An upcoming exhibit at a downtown Manchester art gallery will be equal parts harvest moon and hocus pocus, if the early submissions are an indication. Mosaic Art Collective holds monthly themed shows. In September, “Full Circle: The Speed of Light” offered works like the eclipse-inspired “Four Minutes of Totality, Twelve Hours of Light” and “Evil Eyes,” a kinetic piece made of metal and stained glass.
Mosaic founder Liz Pieroni hopes this month’s “Spellbound” will evoke the magical and mystical.
“There are a lot of artists that specifically only make creepy, Halloween-y kind of work,” she said. “There’s definitely some very witchy portraiture, a lot of skulls … and a creepy moon landscape pastel by Susan Markham.”
Also contributing is Jackie Hansen, known for absurdist takes on the natural world like “McChicken,” an acrylic on canvas painting of a barnyard bird peeking out from a McDonald’s fries container. “She does almost traditional New Hampshire art, but it always has a little bit of a twist,” Pieroni said. “This one is a chicken riding a broom with a witch hat on.”
Artist submissions will be available for viewing beginning Oct. 7, with a reception set for the afternoon of Oct. 12. In the spirit of the season, a tarot card reader will be on hand to tell fortunes at the event. These Second Saturday gatherings happen every month and in the recent past have included live music and comedy.
As always, the different works on display at “Spellbound” can be purchased and picked up at the end of the month. Mosaic encourages ownership, with prices befitting an aspiring art collector. Helpfully, each piece has its own QR code that links to a web page for interested buyers.
“In some ways it makes it more accessible,” Pieroni said. “People don’t necessarily want to figure out who to approach and how to purchase something, but everyone has a phone on them…. If you’re introverted in any way, this makes it a little bit easier to stomach.”
On any given day, Mosaic is abuzz with activity. Seesaw Art Gallery has its own space in the back corner of the second floor space, and artists work in individual studios. One, Hannah Cole Dahar, makes whimsical works like custom portraits of local women in saintly poses. It’s truly a collective, exactly what Pieroni had in mind when she started it.
Since graduating in 2005, she missed the art school vibe. Opening Mosaic “was about finding my own art community,” she said. “We all have our own separate spaces, but when we come into the gallery, it kind of automatically creates this swirl of conversation, which is comforting … it’s not just a big white room with art on the wall, it has a nucleus feel.”
So far, it’s been a good year.
“We saw a little bit of a slowdown in June, but I think it was just that people were kind of busy and out enjoying the weather,” Pieroni said. “We ended up taking the summer off and just recharging our batteries. September so far has been really great. We’ve seen a good amount of sales and a lot of new artists that haven’t shown with us before, which is really exciting. In general, I’d say things are on the up and up.”
There’s hope that growth is on the horizon, she continued. “We’re building out our program still. We’ve had a few little setbacks as businesses do. I think right now we’re just trying to get all our ducks in a row and find some funding … then build out a couple of bigger programs that hopefully we’ll see early next year.”
These efforts include recruiting volunteers. “The program we’re hoping to put together is volunteering that is kind of educational at the same time,” Pieroni said. “You could learn how to hang a show and host events, stuff like that, then walk away with an understanding of how things function so that you can go and do something similar.”
Spellbound When: Begins Monday, Oct. 7, with opening reception Saturday, Oct. 12, at 4 p.m. Where: Mosaic Art Collective, 66 Hanover St., Suite 201 (second floor), Manchester More: mosaicartcollective.com
Featured image: Mosaic Art Collective. Courtesy photo.
Meet authors and browse their works at the first New Hampshire Book Festival
Friday night, New Hampshire’s first statewide book festival will kick off in Concord. According to its founder, the New Hampshire Book Festival was born out of a passion readers have for the written word, authors, and meeting like-minded book enthusiasts.
Emilie Christie Burack and Sarah McCraw Crow are both authors and close friends. They used to meet frequently to sit together while they wrote, sometimes independently, sometimes in collaboration. A lot of the time they would meet at the café in Gibson’s Bookstore in downtown Concord.
