It’s Friday the 13th, just weeks before Halloween, and there’s no better place to celebrate than at The Westport Library — and with Fireside Mystery Theatre.
On October 13 in the Library’s Trefz Forum, Fireside Mystery Theatre, the award-winning audio theatre production company, will premiere Nightfall on the Nutmeg State, a set of original pieces written for The Westport Library.
Fireside Mystery Theatre performs unique shows reminiscent of the old-time radio mysteries of the 1930s. The troupe’s actors will read live on stage, in full costume, each standing in front of a mic and with scripts in hand. The live performance will be recorded and later featured on Fireside Mystery Theatre’s podcast feed, which has reached millions of listeners around the world — bridging the gap between the Golden Age of Radio and the podcast era.
Tickets are $20, and the event serves as the precursor to StoryFest, the Library’s annual literary festival, which runs October 20-22 featuring Neil Gaiman, Angie Kim, Gabino Iglesias, Caroline Kepnes, Eric LaRocca, Josh Malerman, and many more.
“We are so excited to be able to team with the brilliant minds at Fireside Mystery Theatre to bring this special production to the Library,” said Bill Harmer, Westport Library executive director. “They are the perfect partner for a library — delivering storytelling in its purest form, well-timed for Friday the 13th and a week ahead of StoryFest.”
Nightfall on the Nutmeg State is comprised of four unique stories, performed by an ensemble cast with live underscoring and three music performances. The stories are as follows:
Fireside Mystery Theatre invites all to come to this special show: “Thrill to an evening of strange sights, sounds, and stories specially sourced from Connecticut's darkest local myths, mysteries, and legends. Fireside Mystery Theatre's cadre of actors, musicians, and technicians will amaze you as they conjure unforgettable stories etched in sound — where the real meets the fantastic and the ordinary joins the bizarre.”
“We relish in thrilling and chilling our audiences wherever we go,” said Fireside Mystery Theatre presenter and actor Ali Silva. “But we especially look forward to this privilege of hand-delivering to the fine folk of Connecticut a lovingly crafted evening of our peculiar brand of dark and delightful entertainment.”
Led by co-creators and producers Silva and Gustavo Rodriguez, Fireside Mystery Theatre has been lauded by numerous outlets for its inventive storytelling and throwback feel. That includes Popsugar, which called Fireside Mystery Theatre one of the “10 scary podcasts to listen to on a dark and stormy night,” and The New York Times, which cited Fireside Mystery Theatre as one of the top five podcasts to bring into your home when theaters went dark in 2020.
“The episodes feature sound effects, musical acts, and a fully improvised score to bring the nostalgia to its fullest,” noted The New York Times. “Each play also brings a laugh and a chill as the group’s specialty is the eerie and macabre.”
For more on Fireside Mystery Theatre, visit its website at firesidemysterytheatre.com. And click here to purchase tickets to the special event at the Library on Friday, October 13.
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Event Information:
Fireside Mystery Theatre — LIVE at The Westport Library!
Friday, October 13
6:30-9 pm
Trefz Forum, The Westport Library
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Recommended Reading from Fireside Mystery Theatre:
The Devil's Rooming House by M. William Phelps
Clown: My Life in Tatters and Smiles by Emmett Kelly
Barnum's Own Story: The Autobiography of P. T. Barnum
The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy by Stewart O’Nan
The Speculative Fiction of Mark Twain
Legendary Connecticut: Traditional Tales from the Nutmeg State by David E. Philips
Bella's Bartok
Halloween is coming to The Westport Library a few days early this year.
The Library, in partnership with the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce, is hosting a Halloween Concert and Costume Ball featuring Bella’s Bartok. The event will be held in the Library’s Trefz Forum on Saturday, October 28. Doors open at 7 pm, with the concert kicking off at 8 pm.
"Get ready for a hauntingly good time with Bella's Bartok, where music meets mayhem and costumes are your ticket to the freakishly fabulous,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer.
Bella’s Bartok is uniquely suited to perform at this event. Known for their raucous theatrical performances edging at times toward the macabre, the band plays a high energy mix of funk, pop, and folk that will have everyone dancing during their two full sets.
This nocturnal happening is the adult accompaniment to the Children’s Halloween Window Painting Contest that will be held earlier the same day (also run by the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce). Costumes are encouraged, with contests and prizes awarded for the best outfits in multiple categories. Specialty cocktail potions along with beer and wine will be available to allow patrons to pick their own poison.
