Jesse Freidin, queer-identified photographer and author, presents Are You OK? The Disappearing Faces of America’s Trans Youth, a pop-up exhibit at StoryFest. Are You OK? is an interactive and educational traveling gallery featuring intimate portraits and interviews of trans and nonbinary youth with supportive families from across America. Each free-standing banner lets viewers get up close and personal with the striking faces and powerful stories of this award-winning national archive, while QR codes bring the voices of trans youth to life, making it an exhibit that leaves a true impression on the visitor.
Come meet Jesse at the exhibit's opening reception Friday evening at 6 pm, followed by the StoryFest 2024 keynote conversation between Roxane Gay and Oliver Radclyffe.
Copies of Jesse's book will be available for sale.
Please bring your own smart phone and personal headphones to activate interactive elements.
Freidin’s work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, Vogue, and more. He is a 2023 Critical Mass Top 50 award winner, the recipient of the 2024 Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant, and the author of three books: When Dogs Heal: Powerful Stories of People Living with HIV and the Dogs That Saved Them; Finding Shelter: Portraits of Love, Healing and Survival; and Are You OK? Volume One.
Click here to learn more about StoryFest 2024.
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Also, visit the Library on StoryFest Saturday (September 21) for the cartoonists' panel being held in the Sheffer Gallery with moderator Brian Walker plus Ray Billingsley, Bob Englehart, Bill Janocha, Sean Kelly, Maria Scrivan, Greg Walker, and Neil Walker. For more information, visit the StoryFest homepage and visit the Art at the Library page for the current cartooning exhibits up in the Sheffer Gallery and South Gallery.
StoryFest is The Westport Library's annual literary festival, the largest in Connecticut and one of the biggest in the Northeast. StoryFest is a multi-day, genre-spanning literary festival, now in its seventh year. It is a celebration of the story in all its forms, and storytellers from across all media.
Join us in the Children's Library on StoryFest Saturday to hear readings from StoryFest authors Diana Sussman, Isi Hendrix, Hal Johnson, Karen L. Swanson, and Lisa Korsten Price and Anne Burmeister.
Entry is free with a festival day pass!
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.
Freedom is a Feast, Alejandro Puyana’s acclaimed debut novel, a multigenerational saga of love and revolution set in the author’s native Venezuela, is the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature award winner.
Puyana and his work will be honored at The Westport Library on Saturday, September 21, between 1 and 2 pm, in conjunction with StoryFest, the Library’s annual literary festival.
Puyana will receive a $10,000 cash prize and appear at StoryFest, whose lineup of authors includes Roxane Gay, Christopher Golden, Claire Messud, Peng Shepherd, and Joyce Carol Oates. (The list of 50+ attending authors is available on the StoryFest website.)
“I’m so extremely honored,” said Puyana. “Venezuela is going through a rough time right now, with people out on the streets fighting for freedom and democracy. It means so much to have this Venezuelan story highlighted, at a time when we need voices everywhere to stand with us.
“I’m so grateful to the Westport Prize for Literature committee for this great gift, and hopeful that it’ll help put the book in the hands of many more readers.”
Now in its second year, The Westport Prize for Literature is awarded annually to honor an original work of fiction that explores issues in contemporary society. Renowned novelist Zadie Smith was the prize’s inaugural recipient for The Fraud, which was named as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Independent, and many more.
The other finalists for this year’s honor were How to Read a Book by Monica Wood and skin & bones by Renée Watson.
“Freedom is a Feast is a brilliant kaleidoscope of a novel, reflecting both the sweep of history and the triumphs and tragedies of individual lives,” said Charlotte Rogan, author of The Lifeboat and one of this year’s jurors. “This gorgeous yet propulsive story explores questions of what we owe each other and how to make a difference in turbulent times.”
Submissions for the 2024 prize were read and vetted by a team of volunteer readers — numbering nearly 50 for this year — with the best-reviewed manuscripts advancing to the Westport Prize for Literature jury, which selected this year’s winner.
In addition to Rogan, the jurors for 2024 include book blogger and aggregator Suzanne Leopold, publishing industry veteran Erica Melnichok, and nonfiction writer and former Book of the Month Club judge Nina Sankovitch.
