline Leavitt (With or Without You), and Marjan Kamali (The Stationery Shop). Grab your favorite breakfast treats and join the conversation! [Register for the Zoom link]
Young Adult Writers Panel
Saturday, October 24, 4:00 p.m. (online)
The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library present Young Adult Writers. Join the conversation with Young Adult Writers Susan Kaplan Carlton (In the Neighborhood of True), Jennifer De Leon (Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From) and Marcella Pixley (Trowbridge Road). [Register for the Zoom link]
Children's Authors
Saturday, October 24, 7:00 p.m. (online)
The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library present children’s authors Rajani LaRocca (Midsummer's Mahem)and Susan Tan (Cilla Lee-Jenkins book series). [Register for the Zoom link]
Poetry for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia and Beyond
Sunday, October 25, 3:00 p.m. (online)
Join panelists Tina Chang, Nathalie Handal and Ravi Shankar, three award-winning poets and editors as they discuss their seminal W.W. Norton anthology of Asian and Middle Eastern poetry as well as their own recent work. Language for a New Century collects together over 450 contemporary poets writing in 40 different languages. [Register for the Zoom link]
A Mighty Blaze in collaboration with the Friends of CFPL present Concord Festival of Authors 2020 Debut Authors
Monday, October 26, 7:00 p.m. (online)
Join A Mighty Blaze emcee Rachel Barenbaum (A Bend in the Stars) in conversation with this year's Festival Debut Author panelists Kelli Jo Ford (Crooked Hallelujah), Natalie Jenner (The Jane Austen Society), Rishi Reddi (Passage West) and Catherine Adel West (Saving Ruby King). [Register for the Zoom link]
20th Annual Mass Book Award
Wednesday, October 28, 7:00 p.m. (online)
Michelle Hoover (Bottomland), the 2020 Concord Festival of Authors Mass Book Award emcee, introduces the Concord community to six literary stars, including Jennifer Acker (The Limits of the World), Christopher Boucher (Golden Delicious), Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Shouting at the Rain), Karen Skolfield (Battle Dress), Grace Talusan (The Body Papers), and Raúl The Third (Lowriders in Space). Sponsored by the Friends of CFPL and Massachusetts Center for the Book. [Register for the Zoom link]
Chunky Monkey Writing Group
Thursday, October 29, 7:00 p.m. (online)
Join authors Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Celeste Ng, Christopher Castellani, Jennifer De Leon, Adam Stumacher, Whitney Scharer, Calvin Hennick, Grace Talusan, Chip Cheek, Becky Tuch, and Sonya Larson as they discuss what they've learned from starting their own writing group, the Chunky Monkeys, over the last 7+ years. When they began, the group had no published books-- now they have several titles under the belt, including The Age of Light, Little Fires Everywhere, Leading Men, Don't Ask Me Where I'm From, Once More to the Rodeo, The Body Papers, Cape May, and The Fact of a Body, as well as numerous articles, essays, and stories. [Register for the Zoom link]
LGBTQ Memoir Authors
Friday, October 30, 7:00 p.m. (online)
Join authors Alex Marzano-Lesnevich (The Fact Of A Body: A Murder and a Memoir) and Michelle Bowdler (Is Rape a Crime?) for a conversation about what it means to craft a compelling, unforgettable memoir that illuminates all that makes us human. [Register for the Zoom link]
Mystery Night - Casting Call: How We Find Our Characters
Saturday, October 31, 7:00 p.m. (online)
Join us for this popular annual event hosted by celebrated mystery writer, Kate Flora (Death Warmed Over). The Concord Festival of Authors 2020 presents authors Charlene D’Avanzo (Cold Blood Hot Sea), Kaitlyn Dunnett (Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries and the "Deadly Edits" series) and Edwin Hill (Watch Her) on Halloween to discuss the mysterious act of crafting characters. [Register for the Zoom link]