“This night is about creativity both on and off the stage, a melding of concepts that I’m sure will get people’s imagination going,” said Matthew Mandell, executive director of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce. “I am a big fan of the band. This will be a fun show!”
The event is the latest musical collaboration between the Library and the Chamber, including the Supper & Soul events featuring Cris Jacobs, Johnny Folsom 4, and more.
Tickets to the Halloween Concert and Costume Ball are $35 and are on sale now.
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Event Information:
Halloween Concert and Costume Ball Featuring Bella's Bartok
Saturday, October 28
7-10 pm (doors open at 7 pm; concert starts at 8 pm)
Trefz Forum, The Westport Library
Dave Briggs (far left) moderates a discussion with Jeremy Schaap (far right) following the showing of Schaap's documentary on the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins at the Library in February 2023.
Jeremy Schaap has enjoyed a long and illustrious career. He hosts both E:60 and Outside the Lines, ESPN’s showcase journalism and storytelling shows. He has interviewed the most famous, controversial, and groundbreaking athletes in sports over the past 30 years, establishing himself as one of the leading journalists in America today.
On Thursday, September 21, at 7 pm, the renowned reporter will visit The Westport Library to talk about his life, career, and more, discussing the stories behind the biggest stories in sports history and how he forged his path as a pioneer in sports journalism.
Longtime broadcaster and Westporter Dave Briggs will moderate the conversation. There will be a sports bar set up in the Library’s Trefz Forum at 6:30 pm, ahead of the talk. Register here to attend.
"This event is really a tremendous honor,” Schaap said, “and I am looking forward to speaking with Dave. The Westport Library is a great institution, and it means a lot to me to be able to discuss my career under its roof.”
One of ESPN’s most respected personalities, Schaap, a Cornell graduate and Westport resident, has been with the network since 1994. He has covered most major sports and sporting events, including the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, the Tour de France, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the US Open, Wimbledon, and French Open, the Men’s and Women's Final Fours, and even chess boxing.
In that time, Schaap has won two national Edward R. Murrow Awards as well as a Peabody Award, two National Headliner Awards, and 14 national Sports Emmy Awards.
It was Schaap who conducted the first interview with Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight after he was fired by Indiana University in 2000, and he also conducted the first interviews with Darryl Strawberry, then with the New York Yankees, after he was diagnosed with colon cancer; with Plaxico Burress, of the New York Giants, after he shot himself in a New York City nightclub; and with Manti Te’o, the Notre Dame linebacker, after it was reported that his supposed girlfriend had never existed.
But it has been Schaap’s reporting on sports issues around the world, especially those at the intersection of sports and society at large, for which he is best known.
Schaap’s three national Sports Emmy Awards in journalism recognized stories he reported on a Serbian basketball player convicted of a brutal assault, an Israeli soccer team’s anti-Muslim fans, and child fighters in Thailand risking their lives to support their families.
Schaap also won the national Sports Emmy Award for writing — an award named for his father, legendary sportswriter and broadcaster Dick Schaap — for his profile of chess champion Bobby Fischer. And his work has been honored by, among others, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications, and the United Nations.
In 2015, Schaap won the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Award for reporting on human rights and social justice issues, a first for ESPN. That same year, he was honored with a PRISM Award for reporting on addiction issues, for a story about Cowboys’ tight end Jason Witten and his abusive father. And he was nominated for a national News and Documentary Emmy Award for an E:60 profile of a survivor of extreme domestic violence; ESPN had never previously been nominated for a News Emmy Award.
In addition to his work in front of and behind the camera, Schaap is the author of Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History, a New York Times best-seller, and Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics.
Schaap has longstanding relationships with several charitable organizations, including the Greater New York chapter of the ALS Association, which has honored him with its Iron Horse Award; the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, which has honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award; and Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey, whose annual banquet he emcees. Additionally, the Muscular Dystrophy Association honored him with the Steve Ennis Hope Award in 2017.
“Jeremy Schaap is one of the premier sports journalists in the world,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “Beyond that, he is a fascinating and engaging professional who has carved out a unique space in the broadcasting landscape. His stories are amazing, but as great as they are, they’re still not as compelling as his personal story. This is an event not to miss for anyone who loves sports and thoughtful, compassionate, in-depth storytelling.”
Briggs has served as an anchor for NBC Sports, a news anchor for CNN and Yahoo Finance, the weekend host for FOX & Friends, and a digital content consultant for Moffly Media. He currently works as a March Madness studio host for Turner Sports and as vice president for business development for Cann, based in Westport. He also is an active member of the Library’s board of trustees.
