Clockwise from top left: Clay McLeod Chapman, May Cobb, Gabino Iglesias, ChaChanna Simpson, Jesse Freidin, GennaRose Nethercott, and Cynthia Pelayo
StoryFest Saturday will feature more than 50 authors, each coming to The Westport Library to discuss their work and experiences and to connect with fans, readers, and fellow writers. The common thread among this group is a gift for storytelling.
This central element to the crafting of books of all genres and for all ages will be on display Saturday evening when StoryFest’s signature day comes to close with The Lance Lundberg Masters Series Presents: The Power of Story, a unique storytelling event.
Featured authors include Clay McLeod Chapman, May Cobb, Gabino Iglesias, and Cynthia Pelayo. The evening also includes a performance from author and puppeteer GennaRose Nethercott, a story told by acclaimed photographer Jesse Freidin, and an appearance from Northeast Storytelling President ChaChanna Simpson, who oversees the Storytelling Sundays series held monthly at the Library.
The Power of Story kicks off at 7 pm in the Library’s Trefz Forum. Please register for this free event here. Light refreshments will be served.
StoryFest is The Westport Library’s annual literary festival. It is the largest annual literary festival in Connecticut and one of the biggest in the Northeast, with this year’s event running Friday, September 20, through Sunday, September 22. Friday will feature a special keynote conversation between acclaimed author, essayist, and editor Roxane Gay and memoirist and novelist Oliver Radclyffe. Saturday’s day session features a series of panel discussions, book readings, and live podcast recordings. And Sunday is a PitchFest workshop delivered by Bloom Writers’ Studio.
“Storytelling is a fundamental part of the human experience,” said Westport Library Programming Director and StoryFest co-founder Alex Giannini. “From ancient myths and legends to current novels and films, stories have the power to entertain, educate, and inspire. Having these master storytellers on hand for Saturday evening is the perfect capstone to what promises to be a busy and electrifying Saturday at StoryFest.”
In Chapman, Cobb, Freidin, Iglesias, Nethercott, Pelayo, and Simpson, The Power of Story highlights a diverse range of performers practiced in a variety of mediums. The goal of the Lundberg Masters Series is to bridge cultural, social, and generational gaps and to deepen our connection with one another and our shared understanding of the world.
Each storyteller will take the stage for roughly 10 minutes, sharing their personal stories with the assembled crowd.
GennaRose Nethercott
Chapman is the creator of the storytelling session “The Pumpkin Pie Show.” He is the author of novels What Kind of Mother, Ghost Eaters, Whisper Down the Lane, and The Remaking. His new novel, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, arrives in January 2025. Upcoming projects include the creator-owned comic limited series Seance in the Asylum. Quiet Part Loud, a 12-part horror podcast from Jordan Peele/Monkeypaw Productions, written by Chapman and Mac Rogers, is available on Spotify.
Cobb is the award-winning author of The Hollywood Assistant, A Likeable Woman, My Summer Darlings, and The Hunting Wives, which is being adapted into an eight-episode series for STARZ. She earned her MA in literature from San Francisco State University, and her essays and interviews have appeared in The Washington Post, Texas Highways, Good Housekeeping, and more.
Freidin is a queer-identified photographer, author, and educator. He was America's leading fine art dog photographer for the past 15 years, and now focuses his attention on elevating the experience of the trans/tgnc community through portraiture and interviews. His photography is part of more than 150 private collections, has been exhibited in galleries nationally, and has been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, NPR, The Huffington Post, Insider, Them, Poz Magazine, Yahoo!, MTV, Live! with Regis and Kelly, Inside Edition, Garden and Gun Magazine, The New York Post and many more.
Iglesias is the author of the Shirley Jackson and Bram Stoker Award-winning novel The Devil Takes You Home, as well as author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning novels Zero Saints and Coyote Songs. He is a writer, journalist, professor, and literary critic living in Austin, Texas. He is the horror columnist for the New York Times Book Review.
Nethercott is the author of a novel, Thistlefoot, and a book-length poem, The Lumberjack’s Dove, which was selected by Louise Glück as a winner of the National Poetry Series. A writer and folklorist alike, she helps create the podcast Lore, and she tours nationally and internationally performing strange tales (sometimes with puppets in tow). Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart — her latest book — marks her debut into short fiction.
Pelayo is a Bram Stoker Award-winning author. Her novels include Children of Chicago and The Shoemaker’s Magician. In addition to writing genre-blending novels that incorporate elements of fairy tales, mystery, detective, crime, and horror, Pelayo has written numerous short stories and the poetry collection Crime Scene. The recipient of the 2021 International Latino Book Award, she holds an MFA in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The current president of Northeast Storytelling, Simpson is a copyeditor, spiritual life coach, astrologer, puzzle addict, and stellar storyteller who enjoys sharing personal stories on various stages throughout Connecticut and New York. Specializing in mystery, thriller, and suspense, she has written flash fiction, short stories, personal essays, and poems and is currently working on her first fiction novel.
