The Festival’s Opening Ceremony will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 26 at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in downtown Newburyport. Elaine Weiss will be in conversation with author Linda Hirshman. They will discuss Elaine’s latest novel, The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote. Dinner With the Authors immediately follows at the Masonic Center, 31 Green Street in downtown Newburyport. The Opening Ceremony is free of charge. Tickets for Dinner With the Authors are $50/person, available online at newburyportliteraryfestival.org or by sending a check, made out to the Newburyport Literary Association, to the Newburyport Literary Association, Box 268, Newburyport, MA 01950.
On Saturday, April 27, the Festival will be in full swing beginning at 8:30 a.m. with Coffee with the Poets. During the day, a wide range of distinguished short story writers, children's authors, biographers, nature writers, critics, screenwriters, poets, novelists, and journalists will read from and discuss their work. Besides Ms. Weiss, Eric Jay Dolin, Jonathan Green, Joyce Maynard, David Ferry, Sydney Lea, Mary Jo Salter, Major Jackson, Rhina Espaillat, Russell Banks, Andre Dubus III, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Elizabeth Elo, Eleanor Lipman, and Hank Phillippi Ryan, are among the participating authors and poets. On Saturday night, our weekend of events comes to a close with a lively discussion featuring local book clubs.