This fall, comic art, deconstructed case-bound book boards, and visual mixed media all grace the walls of The Westport Library gallery spaces, collecting the unique works of local artists with national attention including Marc Zaref, Niki Ketchman, Rowan MacColl, and Connor McCann.
Connor McCann's instructive exhibition panel
Coinciding with the Neil Gaiman StoryFest Keynote Conversation and Fall 2023 Malloy Lecture in the Arts lecture (Friday, October 20) is the visual companion in the Sheffer Gallery, Panels & Gutters: The Comic Art of Rowan MacColl and Connor McCann.
The exhibition celebrates the form storytelling in comic art featuring MacColl's and McCann’s illustrations with added panels demonstrating their conceptual and technical process. MacColl and McCann are both recent graduates of Staples High School and the Rhode Island School of Design, navigating the art scene with great success.
Rowan MacColl's process panel for Panels & Gutters: The Comic Art of Rowan MacColl and Connor McCann
MacColl is a comic artist and illustrator whose work has been published in various anthologies and art fairs. MacColl’s latest graphic novel, Who Was Accused in the Salem Witch Trials?: Tituba will be published in September 2023 by Penguin Random House.
McCann is a cartoonist and designer. His critically acclaimed graphic novel God Bless The Machine was published and distributed internationally by Strangers Publishing in 2021, and the highly anticipated follow-up will be released this fall.
The opening reception and artist talk (Thursday, October 19, reception 6-7 pm, artist talk 7-8 pm) will have MacColl and McCann reuniting with their former art teacher, fellow artist, and Westport Artists Collective member Katherine Ross. The conversation will focus on MacColl and McCann’s transition from college to the art world, freelance commissions, the role of social media in art promotion, and their upcoming graphic novels.
Cascade 2023, by multidisciplinary artist Zaref, features a Jesup Gallery site-specific designed installation of recycled, deconstructed case-bound book boards.
“Cascade, along with its description of falling water, is a term in music referencing a progression of notes,” said Zaref. “I took advantage of an unusual feature—a partially open ceiling, a place to begin a cascade, the illusion of an unknown source of the piece—not unlike an underground stream or the mind of a musician.”
The South Gallery hosts Ketchman’s Resinations with mixed media resin 12" x 12" visual works. Over the years, Ketchman has exhibited extensively, including one-person museum exhibitions at the Katonah Museum, the New Britain Museum of American Art, and the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park. Reviews of her work have appeared in The New York Times, Art in America, Sculpture Magazine, and The Boston Globe, among others.
"I start each piece with a 12" x 12" stretched canvas. Then I either paint on the surface of the canvas or adhere a digital print of one of my photos that has often been manipulated in Photoshop,” said Ketchman.
“Once I have the initial image, I spread out many of my materials on a worktable in my studio: fabrics, beads, string, wire, metal ornaments, lace, etc. This is my palette. Once I am satisfied, I pour resin over the whole piece. The resin coating makes the whole piece feel more like an object than a painting or collage. With its shiny and indestructible surface, it is now a Resination."
The two former exhibitions celebrated with an opening reception and artist talk on August 29 moderated by Westport Artist Collective co-founder Miggs Burroughs.
All three exhibitions run through October 25.
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Rounding out the art activity at The Westport Library is The Westport Artists Collective “Affordable Art Trunk Show and Sale” on Sunday, October 1, from 11 am to 4 pm in the lower parking lot adjacent to the Library and Jesup Green (Taylor Lot).
Around 40 members of the Artists Collective of Westport will be displaying their artwork out of the trunk of their cars — all for sale at affordable prices. The Artists Collective of Westport is a vibrant group of 150 creative individuals who have joined forces to discuss, create, and develop dynamic experiences for the Fairfield County community. The collective is open to all active artists in pursuit of expanding their careers and in developing a strong, diverse arts community.
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Artists pictured at top of page, clockwise from top left: Niki Ketchman, Connor McCann, Rowan MacColl (self portrait), and Marc Zaref
Bruce Springsteen calls him “phenomenal.” Lou Reed said he could watch him “play for hours.” And Jeff Buckley exclaimed, “magical guitarness.”
Gary Lucas, one of the world’s foremost rock guitarists, hits StoryFest 2023 at The Westport Library on Sunday October, 22, from 2 to 4 pm in the Trefz Forum, accompanying George Melford’s 1931 Spanish-Language Dracula film with a live acoustic and electric guitar score.