“For years, we’ve been talking about what a perfect place South Main Street would be for a book festival,” Burack said. “We both attended them as authors and participants in different states and it always kind of drove us nuts that New Hampshire was the one New England state that didn’t have a statewide book festival. Finally, one day about a year ago in April, Sarah and I were talking about it again and I said, ‘Why don’t we just do it?’”
Jean Hanff Korelitz.
A statewide book festival was apparently an idea whose time had come.
“Authors really like to come to festivals,” Burack said, “and that’s why it’s very competitive for authors to get a spot at festivals. We were just inundated with authors reaching out to be on our rosters and publishers contacting us about their authors and, you know, we haven’t even had an event yet, so we were really thrilled by the interest that people had in coming out to this in New Hampshire.”
The festival will kick off on Friday, Oct. 4. The public face of the festival will begin with a keynote session by Jean Hanff Koretitz, the New York Times bestselling author of The Plot and its sequel, The Sequel. Writer and former longtime host of NHPR’s The Exchange Laura Knoy will be the moderator.
Knoy is eager to have a chance to discuss Koretitz’s work with her.
“I’ve got The Plot and The Sequel in front of me,” she said in a telephone interview. “They are thrillers, but the writing is, oh, just funny and sarcastic, but also rich and literary, I would say. They’re written in the third person, so from the point of view of an omniscient narrator. She does a fantastic job with it. It’s laugh-out-loud funny sometimes, but it’s obviously also a thriller. Like, things are happening and some of those things are a little bit terrifying.”
The keynote session is designed to give readers an insight into Koretitz’s work and her characters. Knoy will ask questions and take questions from the audience.
“I’ll introduce her and then we will do probably about a 20-minute interview,” Knoy said. ”Then I’ll turn to the audience for their questions. Then I’ll go back and do a little more interviewing, and then we’ll do a couple more audience questions. We’ll close it out in about an hour or an hour and 10 minutes.”
Knoy wants to examine some of the philosophical underpinnings of Koretitz’s writing.
“One key, key, key theme in both of these books,” she said, “is who owns ideas? Who owns a story? Who gets to tell that story? And that very interesting question is woven throughout both of these books.”
Eager as she is for the keynote session on Friday, festival co-founder Emilie Burack is even more excited for what will happen earlier in the day.
Kate DiCamillo.
“We really wanted to reach out to children in schools all over the state,” Burack said, “and we wanted to give an opportunity to under-served schools to make sure that they could get to this book festival — that the kids could get to this book festival and meet live authors. And that’s why we’re starting on Friday, because we are having a special keynote [from childrens’ author] Kate DiCamillo, just for school children. It will be at 10 in the morning so the buses can bring the kids. We have heavily underwritten tickets and we also have a fund that was donated by the Judge Family Foundation, which is supporting the bus transportation. We did a lot of research and we realized why a lot of kids don’t come to these kinds of things is because the school district and the kids can’t afford the bus fees. So we’re underwriting a lot of buses coming in. People are coming in from as far away as Groveton, which is up in Coos County.”
Each child attending will get a first-edition copy of Kate DiCamillo’s new book that will be released the day before the Festival, Burak said. “The school show sold out in a day.”
On Saturday, a three-block section of Main Street will be cordoned off for Book Festival activities. There will be panel discussions with different groups of authors in three different venues: the main stage at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St.) for adult books, an outdoor KidLit Stage about a block away, and two poetry sessions, also at the Capitol Center.
New Hampshire Poet Laureate Jennifer Militello will be part of both poetry sessions, beginning with a Spotlight Session in the morning with Irish poet Paul Muldoon.
“This is a really rare New Hampshire appearance for Muldoon,” Militello said. “He is a premier award-winning poet who has won basically every major prize both in America and internationally.”
In the afternoon Militello will be part of a panel where poets will read poems around the theme of “Hope in Difficult Times.”
