The weekend begins Friday evening with a ticketed keynote event at Mayo Performing Arts Center. Malcolm Gladwell is scheduled to discuss his new book, The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic. Festival organizers list the keynote as a special event; tickets are available through the Festival, subject to availability.
The heart of the program arrives Saturday, when the main Festival and KidFest will be free and open to the public. Author talks and question-and-answer sessions will be held at venues along South Street, including the Morristown & Morris Township Library, with book sales and signings centered near the historic Vail Mansion. General seating for the free sessions is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
KidFest will run Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Peter's Church lawn, with children's authors and illustrators, crafts and activities for young readers. The main Festival gives adults, teens and families an opportunity to hear directly from writers across fiction, nonfiction and children's literature without an admission charge.
Since its launch in 2014, the Festival has grown into a regional literary gathering that draws readers from throughout New Jersey and beyond. Visitors can use 110 South Street as a GPS destination for the Vail Mansion information area, where Festival programs will be available. Complete schedules, participating authors and keynote ticket information are available at morristownbooks.org.