Just a week before the ramp-up to Halloween 2023, the timely event is open to all ages and is free with registration.
Now in its sixth year, StoryFest is the largest literary festival in Connecticut and one of the biggest annual literary festivals in the Northeast. This year’s edition will be held October 20-22. Friday night will feature the sold-out keynote conversation featuring legendary writer Neil Gaiman, followed Saturday with panel discussions and author conversations, capped by a special reading of Eric LaRocca's new play, Gentle Hacksaw.
In addition to Lucas's performance, Sunday will include a special children's event with Pinkalicious author Victoria Kann and PitchFest at StoryFest, a five-hour paid workshop (12-5 pm) from Bloom Writers' Studio that will provide aspiring authors with an opportunity to speak to literary agents about their book, as well as provide tips on how to find the right literary agent. The event, to be held in the Library's Komansky Room, will be hosted by local authors T.M. Dunn, Marcia Bradley, and Tessa Smith McGovern.
“StoryFest has always been a celebration of all forms and genres of storytelling," said StoryFest co-founder and Westport Library Associate Director of Programming and Events Alex Giannini. “In a year of impressive guests, including authors Neil Gaiman, Caroline Kepnes, and Stephen Graham Jones, I am honored to welcome guitarist Gary Lucas accompanying George Melford’s Spanish-Language Dracula, with what will undoubtedly be a jaw-dropping live guitar score for Halloween season for the StoryFest '23 finale.”
A GRAMMY-nominated songwriter, international recording artist, and (Connecticut connection) Yale graduate, Lucas is best-known for his collaborations with Captain Beefheart and later Jeff Buckley.
With avant composer/vocalist/bandleader Don Van Vilet (Captain Beefheart), Lucas realized his childhood dream of joining Beefheart’s band, recording the seminal Doc at the Radar Station (1980) and Ice Cream for Crow (1982). Esquire wrote of the song "Evening Bell”: "Gary Lucas apparently grew extra fingers in order to negotiate his way through it." These recordings put Lucas on the musical map as a force to be reckoned with and laid the groundwork for his subsequent career.
In 1989, Lucas formed his band Gods and Monsters in a nod to the film Bride of Frankenstein. In 1991, legendary music producer Hal Willner presented a Tim Buckley tribute concert at St. Anne’s Church in Brooklyn featuring the mesmerizing New York debut of Tim's son, Jeff Buckley. Lucas was among the New York music cognoscenti who helped discover Jeff Buckley and launch his career.
Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas, Coney Island, 1992 (Photo by Chris Buck)
Buckley stayed in New York and joined Gods and Monsters. Lucas composed solo guitar instrumentals for "Rise Up to Be" and "And You Will," which later became the musical templates for "Grace" and "Mojo Pin." Lucas co-wrote these two lead-off tracks with Buckley for his widely popular, critically acclaimed, and heralded album, Grace.
Lucas’s collaborations have included Reed, Leonard Bernstein, John Cale, Patti Smith, Chris Cornell, Bryan Ferry, Nona Hendryx, Los Van Van, Bob Weir, Nick Cave, Thurston Moore, Lukas Ligeti, Martha Wainwright, and many others. Lucas has been dubbed "The Thinking Man's Guitar Hero" (The New Yorker), "The world's most popular avant-rock guitarist" (The Independent), "One of the 100 Greatest Living Guitarists" (Classic Rock), "Legendary leftfield guitarist" (The Guardian), "Guitarist of 1000 Ideas" (The New York Times), "a true axe God" (Melody Maker), and "One of the five best guitarists in the world" (by the national Czech newspaper Lidove Noviny). And British world music magazine fRoots recently described Lucas as "without question, the most innovative and challenging guitarist playing today."
Gary Lucas in action in London at the Jeff Buckley Tribute Upstairs at the Ritzy Brixton 9/10/17
photo by Michael Arkk
Noting that he was thrilled to be pairing with the innovative Verso Studios, Lucas said, “Dracula, King of the Undead and the ne plus ultra in vampires as first immortalized by Bram Stoker in 1897, is one of the most enduring legends in all of horror history, with countless spin-offs both filmic and otherwise.
“For my money, though, no cinematic version quite beats the legendary Spanish-language Dracula, filmed in 1931 at night at Universal Studios in Hollywood on the same sets as Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, which was being filmed during the day—but with a different, all-Latin cast, and an English director. The camera moves more fluidly, the editing rhythms are faster, and the costumes are wilder. 'La Sangre es la Vida, Signor Renfield!'”