“We will be reading poems that consider the role of poetry as both a source of hope and a way to articulate struggles in a time of challenge in the current climate,” Militello said. “These are poets whose work I am familiar with and who I admire deeply. We have a poet, Oliver de la Paz, who is currently the Poet Laureate of Worcester in Massachusetts. We have Kate Marvin, who is from Maine, an excellent poet, and Tim Liorde, who’s a British poet. I think it’s really important for poets and other artists to reflect on these times and have conversations with the broader kind of reader public about what these things mean and how we can cope with them, but also just that we’re encountering them and that it’s important to feel things about them and express those feelings. And I think often that leads to an understanding that also catalyzes change.”
Panel discussions through the day will include literary topics as different from each other as Suspense and Mystery, Debut Novels, and Fantasy. Emilie Burack said the discussions will be especially fresh because all the authors on the panels have published novels within the past year. “All of the works at our festival are new works,” she said. “They’re 2024 releases. Even though many of these authors are very well-known and have written books in years past and have other titles behind their names, everyone that we have coming here are going to be people with fresh work. Many of the books are not coming out until just days before the festival. It gives it kind of a fun, exciting feel for New Hampshire.”
One of those authors is Matt Tavares, the author of Hoops, a graphic novel about an Indiana girls’ basketball team in the 1970s. He will be part of a panel called Graphic Novel Spotlight, Saturday afternoon. He said interacting with authors and readers at festivals like this is one of the best parts of writing work for children and teens.
“You kind of just go into it not really knowing what the conversation is going to be,” Tavares said, “but just being able to chat with a couple other children’s book creators is always something that I get a lot out of. It’s always interesting to hear questions from the audience, especially if we have a bunch of kids in the audience.” He has written and illustrated picture books before, but Hoops is Tavares’ first graphic novel. “It’s interesting,” he said. “I’ve really noticed a difference in the audience. With picture books you get a lot of questions about, ‘How did you do this?, How did you do that?’ I found with Hoops a lot of the questions are specifically about the characters, things that happened in the book, that kids are really thinking about, ‘Why did Lisa do this in this scene?’ They get so excited to meet the people who made the book that they’ve read 10 times.”
Even though the festival hasn’t happened yet, Emilie Burack said plans are already underway for next year’s event.
“We already have lots of thoughts,” she said. “We’re so excited. We don’t know what our panels are going to be, but we’ve had a lot of suggestions from people. There are a lot of people who are fans of horror. … and there’s also a big appetite for nonfiction. We don’t have nonfiction this year, but there’s just so much of that that people really, really love. We’ve created this [the Book Festival] from the beginning to be an annual event. We hope it becomes a beloved annual event and a not-to-be-missed New Hampshire thing every fall.”
NEW HAMPSHIRE BOOK FESTIVAL
Venues
The NH Book Festival takes place in downtown Concord
CCA Authors Stage (Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St.)
KidLit Stage (NHBF Village, South Main Street)
Poetry Salon (Capitol Center for the Arts)
Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S Main St., 224-0562, gibsonsbookstore.com) Immediately following each panel discussion, the authors will be at Gibson’s or at a Gibson’s tent for book signings.
Friday, Oct. 4
10 a.m. Children’s Keynote: Kate DiCamillo, author of Ferris and Hotel Balzaar (ticketed event), CCA Authors Stage
7 p.m. Inaugural Keynote: Jean Hanff Korelitz, author of The Sequel, with Laura Knoy, moderator (ticketed event), CCA Authors Stage
Saturday, Oct. 5
9 to 9:55 a.m.
Family Secrets: T. Greenwood, A.H. Kim, Sharon Wishnow and Shannon Bowring, with Julie Gerstenblatt, moderator. CCA Authors Stage.
Picture Books! Author/Illustrator Spotlight: Lita Judge, Jennifer Goldfinger, and Maryann Cocca-Leffler. KidLit Stage.
Poetry Spotlight: Paul Muldoon reads from his work. Intro by Jennifer Militello, NH Poet Laureate. Poetry Salon.
10:20 to 11:15 a.m.
Debuts: Kayla Min Andrews, Joseph Earl Thomas, Alina Grabowski and Vinson Cunningham, with David Moloney, moderator. CCA Authors Stage.
