Author Panels and Conversations
The Following Are The 2024 Panels and Conversations.
Saturday, October 5
9:00 am
Family Secrets
These four diverse novels delve into the intricacies of family, community, and the search for connection—and what we choose to tell (and don’t tell) one another. These novelists will talk about how they came to write these stories, and what makes family and community such rich veins for novels.
Shannon Bowring, T. Greenwood, A.H. Kim, Sharon Wishnow. Moderated by Julie Gerstenblatt
Location: CCA Authors Stage
Poetry Spotlight with Paul Muldoon
In this rare New Hampshire appearance, acclaimed poet Paul Muldoon, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and T.S. Eliot Prize among many other accolades, will read from his new collection Joy in Service on Rue Tagore. Introduced by NH Poet Laureate Jennifer Militello.
Location: Poetry Salon, Kimball House
Picture Books!
In a picture book, what comes first: pictures or words? Three author-illustrators share their process for building a great story, and each author will draw their own favorite character for the audience.
Lita Judge, Jennifer Goldfinder, Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Moderated by Marty Kelley
Location: Kidlit Stage
10:20 am
Debuts!
Ambition, culture, the American Dream, coming of age—these four debut novels get at some big themes within their distinctive stories. The novelists will talk about these stories, and about their writing and publishing journeys.
Kayla Min Andrews, Vinson Cunningham, Alina Grabowski, Joseph Earl Thomas. Moderated by David Moloney
Location: CCA Authors Stage
Earth Day Every Day: Kids Make a Better Tomorrow
These acclaimed children’s authors will talk about the power of storytelling to foster empathy, connection to the natural world, and the belief that we can all make a difference to our environment, no matter our age.
Linda Sue Park, Evan Griffith, Melissa Stewart. Moderated by Amanda Gokee
Location: Kidlit Stage
11:40 am
Spotlight Conversation: Claire Messud and Ann Hood
These two acclaimed authors will talk about their latest novels, big ambitious stories that cover multiple timelines, places, and characters.
Claire Messud, Ann Hood. Moderated by Katie Crouch
Location: CCA Authors Stage
Middle-Grade Fantasy Spotlight
Three beloved middle-grade novelists will discuss how they build their beautiful and fantastic fictional worlds, where their story ideas come from, and why fantasy is such a rich genre for middle-grade readers and beyond.
MT Anderson, Kekla Magoon, Lisa Stringfellow. Moderated by Erin Bowman
Location: Kidlit Tent
1:00 pm
Suspense and Mystery
These four authors will talk about how they came to write their suspenseful novels, what makes for a good mystery series, and the importance of place and character in telling these propulsive stories.
C.B. Bernard, Margot Douaihy, Edwin Hill, Sarah Stewart Taylor. Moderated by Margaret Porter.
Location: CCA Authors Stage
Families: It’s Complicated
These two authors will talk about their latest middle-grade novels and the complicated worlds of their young characters. Their middle-school-age characters navigate friendship, sibling relationships, family secrets, and first love, all while trying to help hold their families together.
Michael Leali, Michael F. Stewart. Moderated by Virginia MacGregor
Location: Kidlit Tent
2:20 pm
20th-Century Historical Fiction
Two acclaimed novelists will talk about writing a novel set in the middle of the 20th century—a time that’s not so long ago, but also irrevocably different from 2024. Marjan Kamali tells a story set in 1950’s and 1970s-era Tehran, and Dawn Tripp fictionalizes the life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, before, during, and after JFK.
Marjan Kamali, Dawn Tripp. Moderated by Brinda Charry
Location: CCA Authors Stage
Graphic Novel Spotlight
What exactly is a graphic novel, and why do readers of all ages love them? These two authors approach the graphic novel in diverse ways, and they’ll talk about what this wildly popular genre is all about.
Jannie Ho, Matt Tavares. Moderated by David Elliott
Poetry Spotlight: How Can We Hope?
In an age of genocide, climate change, and seemingly endless large-scale threats and sources of unrest, it is difficult to find space for optimism. Poems can serve dual purposes in the current moment by helping us both voice despair and express hope. Four award-winning poets will read poems of sadness and joy in an attempt to name the challenges that face us, offer solace, and actively declare that there remains a way to move forward through a volatile and unreliable era.
Tim Liardet, Cate Marvin, Jennifer Militello, Oliver de la Paz.
Location: Poetry Salon
3:40 pm
Epics, Quests, and Magic
These novelists mix genres—historical fiction, fantasy, fables, magical realism—in telling their stories of transformation, friendship, and belonging. The authors will talk about creating their fictional worlds, and the challenges their characters face.
M.T. Anderson, Ann Dávila Cardinal, Mark Cecil, Lyra Selene. Moderated by Jocelyn Winn
Location: CCA Authors Stage
Coauthors: Two Pens Are Better than One
How do two authors work together to create one novel? These two sets of coauthors will talk about the ups and downs of sharing the writing, and what kinds of stories result from the coauthor process.
Terry Farish and Lochan Sharma; Donna Gephart and Lori Haskins. Moderated by Kari Allen