This marks the second film accompanied by live score to be featured at Verso Studios at The Westport Library this year, with Psychedelic Cinema’s South: Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition debuting to a packed and excited audience.
For the full lineup and more information on StoryFest 2023, visit the StoryFest website.
L to R: The book cover for To Anyone Who Ever Asks, and a picture of the author, Howard Fishman
We are in the midst of a golden age of mid-century popular music, with expanded deluxe editions, lost albums, compilations, rediscovery, and reexamination. Enter Connie Converse.
Converse is redefining the narrative of singer-songwriter history, bridging the gap between traditional Americana (country, blues, folk, jazz, and gospel), the Great American Songbook, classical art song, and the singer-songwriter movement spurred on by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell—but Converse was doing it a decade before those figures arrived.
This revelatory subject is the focus of the inaugural Verso Book Club event, which welcomes author Howard Fishman, writer of the widely shared New York Times feature Before Dylan, There Was Connie Converse. Then She Vanished., and the critically acclaimed book, To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse.
The event is free and will take place at The Westport Library on Thursday, October 5, 7-9 pm, in Brooks Place (on the Library's main level). Registration is required.
Copies of To Anyone Who Ever Asks can be purchased through registration and at the event, where Fishman will be signing copies. The book is also available in The Westport Library catalog.
"Connie Converse was the ultimate cross-disciplinary innovator," said Fishman, "so I'm thrilled to be able to present a talk about her at a forward-thinking venue like The Westport Library/Verso Studios."
“With Verso Studios' vision to marry literature, music, and media, we welcome this inaugural Verso Book Club event as a forum for tri-state area writers and fans to see how writing and investigative journalism elevates and defines art," Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer said.
In the wave of reappraisal in Converse’s work, there are now more than 10 million streams and 80,000 monthly listeners of Converse’s songs on Spotify. Artists ranging from Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) and Big Thief to opera’s rising star Julia Bullock have covered her work.
To Anyone Who Ever Asks press release reads, “Fishman recounts what can be known about Converse’s life while offering readers insight into her work and why it was so far ahead of her time. The bizarre legend about Connie Converse that had become the prevailing narrative among those who had also discovered her music was that in 1974, at the age of fifty, she simply drove off one day and was never heard from again. Could this have been true? A dozen years of research, travel to the places she lived, immersion into the voluminous effects she left behind, and hundreds of interviews later (including many with her friends and family members), Fishman gives readers a compelling book.”
The Verso Book Club is a reading group engaging in discourse and discussion on new and classic books focusing on contemporary popular music, media, and culture, filmmaking, and artistic scenes. The Verso Book Club provides a forum for author talks on influence, craft, process, and approach. Author talks are recorded, archived, and promoted via the state-of-the-art Verso Studios.
Fishman is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, where he has published essays on music, film, theater, literature, travel, and culture. His essays have also appeared in Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, Artforum, San Francisco Chronicle, Mojo, The Village Voice, Jazziz, and Salmagundi. His play, A Star Has Burnt My Eye, was a New York Times “Critics Pick.”
As a performing songwriter and bandleader, Fishman has toured internationally as a headlining artist for more than two decades. He has released 11 albums to date, and is the producer of the album, Connie's Piano Songs: The Art Songs of Elizabeth "Connie" Converse.
Are you interested in volunteering but don’t know where to start? The Westport Library, The Town of Westport, and The League of Women Voters of Westport have you covered.
On Saturday, September 23, the three organizations will team with to host an adult volunteer fair in the Library’s Trefz Forum.
The fair will run from 10 am to 2 pm and feature more than two dozen local community organizations. Each organization will have a staff member on hand to provide information and answer questions.
“The wide range of volunteer activities at Volunteer Expo reflect the many talents and interests of our diverse community,” said Celeste LaCroix, director of development for the League of Woman Voters of Connecticut and past president of the League of Woman Voters of Westport. “Come, because you know that it's time to give back. Come, and you will be delighted with the array of opportunities.”
Said Bill Harmer, Westport Library executive director: “We hear all the time that people want to give back to the community, but they don’t always know where to start. This is the place. For four hours, we’ll have some of Westport’s most treasured local organizations and nonprofits in one space. It’s a great way to promote volunteerism in our community—and an even better way to find the right organization to fit your interests.”
In addition, the Library will host a volunteer expo for teens on Wednesday, October 4, from 4:30 to 6 pm featuring a handful of local youth organizations to engage teens.