About Freedom is a Feast
In 1964, Stanislavo, a zealous young man devoted to his ideals, turns his back on his privilege to join the leftist movement in the jungles of Venezuela. There, as he trains, he meets Emiliana, a nurse and fellow revolutionary. Though their intense connection seems to be love at first sight, their romance is upended by a decision with consequences that will echo down through the generations. Almost 40 years later, in a poor barrio of Caracas, María, a single mother, ekes out a precarious existence as a housekeeper, pouring her love into Eloy, her young son. Her devotion will not be enough, however, to keep them from disaster. On the eve of the attempted coup against President Chávez, Eloy is wounded by a stray bullet, fracturing her world. Amid the chaos at the hospital, María encounters Stanislavo, now a newspaper editor. Even as the country itself is convulsed by waves of unrest, this twist of fate forces a belated reckoning for Stanislavo, who may yet earn a chance to atone for old missteps before it’s too late.
With its epic scope, gripping narrative, and unflinching intimacy, Freedom Is a Feast announces a major new talent. Puyana has delivered a wise and moving debut about sticking to one’s beliefs at the expense of pain and chaos, about the way others can suffer for our misdeeds even when we have the best of intentions, and about the possibility for redemption when love persists across time.
“Epic doesn’t begin to describe this extraordinary novel,” said Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. “Freedom Is a Feast is as vivid and wondrous as your best dream, as unsettling and unforgettable as your worst. They say you can’t fit the entire world into a novel, but Puyana comes close. What a gift he has given readers, what a profound, shattering, inspiring gift.”
Related: New York Times Book Review: Fighting for Love and Survival as a Country Falls Apart
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. Light refreshments will be served.
Center: Sybil Steinberg unveiling her Sybil's List in the Library's Trefz Forum; Left and Right: Signed copies of The Joy Luck Club and Timequake, respectively.
During her lifetime as a reader and her storied career as an editor at Publisher’s Weekly, Sybil Steinberg amassed an extraordinary array of books: advance copies of some of the most revered works in American literature, first editions, and volumes signed by the authors and often inscribed to the beloved Westport literary icon.
Steinberg passed away earlier this year, leaving behind this remarkable personal collection. At StoryFest 2024, many of these editions will be available for purchase as part of the festival’s celebration of her memory and impact on the community.
Proceeds from the sale will go to benefit StoryFest, the Library’s annual literary festival which this year is dedicated to Steinberg’s memory. There will be a special dedication ceremony in her honor held Saturday, September 21, at 1 pm.
The available volumes will be part of a table dedicated to Steinberg at the StoryFest book sale, located in the Library’s Komansky Room. Among the items for sale: a signed, first-edition copy, inscribed to Steinberg, of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, and a signed copy of Kurt Vonnegut’s Timequake, plus a collection of hardcover, softcover, and advance review copies featuring authors such as Joyce Carol Oates, Peter DeVries, and Laura Z Hobson.
Also available will be a compilation of past Sybil’s Lists, a collection of her recommended books that she would unveil to a rapt audience during a special event held regularly at the Library.
“We are incredibly thankful to the Steinberg family for donating these books to support StoryFest,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “Sybil was an icon in the public library world and industry, an indelible part of the Westport literary community, and a true friend to the Library. We miss her terribly but look forward to honoring her, her memory, and her legacy at this year’s StoryFest.”
Steinberg graduated in 1954 from Smith College, where she served as editor of the student newspaper. After two decades as a stay-at-home mom, raising her three children in Westport with her husband, Harold, her professional career ascended when she took a job in the 1970s with Publisher’s Weekly.
By 1979, she rose to editor of fiction reviews, and in 1983, she began overseeing Publisher Weekly’s author interview department. As the fiction reviews editor, Steinberg introduced the boxed review concept to highlight promising talent; she selected Tan’s The Joy Luck Club as the first boxed review. As authors interview editor, she held conversations with Annie Proulx, Salman Rushdie, John Updike, and Fay Weldon, among others. In addition, she edited three volumes of Writing for Your Life, a series of books that featured interviews compiled from the magazine.
Her work was nominated for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Steinberg also served on the board of the National Book Critics Circle and made numerous television appearances on PBS, CBS, C-SPAN, and NBC.
