Salem Literary Festival

The 2025 Salem Lit Fest will take place September 3–7, 2025 across the city of Salem. Marking the festival’s 16th year, the 2025 Salem Lit Fest will feature more than 50 notable writers from a diverse range of genres, from magical realism to children’s literature to cookbooks to microfiction and beyond. All programming is free of charge, supported by the generous donations of individual community members and the Salem Lit Fest's valued corporate and cultural sponsors. Highlights for the 2025 Salem Lit Fest include: * One Book, One Salem – A city-wide, bilingual community read of National Medal of Arts recipient Julia Alvarez’s The Cemetery of Untold Stories. * Festival Kick-off with author Allegra Goodman: Allegra Goodman shares the story of her epic novel Isola, based on a real 16th-Century French noblewoman’s plight after being deserted on a North Atlantic island. * Online Fireside chat with Best-Selling and Award-Winning Author Lev Grossman: Lev Grossman will discuss the process of adapting legends to the present moment with his most recent book, The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur. * Enduring Hawthorne at The House of the Seven Gables: An open mic evening inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The House of the Seven Gables followed by a special performance of Hawthorne’s short story “The Gray Champion,” adapted to folksong by local musician, Dan Blakeslee, and accompanied by a crankie created by local artist, Ben Wickey. Creatives are invited to perform works inspired by Hawthorne during the open mic session. * Children’s Lit Fest: Two picture book authors and one illustrator will give a reading at the Community Life Center in Salem on Saturday, September 6 from 10 am to noon. The event will include snacks, activities, book-signing, and a special sensory-sensitive session. Additionally, there will be a self-guided Story Walk in the Peabody Essex Museum's (PEM) Ropes Mansion garden from Thursday, September 4 through Sunday, September 7. * An SLF First: A Cookbook Panel: A panel of cookbook authors will speak about the process of writing cookbooks, from concept to the page. The panel will be moderated by Adam Kowit, Editorial Director, Books at America’s Test Kitchen. Check out the full lineup of authors and sessions on salemlitfest.org. Advance registration is required to obtain login credentials for online sessions. Please register online at salemlitfest.org. In-person sessions will be first come, first seated. All sessions are FREE. Donations are gratefully accepted online at salemlitfest.org/donate

Event Links

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3204270-0

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