Below is a list of organizations participating (subject to change) in the September 23 adult volunteer fair:
A Better Chance of Westport
AWARE
Center for Senior activities
Club203
Earthplace
FCJazz
Food Rescue
Friends of Sherwood Island
Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts
Staples Tution Grants
Sunrise Rotary Club
TEAM Westport
Town of Westport
Verso Studios at The Westport Library
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Wakeman Town Farm
Westport Book Shop
Westport Community Theatre
Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Emergency Medical Services
Westport League of Women Voters
Westport Library
Westport Permanent Art Collection
Westport Sunrise Rotary
Westport Woman's Club
Westport Young Women's Club
Westport-Weston CERT
Westport-Weston YMCA
Following much fanfare and plaudits from attendees, the Andrew Wilk Medical Series is returning to The Westport Library, this time with a focus on the brain.
The three-part series will debut on Thursday, September 7, at 7 pm in the Library’s Trefz Forum, with a deep dive into strokes and transient ischemic attacks. That will be followed by a look at headaches and migraines on October 30 and a talk focused on dementia on November 21.
Each session will feature renowned Westport physician Dr. Robert Altbaum in conversation with a fellow expert in the field. Dr. Daryl Story will be the featured guest on September 7, followed by Dr. Dario Zagar on October 30 and Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick on November 21.
The doctors will field questions from the audience after each presentation.
“Andrew and I envisioned the series as a wonderful opportunity to educate the community about important medical topics, emphasizing the newest technologies and treatments,” Altbaum said. “We are thrilled at the positive response by the public and hope to cover a wide variety of medical specialties. The medical field is undergoing an exponential growth in information and there is a lot to share.”
This is the second medical series presented by Wilk, a five-time Emmy Award winner and the former executive producer of Live from Lincoln Center. It follows a focus on cardiovascular health that debuted earlier this year to capacity crowds and rave reviews.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to have Andrew leading this series and equally so to have Dr. Altbaum hosting these conversations,” said Bill Harmer, Westport Library executive director. “We entered into the series on cardiovascular health thinking this could be an asset to the community, and it most definitely was. The events were all well-attended, the sessions themselves were engaging and important, and the questions from the audience members were incisive and thoughtful. We look forward to more of the same in this series on the brain.”
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Full series at a glance (all events held in the Library’s Trefz Forum):
Thursday, September 7, at 7 pm
Andrew Wilk Presents: The Brain, Part One
Topic: Strokes and Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA): Maximizing the chance for recovery
Presenters: Dr. Daryl Story and Dr. Robert Altbaum
Click here to register.
Monday, October 30, at 7 pm
Andrew Wilk Presents: The Brain, Part Two
Topic: Headaches and Migraine: Better understanding the diagnosis and the new therapies available
Presenters: Dr. Dario Zagar and Dr. Robert Altbaum
Tuesday, November 21, at 7 pm
Andrew Wilk Presents: The Brain, Part Three
Topic: What’s new in Dementia
Presenters: Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick and Dr. Robert Altbaum
Pinkalicious author Victoria Kann in the Library's Trefz Forum last year.
Victoria Kann is returning to the Library to headline the kids’ component of StoryFest 2023 with a Pink or Treat Halloween book reading and parade.
The famed Westporter and Pinkalicious author will read from her book, Pink or Treat, on Sunday, October 22, starting at 10 am. That will be followed by a Pinkalicious Halloween Parade featuring fun giveaways. Kids and their adults are encouraged to dress up and take part in the parade.
The event is free with registration, and there is also an option to purchase a signed copy of Pink or Treat for $15 — as well as signed copies of many other Kann favorites.
The sixth edition of StoryFest, the largest literary festival in Connecticut, runs October 20-22 and features writers of all forms and from all genres. Best-selling author Neil Gaiman kicks off StoryFest 2023 on Friday evening, October 20, in conversation with Stephen Graham Jones. Saturday features a host of author conversations and panel discussions, closing with a staged reading of Eric LaRocca’s new play, Gentle Hacksaw, with additional events to be announced for Sunday.
In addition to the Pink or Treat Halloween Parade, kids’ events at StoryFest will include a picture book reading on the Library steps on Saturday, October 21, starting at 10 am, with assembled picture book authors, and a Monster Lab where kids can make their own 3D Monster Figurine or a Halloween mask. The Moster Lab event runs from 2 to 4 pm, also on Saturday, in the Hub on the Library’s main level.