Following her retirement in 2001, Steinberg continued to review books, maintaining her ties to the publishing industry. And she introduced her treasured Sybil’s List, in which she would introduce her favorite books of the year at a special event held at the Library. She would expand Sybil’s List to a biannual tradition, establishing it as the go-to guide for Westport’s community of writers and readers. She unveiled her final Sybil’s List in December 2023, in time for the holiday season.
Saturday at StoryFest 2024 promises to be blockbuster, with an array of best-selling and award-winning authors set to take The Westport Library’s Trefz Forum stage on September 21.
National Book Award winner Joyce Carol Oates returns to the Library for the first time since serving as the guest of honor at the 2008 Malloy Lecture in the Arts. She will be joined by award-winning young adult author Ryan La Sala, current New York Times best-seller Sarah Beth Durst, acclaimed fantasy writer P. Djèlí Clark, National Endowment of the Arts Fellow Peng Shepherd, and decorated novelist Claire Messud.
Past and current locals Cody Daigle-Orians, Hal Johnson, Chris Knapp, Lisa Korsten Price, Karen L. Swanson, and Diana Sussman will also be in the Library for Saturday’s program, as are returning favorites Clay McLeod Chapman, May Cobb, Gabino Iglesias, Rachel Harrison, Bracken MacLeod, and scores more — numbering more than 50 authors in all.
“This is, without question, our biggest and most diverse StoryFest yet,” said Westport Library Programming Director and StoryFest organizer Alex Giannini. “The range and quality of authors we have coming for StoryFest Saturday is more than I ever could have hoped for. We’re honored and thrilled to have them here, and we can’t wait for this year’s festival.”
StoryFest, The Westport Library’s annual literary festival, is the largest annual literary festival in Connecticut and one of the biggest in the Northeast. This year’s event runs 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. Sunday is a PitchFest workshop delivered by Bloom Writers’ Studio.
P. Djèlí Clark, Joyce Carol Oates, and Joe R. Lansdale are among the 50 authors who will be appearing at StoryFest this year.
In addition to the panels, Saturday will include two live podcast recordings — a live Fearmongers recording with Clay McLeod Chapman and a special recording of Jennifer Baker’s podcast, Minorities in Publishing — the awarding of the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature, and a special ceremony for the late Sybil Steinberg, the former Publisher’s Weekly editor and beloved Westport icon to whom this year’s StoryFest is dedicated.
Visit the StoryFest website (and below) to see the full schedule for this year’s event.
Also at StoryFest 2024 is a special exhibit by Jesse Freidin, Are You OK? The Disappearing Faces of America’s Trans Youth, an interactive and educational traveling gallery featuring intimate portraits and interviews of trans youth with supportive families from across America. Each free-standing banner (see image below) includes a QR code that brings the voices of trans youth to life, making it an exhibit that leaves a true impression on the visitor. Please bring your own smart phone and personal headphones to activate interactive elements.
Freidin’s work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, Vogue, and more. He is a 2023 Critical Mass Top 50 award winner, the recipient of the 2024 Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant, and the author of three books: When Dogs Heal: Powerful Stories of People Living with HIV and the Dogs That Saved Them; Finding Shelter: Portraits of Love, Healing and Survival; and Are You OK? Volume One.
Here is a closer look at the Saturday schedule for StoryFest 2024:
In the Trefz Forum:
10 am
Dangerous Visions: Dreams Across Universes
Imaginary worlds, magical elements, supernatural beings… writers create stories where anything is possible.
With Christopher Golden, Sarah Beth Durst, GennaRose Nethercott, Jedidiah Berry, Peng Shepherd, and P. Djèlí Clark.
11 am
Thriller!
Masters of suspense share the tricks of the thriller trade and how to write a story that a reader can’t put down!
With Gabino Iglesias, May Cobb, Joe R. Lansdale, Caroline Wolff, K’wan, and Julia Bartz.
12 pm
Incorporating History: Past, Present, Future
With Galia Gichon (moderator), Claire Messud, Hugh Ryan, Chris Knapp, Elise Hart Kipness, and Anna Noyes.
2 pm
Live Podcast Recording: What I Wish I Knew as a Debut: Minorities in Publishing
With host and moderator Jennifer Baker and guests Shannon C.F. Rogers and Don P. Hooper.
