Culture in brief: Montclair Literary Festival announces authors

After a successful inaugural Montclair Literary Festival last year, organizers have announced the initial lineup for the 2018 festival. Best-selling author Tom Perrotta, who wrote “The Leftovers,” “Election” and “Little Children,” will appear alongside Montclair’s Patrick Wilson, who starred in the movie version of “Little Children.” They will discuss the process of transferring fiction to film and TV and interpreting literary characters on film.Wilson’s wife, novelist and actress Dagmara Dominczyk, will moderate the conversation.

Also on the preliminary list of confirmed authors is New York Times best-selling author Anna Quindlen, who will talk about her forthcoming novel, “Alternate Side,” and National Book Award finalist Min Jin Lee, author of the best-seller “Pachinko.”

Michael Robbins, a poet and professor at Montclair State University, will discuss how poetry and pop music serve as essential tools for living, and Joshua Zeitz will speak about “Building the Great Society: Inside Lyndon Johnson’s White House” and his other books of political history.

The 2018 festival is scheduled for Friday, March 16, to Sunday, March 18, at the Montclair Public Library, the First Congregational Church, Montclair State University and the Montclair Art Museum.

The festival is seeking sponsors to assist with the operating costs of the event. All money raised at the festival will support the non-profit founding sponsor Succeed2gether. It provides free tutoring, along with after-school and summer enrichment programs, for children in need in Essex County, with the primary aim of closing the achievement gap.

More details about the festival, the author lineup and sponsorship opportunities can be found on the festival’s website succeed2gether.org/montclair-literary-festival/.