“Victoria Kann is a Westport treasure and a friend to kids everywhere,” said Mary Parmelee, Westport Library director or youth services. “All of which makes her the perfect guest for our StoryFest children’s celebration. We encourage kids and their caretakers from Fairfield County and beyond to come out for this special event, as well as to join us on Saturday for the picture book reading and the Monster Lab. They’ll be the ideal complement to a can’t-miss sixth edition of StoryFest.”
An award-winning author and illustrator, Kann co-authored and illustrated Pinkalicious and Purplicious as well as the play, Pinkalicious the Musical. She also wrote and illustrated Goldilicious, Silverlicious, Emeraldalicious, Aqualicious, and Peterrific, and many other titles, and is the co-executive producer of Pinkalicious & Peterrific on PBS Kids.
L to R: Stephen Graham Jones, Neil Gaiman, and Eric LaRocca
Two past favorites are returning in new roles at StoryFest 2023, with Stephen Graham Jones secured as the moderator for the keynote conversation with Neil Gaiman on Friday, October 20, and Eric LaRocca capping a full day of events on Saturday, October 21, with a staged reading of his new play, Gentle Hacksaw.
Both are ticketed events, with additional seats becoming available for the Friday conversation with Gaiman — the acclaimed author of American Gods, Coraline, and The Sandman Series, among many others — on Tuesday, August 22, at 10 am. Tickets will be available at that time on the keynote conversation registration page.
The conversation between Gaiman and Graham Jones is free to the public as part of the Fall 2023 Malloy Lecture in the Arts. Seats are limited for what will be a sold-out crowd of 400-plus.
Tickets for the staged reading of Gentle Hacksaw are $20 and are available for purchase now. Doors open at 7 pm for a reception, where guests can meet the StoryFest authors; small bites will be provided and there will be a cash bar. The performance starts at 8 pm and will be followed by a conversation with the playwright and cast moderated by best-selling author Clay Mcleod Chapman.
Now in its sixth year, StoryFest is the largest literary festival in Connecticut and one of the biggest annual literary festivals in the Northeast. This year’s edition will be held October 20-22. Friday night is the keynote conversation. Saturday features a series of panel discussions and conversations, with the full lineup to be announced in late summer/early fall. Sunday includes a writers’ workshop, a special children’s event, and additional programming, also to be announced soon.
In addition to Chapman, Gaiman, Graham Jones, and LaRocca, confirmed authors for StoryFest 2023 include Angie Kim, Gabino Iglesias, Caroline Kepnes, and Josh Malerman.
“StoryFest is my favorite event we put on all year,” said Westport Library Associate Director of Programming and StoryFest co-founder Alex Giannini. “Neil Gaiman alone is worth the price of admission, but adding in the bonus of Stephen Graham Jones as moderator — what a night it's going to be! Stephen is one of the most unique and compelling voices in fiction today, and he and Gaiman on stage together will be StoryFest magic.
“On top of it all, having the opportunity to close what will be a knockout Saturday with Eric LaRocca’s play is a treat for everyone who makes it out for this year’s StoryFest.”
Graham Jones and LaRocca both are StoryFest veterans who appeared at last year’s edition as panelists.
Graham Jones is a professor at the University of Colorado and a New York Times best-selling author of some 30 novels and collections, including Mongrels, The Only Good Indians, My Heart is a Chainsaw, and Earthdivers.
Among his many honors include the Texas Institute of Letters Award for Fiction, the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize, the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, the Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction, the Western Literature Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award, the American Library Association’s RUSA Award and Alex Award, the 2023 American Indian Festival of Words Writers Award, the Locus Award, four Bram Stoker Awards, three Shirley Jackson Awards, and six This is Horror Awards. In addition, he’s been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Award.
LaRocca is the Splatterpunk Award-winning and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and The Trees Grew Because I Bled There, a collection of short stories released in March.
Gentle Hacksaw is “a startling new drama of religion, identity, and violence about two high-profile gay men who become embroiled in a verbal cat-and-mouse game of utter cruelty when an unpleasant bargain goes awry. As social graces are discarded and basic human decency is abandoned, both men discover shocking truths about themselves and one another that will forever transform them.”
For more information on this year’s StoryFest, as well as past editions, visit westportlibrary.org/storyfest.
Top row (L to R): Immediate Past President Jeremy Price, President Barrie Rosen, Secretary Melissa Banks; bottom row (L to R): New board members Mark Silverstein, Bob Boroujerdi, and Martina Sze.