3 pm
Words are Bricks: Building Community Through Writing
Though writing itself is a solitary act, building community as a creative is an integral part of the process.
With Charnaie Gordon (moderator), Kirsten Bakis, Cody Daigle-Orians, Courtney Preiss, Ainissa Ramirez, and Ryan La Sala.
4 pm
Ellen Datlow Presents: Fears
Horror’s preeminent editor sits down with today’s masters of horror to talk about their greatest fears.
With Ellen Datlow (moderator), Christopher Golden, Bracken MacLeod, Joe R. Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, and Eric LaRocca.
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In the Children’s Library:
10 am - 12 pm
Children’s Book Readings
With Diana Sussman, Isi Hendrix, Hal Johnson, Karen L. Swanson, and Lisa Korsten Price.
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In Brooks Place:
10 am
WestportWRITES Presents: Finding Your Writing Tribe
With T.M. Dunn (moderator), Marcia Bradley, Kathy Curto, and Jimin Han.
11:30 am
Live Podcast Recording: Fearmongers!
With host and moderator Clay McLeod Chapman and guests Rachel Harrison and P. Djèlí Clark.
2 pm
Thursday Authors
With Lynda Cohen Loigman (moderator), Jamie Brenner, Nicola Harrison, and Susie Orman Schnell.
3 pm
Connecticut Writing Project
With Bryan Crandall (moderator), Patricia Park, and Don P. Hooper.
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In the Sheffer Gallery:
2 pm
Cartoonists!
With Brian Walker.
And then there were three.
Freedom is a Feast by Alejandro Puyana, How to Read a Book by Monica Wood, and skin & bones by Renée Watson are the finalists for the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature, awarded annually to honor an original work of fiction that explores issues in contemporary society.
This year’s winner will be announced in August and honored at The Westport Library on Saturday, September 21, in conjunction with StoryFest, the Library’s annual literary festival. The recipient will also sit on one of the panels during StoryFest, whose lineup of confirmed authors includes Roxane Gay, Christopher Golden, Joe R. Lansdale, Claire Messud, Peng Shepherd, and many more. (The list of 40+ attending authors is available on the StoryFest website.)
Submissions for the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature were read and vetted by a team of Westport-based volunteer readers — numbering nearly 50 for this year — with the best-reviewed manuscripts advancing to the jury, who will select this year’s winner.
“The community response to this project has been fantastic!” said Candice Savin, chair of the Westport Prize for Literature steering committee. “Our core group of volunteer readers dug into the submitted novels with enthusiasm and a love of literature emblematic of Westport. I know everyone involved with this project is looking forward to seeing the winner at the Library on September 21.”
The jurors for 2024 include book blogger and aggregator Suzanne Leopold, publishing industry veteran Erica Melnichok, The Lifeboat author Charlotte Rogan, and nonfiction writer and former Book of the Month Club judge Nina Sankovitch.
This is the second year for the prize, whose inaugural grant of $10,000 was awarded last year to renowned novelist Zadie Smith for The Fraud, which was named as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The Independent, among others.
L to R: Alejandro Puyana, Renée Watson, and Monica Wood
About the Finalists
Freedom is a Feast by Alejandro Puyana
In 1964, Stanislavo, a zealous young man devoted to his ideals, turns his back on his privilege to join the leftist movement in the jungles of Venezuela. There, as he trains, he meets Emiliana, a nurse and fellow revolutionary. Though their intense connection seems to be love at first sight, their romance is upended by a decision with consequences that will echo down through the generations. Almost 40 years later, in a poor barrio of Caracas, María, a single mother, ekes out a precarious existence as a housekeeper, pouring her love into Eloy, her young son. Her devotion will not be enough, however, to keep them from disaster. On the eve of the attempted coup against President Chávez, Eloy is wounded by a stray bullet, fracturing her world. Amid the chaos at the hospital, María encounters Stanislavo, now a newspaper editor. Even as the country itself is convulsed by waves of unrest, this twist of fate forces a belated reckoning for Stanislavo, who may yet earn a chance to atone for old missteps before it’s too late.
