Authors Jennifer Egan, Don Winslow and Elizabeth Alexander will headline the in-person 2022 Succeed2gether Montclair Literary Festival, to be held from Thursday, May 5, through Sunday, May 8, with Festival Day on Saturday, May 7.
Other confirmed authors include Joyce Carol Oates, Megan Abbott, Cleyvis Natera, Jonathan Santlofer, Marjorie Margolies, Fiona Davis, Victoria Pratt, M. Chris Fabricant and Xochitl Gonzales, as well as children’s favorites Chris Grabenstein, Zibby Owens and Victoria Kann.
Egan, author of the Pulitzer Prize- and NBCC Award-winning “A Visit from the Goon Squad” and “Manhattan Beach,” will be in conversation about her new novel, “The Candy House,” on Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m.
“Jennifer’s new deeply moving novel reflects on the quest for authenticity and meaning in a world where memories and identities are no longer private,” Succeed2gether wrote in an announcement of the event.
Alexander, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author, will discuss her new work, “The Trayvon Generation,” on the power of art and culture to illuminate America’s unresolved problem with race. She will be speaking on Saturday, May 7.
Winslow, an international bestselling crime writer and political commentator, will be talking about his book, “City on Fire,” the first volume in his new American crime saga, on Sunday, May 8, at 6 p.m. The event will be in person at the First Congregational Church on South Fullerton Avenue.
Tickets for the Winslow event cost $25 and include a signed copy of the book. They’re available at bit.ly/DonWinslow58.
Marcia Marley, the festival chair, said in announcement she was particularly looking forward to Margolies’ “discussion about women having it all,” based on the former congresswoman’s book “And How Are the Children?: Timeless Lessons From the Frontlines of Motherhood.” She said she was also looking forward to Pratt, a judge, talking about criminal justice reform with M. Chris Fabricant of the Innocence Project.
Other panel discussions will address the craft of crime writing, the perspective of Latinx authors, politics and public affairs, and the return of Pitchapalooza — which Succeed2gether described as “the American Idol for wannabe authors.”
The festival will kick off with Katherine Heiny talking about her new book, “Early Morning Riser,” on Thursday, May 5, at 7 p.m. That online discussion is co-presented with the Montclair Public Library’s Open Book/Open Mind program.
The majority of events are free and will be held in person either outside in tents or in the Montclair Public Library and the First Congregational Church. More details will be available soon at succeed2gether.org.