The start of the new fiscal year is a time of transition at The Westport Library, bringing with it new programs, priorities, and goals — and this year, a new president and three new members to the Library’s board of trustees.
Starting with the board’s July meeting, held July 19, Barrie Rosen has been elected as the new president of The Westport Library board, taking over for Jeremy Price, who will remain on the board as immediate past president.
Rosen is a longtime advocate for the Library and has served on the board since 2020. A communications executive, she currently leads marketing communications at Consumer Reports after earlier stints at YP (formerly Yellowpages.com), Fox News, News 12 Connecticut, and multiple public relations agencies. She also serves on the board of Staples Tuition Grants.
Before rising to president, Rosen was the secretary of the board. Assuming that role for the current term is Melissa Banks, who joined the board in 2022.
“Barrie’s work since joining the board has been outstanding and exemplary,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “She knows the community and the library so well, providing advice and feedback that are routinely brilliant and always on point. I am incredibly excited to work with her and the other members of the executive committee and the board at large as we continue to grow the Library over the next year.”
Said Rosen: “The Library has always been a special place for me and my family, even before we moved to Westport. It is the only place where you can simultaneously connect with friends, get a private room to work, flex your creative muscle, and enjoy the serenity of the Saugatuck River. It is my honor to give back to an institution that has offered so much to me, and so many others.”
Price steps down after serving two years as president of the Library board, a tenure that featured the full-time return to in-person events as well the fourth and fifth editions of StoryFest; the launch of VersoFest, the Library’s annual music and media festival; two successful BOOKED for the evening programs; and the return of the Malloy Lecture in the Arts — plus Camp Explore, Summer Learning Programs, and this year’s debut of Verso Records, Volume One, the first vinyl record ever recorded, produced, and released by a public library.
“Jeremy has been an indispensable ally in our efforts over the past year, and I cannot thank him enough for all that he has done,” Harmer said. “He is a true partner and a trusted friend, and I’m very glad that his important voice will remain on the board for the coming term.”
The Library’s fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30 each year. Board terms run four years, with each member eligible to serve two terms. The Library board is made up of 20 members in total; 10 are selected by the Library board, and 10 by the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), the town’s legislative body.
Joining the board for the coming term are Bob Boroujerdi, a former partner at Goldman Sachs who most recently served as a managing director at Third Point LLC, an alternative asset manager; Mark Silverstein, an internet technology and media executive who has worked at Spotify, Luminary, and HuffPost; and Martina Sze, the chief development officer at HealthVest, a behavioral healthcare company with a mission of treating all patients, regardless of income.
They replace departing members Rob Haroun, Jenna Markowitz, and Meena Pellerin, all of whom made marked contributions to the Library during their years of service on the board.
“We’re very excited to welcome our three new board members, though that comes with the sadness of saying goodbye to three members who have selflessly dedicated their time and talent to us over the years,” Harmer said. “Rob, Jenna, Meena, thank you for helping guide the Library’s vision during your time on the board, and for your support and counsel. You will be missed!”
The Westport Library, well-known as a hub for lifelong learning, cultural events, and innovation, is now the recipient of a post-COVID $57,462 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant enhancing the Library’s technological infrastructure and wireless connectivity. The ARPA grant bolsters the Library’s capacity to serve as an emergency hub in times of power outages.
In previous years, extreme storms like Irene and Isais caused power and wireless disruption for many, with more than 12,000 patrons utilizing the Library’s wireless internet connectivity in a matter of days. In many cases, service could not meet demand. The ARPA grant extends the wireless signal to Jesup Town Green and the Levitt Town Pavilion, with four additional wireless access points installed. In addition, the Library’s firewall has been updated for added safety and security.
The State of Connecticut reports, "The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) is the sixth federal COVID-19 relief bill passed in the last year, and is by far the largest infusion of resources to the state. The scale of assistance and time-frame over which funding remains available spurred Governor Lamont to direct his administration to ensure that the state’s recovery efforts were oriented toward transformative initiatives that would enable Connecticut to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger, healthier, and ready to resume the progress that has made the state a leader in many areas, and a desirable place to live."
By providing Fairfield County with resilience in times of emergency, The Westport Library can better execute its charge of service to the community and serving as a community hub, all while providing patrons with fast, free wireless internet service with added security.
“The Westport Library is delighted to receive ARPA grant funds to upgrade our service and infrastructure,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “This is a win-win for Fairfield County emergency planning and the countless number of patrons and programs that rely on our connectivity.”