With its epic scope, gripping narrative, and unflinching intimacy, Freedom Is a Feast announces a major new talent. Puyana has delivered a wise and moving debut about sticking to one’s beliefs at the expense of pain and chaos, about the way others can suffer for our misdeeds even when we have the best of intentions, and about the possibility for redemption when love persists across time.
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
Violet Powell, a 22-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving 22 months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher. Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest. Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed. When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland — Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman — their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.
How to Read a Book is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives. With the heart, wit, grace, and depth of understanding that has characterized her work, Wood illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living.
skin & bones by Renée Watson
At 40, Lena Baker is at a steady and stable moment in life — between wine nights with her two best friends and her wedding just weeks away, she’s happy in love and in friendship until a confession on her wedding day shifts her world. Unmoored and grieving a major loss, Lena finds herself trying to teach her daughter self-love while struggling to do so herself. Lena questions everything she’s learned about dating, friendship, and motherhood, and through it all, she works tirelessly to bring the oft-forgotten Black history of Oregon to the masses, sidestepping her well-meaning co-workers that don’t understand that their good intentions are often offensive and hurtful.
Through Watson’s poetic voice, skin & bones is a stirring exploration of who society makes space for and is ultimately a story of heartbreak and healing.
About the Jury
Suzanne Leopold
Leopold is the creator of SuzyApproved.com, her website for sharing book reviews. Her platform is active across many social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, where she has accumulated more than 10,000 followers. She is also the founder of SuzyApprovedBookTours.com where she aggregates her community of bloggers across social media platforms to support authors with book launches.
Erica Melnichok
As an 18-year veteran of the publishing industry from Penguin Random House, Melnichok has worked with hundreds of authors and facilitated literary events nationwide. Most recently, she has embarked on a public library career and is a member of the American Library Association. Melnichok has long championed the voices of authors while supporting the goal of libraries to connect books with readers. She firmly believes in the power of books to connect and transform us.
Charlotte Rogan
Rogan is the author of The Lifeboat, which was nominated for The Guardian first book award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and the Goldsboro Books and Historical Writers Association debut historical fiction prize. It has been translated into 26 languages and was included on Huffington Post’s 2015 list of “21 books from the last 5 years that every woman should read.” Her second novel, Now and Again, continues to explore issues of morality and justice.
Nina Sankovitch
Sankovitch is the author of four books of nonfiction, including Tolstoy and the Purple Chair and American Rebels, and has a fifth book coming out in 2024. She is both a former lawyer and a former judge for the Book of the Month Club.
New York Times best-selling author and activist Roxane Gay headlines StoryFest 2024 in conversation with writer Oliver Radclyffe, whose first memoir, Frighten the Horses, publishes this fall under Gay's publishing imprint, Roxane Gay Books.
Now in its seventh year, StoryFest is The Westport Library’s annual celebration of reading, writing, ideas, and community as well as the largest literary festival in Connecticut. It will be held September 20-22.
Registration includes a copy of the book and costs $30, covering either one or two attendees.
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Roxane Gay is a professor, editor, social commentator, and New York Times best-selling author. Her writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, The New York Times best-selling Bad Feminist, the nationally best-selling Difficult Women, and The New York Times best-selling Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects.
Oliver Radclyffe is part of the new wave of transgender writers unafraid to address the complex nuances of transition, examining the places where gender identity, sexual orientation, feminist allegiance, social class, and family history overlap. His work has appeared in The New York Times and Electric Literature, and he recently published Adult Human Male, a monograph with Unbound Edition Press on the trans experience under the cisgender gaze. He currently lives on the Connecticut coast, where he is raising his four children.
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Frighten the Horses is a textured, sharply written memoir about coming of age in the fourth decade of one’s life and embracing one’s truest self in a world that demands gender fit in neat boxes.
“I often think that the entire purpose of a human life is to see if we can somehow get FREE — if we can escape from the rules, expectations, and limitations of our families and our cultures in order to live an entirely different existence than the one that was assigned to us at birth. Frighten the Horses is the inspiring true story of one man’s extraordinary journey of escape from the wrong marriage, the wrong gender, the wrong life, in order to become who he was always meant to be. This book is as sharp as razors, but it also pulses with a passionate, desperate, human urgency for truth and liberation. I am deeply grateful to have read it, and my hope is that Oliver’s story will free many others, as well.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of City of Girls
StoryFest Saturday will feature an array of award-winning authors and special events featuring Joyce Carol Oates, Claire Messud, Peng Shepard, Joe R. Lansdale, Christopher Golden, Clay Chapman, Gabino Iglesias, Rachel Harrison, and many, many more. Plus a special tribute to longtime Westport Library champion and iconic Publisher's Weekly editor, the late Sybil Steinberg; a pair of live podcast recordings; the presentation of the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature; and a special Saturday evening storytelling event.
