From F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger to John Hersey and Peter De Vries, then on to A.E. Hotchner and Jane Green, Westport has long been a writer’s town.
Back in the day, a special Rabbit Hill festival celebrated the works of local children’s author Robert Lawson.
In 2018, the Westport Library introduced a new community-wide literary event. Dedicated to every genre imaginable, it celebrated the written word, in all its forms.
Because of COVID, StoryFest 2020 will be virtual. From Sepetember 15-29, more than a dozen live and pre-recorded events will feature top authors and creators in fiction, comics and young adult literature.
Highlights include:
- A live opening: “Stoker on Stoker,” featuring Dacre Stoker — best-selling author and great-grandson of Dracula’s own Bram Stoker (Tuesday, September 15, 7 p.m.), followed by “Beyond Stoker: Contemporary Visions of Vampires in Fiction” (8:30 p.m.).
- Bestselling thriller writes Wendy Walker and L.C. Shaw share their latest books, “Don’t Look For Me” and “The Silent Conspiracy” (Wednesday, September 16, 7 p.m.).
- A panel with speculative fiction writers Charlie Jane Anders, Sarah Galley, Stephen Graham Jones, Tochi Onyebuchi and Paul Tremblay, diving into “The World in the Mirror: How Genre Imagines the Present” (Wednesday, September 23, 7 p.m.).
- Josh Malerman explores the terrifying world of “Bird Box” and its recent sequel “Malorie” (Thursday, September 24, 8 p.m.).
Also scheduled:
- “Displays of Affection: How Love Stories Reflect the World” (Thursday, September 17, 7 p.m.).
- “What the Dark Teaches Us” (Friday, September 18, 7 p.m.).
- “How the Story Tells Itself: The Unexpected Narrative” (Monday, September 21, 7 p.m.)
- “In Our Next Issue: Comics and the New Worlds in Their Pages” (Monday, September 21, 8:30 p.m.).
- “Then and Now: How History Shapes Stories for the Present” (Tuesday, September 22, 7 p.m.).
- “Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles” (Thursday, September 24, 7 p.m.)
- “Valuing the Spectrum of Identities in YA” (Tuesday, September 29)
- “Finding Bravery Through Books (Tuesday, September 29, 4 p.m.).
All events are free. Click here for full details; click on an individual session to register. An email link will be sent 48 hours before the event.