Here is a closer look at the full lineup:
IN THE TREFZ FORUM
10 am: Dangerous Visions: Dreams Across Universes
With Christopher Golden, Sarah Beth Durst, GennaRose Nethercott, Jedidiah Berry, Peng Shepherd, and P. Djèlí Clark.
11 am: Thriller!
With Gabino Iglesias, May Cobb, Joe R. Lansdale, Caroline Wolff, K’wan, and Julia Bartz.
12 pm: Incorporating History: Past, Present, Future
With Galia Gichon, Claire Messud, Hugh Ryan, Chris Knapp, Elise Hart Kipness, and Anna Noyes.
1 pm: Sybil Steinberg Dedication Ceremony
Westport book community’s opportunity to honor one of its most beloved members. Steinberg served as an influential and storied editor at Publisher’s Weekly for 25 years.
1:30 pm: Westport Prize for Literature
Join us as we honor the winner of the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature, awarded annually to honor an original work of fiction that explores issues in contemporary society.
2 pm: Live Podcast Recording: What I Wish I Knew as a Debut: Minorities in Publishing
With host and moderator Jennifer Baker and guests Shannon C.F. Rogers and Don P. Hooper.
3 pm: Words are Bricks: Building Community Through Writing
With Charnaie Gordon, Kirsten Bakis, Cody Daigle-Orians, Courtney Preiss, Ainissa Ramirez, and Ryan La Sala.
4 pm: Ellen Datlow Presents: Fears
With Ellen Datlow, Christopher Golden, Bracken MacLeod, Joe R. Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, and Eric LaRocca.
7 pm: Lundberg Masters Series Presents: The Power of Story
Join authors, GennaRose Nethercott, Clay McLeod Chapman, ChaChanna Simpson, May Cobb, and Gabino Iglesias for an evening of captivating personal storytelling in a variety of mediums. Experience the power of storytelling to bridge cultural, social, and generational gaps and to deepen our connection with one another and our shared understanding of our world.
IN THE CHILDREN’S LIBRARY
10 am-12 pm: Children’s Book Readings
With Diana Sussman, Isi Hendrix, Hal Johnson, Karen L. Swanson, and Lisa Korsten Price and Anne Burmeister.
IN BROOKS PLACE
10 am: WestportWRITES Presents: It Takes a Village
With T.M. Dunn, Marcia Bradley, Kathy Curto, and Jimin Han.
11:30 am: Live Podcast Recording: Fearmongers!
With host and moderator Clay McLeod Chapman and guests Rachel Harrison and P. Djèlí Clark.
2 pm: Book Club Fiction: Behind the Stories
With Lynda Cohen Loigman, Jamie Brenner, Nicola Harrison, and Susie Orman Schnall.
3 pm: Connecticut Writing Project
With Bryan Crandall, Patricia Park, Torrey Maldonado, and Don P. Hooper.
IN THE SHEFFER GALLERY
2 pm: Cartoonists
With Brian Walker, Bob Englehart, Sean Kelly, Bill Janocha, Maria Scrivan, Greg Walker, and Neil Walker.
PitchFest Conference 2024 for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Memoir Writers
Want to pitch your book (or book proposal) to three literary agents who are looking for your type of book?
Bloom Writers' Studio, in conjunction with The Westport Library, are thrilled to announce that on September 22 the highly respected Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Atria Books, Peter Borland, will be in conversation at the PitchFest Conference with top literary agent Cynthia Manson.
Peter edits #1 New York Times best-selling novelists Fredrik Backman (A Man Called Ove) and Janet Evanovich (the Stephanie Plum series).
Conference panels include conversations with top editors, literary agents, and authors sharing insider knowledge about how you can get published. Come and learn what you need to know about pitching your book to a literary agent or publisher! Topics include how to approach literary agents, the latest publishing trends, how to write queries that get attention, social media and marketing for your books, and the chance to win literary prizes that will help you get published faster.
To learn more, join Bloom Writers' Studio for PitchFest at StoryFest 2024 by visiting the link above.
And join our free virtual information session on Friday, August 2, at 2 pm on Zoom! (Replays available.)
Pricing:
For more information or discounted tickets, please email westport.pitchfestatstoryfest@gmail.com.
Resources for Writers
WestportWRITES
Stephen Graham Jones and Neil Gaiman during the Friday evening StoryFest keynote conversation/Fall 2023 Malloy Lecture in the Arts.
Three days, 20 programs, 50 authors. StoryFest 2023, The Westport Library’s sixth annual literary festival, was its biggest and most diverse yet, drawing authors from a wide variety of genres to provide something for any reader and every fan.
Hosted throughout the Library — most events were held in the Trefz Forum, while also utilizing Brooks Place, the Hub, and the Komansky Room — StoryFest featured a keynote conversation with acclaimed author Neil Gaiman; a series of panel conversations on Saturday ranging from inclusivity in children’s literature to women writing crime fiction to exploring humor in horror; intimate author talks; a live recording of Clay McLeod Chapman’s Fearmongers podcast; a staged reading of Eric LaRocca’s new psychological thriller; a Pink or Treat book reading and Halloween Parade with Pinkalicious author Victoria Kann; a TeachRock workshop; and a live score of the Spanish language Dracula by guitar virtuoso Gary Lucas.
“We had high hopes for this year’s StoryFest, and the actual event managed to exceed them,” said StoryFest co-founder and event organizer Alex Giannini. “It’s always pure magic to get this many amazing authors together in one place, and everyone who came out could not have been friendlier and more enthusiastic. We’re definitely going to take some time to enjoy this one, but I’m already excited for 2024.”
The running theme throughout the weekend was an appreciation for writers, readers, libraries, and community. As moderator Stephen Graham Jones said to the 350-plus patrons at the start of Friday evening’s keynote conversation with Gaiman, “Thank y’all for showing up tonight and supporting libraries. It’s so important.”
“Libraries are so special to me,” said Angie Kim, author of The New York Times best-seller Happiness Falls. “I’m an immigrant. I came from Korea to the U.S. as an 11-year-old, and public libraries were my haven. It’s where I hid out from the bullies in middle school and where I got help learning English. So, to have this sponsored by The Westport Library, which is so beautiful and so accessible, has been amazing.”
Kim was one of the many authors who stayed for the full StoryFest experience, visiting the Mercy Learning Center in Bridgeport during the day on Friday, attending Gaiman’s talk Friday night — one of nearly 30 authors who ringed the mezzanine for the keynote conversation — and appearing on two panels and signing books afterward on Saturday.
“This is my favorite event that I’ve done, and it’s even better this year,” said Black Sheep author and StoryFest veteran Rachel Harrison. “It’s just such a great crowd, a great environment. The programming is so thoughtful. There’s just something for everybody.”
Added A Likeable Woman author May Cobb: “This is absolutely one of my favorite festivals for books and storytelling. It’s just such an engaging, intimate experience, where you get to interact with readers and other writers. It feels like we’ve built a community … and I feel like I’m part of a family. It’s very special.”
Joining Kim at the Mercy Learning Center was Mitzy Sky. In addition, Tommy Greenwold, Dan Poblocki, Lorien Lawrence, and Janae Marks all gave talks on Friday at local Westport schools; and Patricia Dunn, John Palisano, and Wendy Walker traveled to Norwalk High School and P-Tech Norwalk.
“This has been an awesome experience,” said Sky, who first came to StoryFest as a fan and was making her first appearance as a panelist. “I’ve been here since 2017. It’s my favorite thing to do.”
In addition to the events and programs, StoryFest included a fully stocked bookstore with autographed titles from the participating authors, including 600 signed volumes from Gaiman, as well as posters and other memorabilia.
“The festival has been great,” said Sidik Fofana, author of Stories from the Tenants Downstairs. “It’s the perfect motivation to start writing, because I want to be invited again. What a great way to spend three days.”