Earth Day Every Day — Kids Make a Better Tomorrow: Linda Sue Park, Evan Griffith and Melissa Stewart, with Amanda Gokee, moderator. KidLit Stage.
11:40 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Spotlight Conversation: Claire Messud and Ann Hood, with Katie Crouch, moderator. CCA Authors Stage.
MG Fantasy Spotlight:Kekla Magoon, MT Anderson, Lisa Stringfellow, with Erin Bowman, moderator. KidLit Stage.
1 to 1:55 p.m.
Suspense & Mystery:Sarah Stewart Taylor, Margot Douaihy, Edwin Hill and CB Bernard, with Margaret Porter, moderator. CCA Authors Stage.
Families: It’s Complicated: Michael Leali and Michael Stewart, with Virginia MacGregor, moderator. KidLit Stage.
2:20 to 3:15 p.m.
20th Century Historical Fiction: Marjan Kamali and Dawn Tripp, with Brinda Charry, moderator. CCA Authors Stage.
Graphic Novel Spotlight: Matt Tavares and Jannie Ho, with David Elliott, moderator. KidLit Stage.
Poetry Spotlight: Jennifer Militello, Oliver de la Paz, Cate Marvin and Tim Liardet. Poetry Salon.
3:40 to 4:20 p.m.
Epics, Quests, and Magic: Ann Dávila Cardinal, Mark Cecil, MT Anderson and Lyra Selene, with Jocelyn Winn, moderator. CCA Authors Stage.
Co-Authors: Two Pens are Better than One Terry Farish & Lochan Sharma and Donna Gephart & Lori Haskins Houran, with Kari Allen, moderator. KidLit Stage.
5 to 8:15 p.m.
Family Keynote: From Novel to Netflix: Kate DiCamillo, with Veronica Chao, moderator. Program and movie (ticketed event). CCA Authors Stage.
See nhbookfestival.org for more.
Eats with your books In addition to Sue’s Kimbap House in the Capitol Center for the Arts (sueskimbaphouse.com), the Festival’s website says, “The festival will host several fabulous local food vendors in the festival village: Analog Wood-Fired Pizza, Batulo’s Kitchen, and Hackleboro Orchard, so you can find a snack or a meal easily.”
Lita Judge Q&A
Lita Judge is the author of Don’t Worry, Wuddles. She will be part of the panel discussion “Picture Books! Author-Illustrator Spotlight” at the New Hampshire Book Festival, Saturday, Oct. 5, at 9 a.m. She lives in Peterborough.
Lita Judge
Could you tell me a little bit about your work?
I write and illustrate books for children and I work anywhere from preliterate wordless picture books all the way through YA, young adult. I’ve written a book called Mary’s Monster, which is a young adult novel in verse, fully illustrated. But a lot of my work is nonfiction, and the other half is whimsical fiction.
What will your session at the Book Festival be like?
It will be children’s book illustrators. We’re going to be sharing our process. I know we’re going to be talking about what inspires our stories, how we develop our characters, where do our stories come from, a little bit of the process of how we create and how we get together as well.
Will you be taking questions from the audience?
Yes. We always wish and hope that it will be young people [at the session], but you’d be surprised how often it’s adults — both librarians, teachers, and people who want to break into publishing. We try to read the audience and we’ve all talked about various things that we’d like to discuss and we have a Plan A, hoping that there’s youngsters, and Plan B, if it’s mostly adults.
What kinds of questions do you get from kids?
The kids I write for are at that stage where they’re learning how to ask questions. And so a lot of times they want to know about your favorite character. And they are so wrapped up in the story that the questions are kind of like as if you’re talking about a mutual friend, which I really like. They’re talking about your character as if it’s your friend that you’ve created, but it’s also their friend. And so I really love that.
If it’s more of an adult audience, what would a librarian, for instance, ask you?
A librarian is probably thinking more about your process and how you created your book, and maybe about the many layers to a picture book. I do a lot of fiction and nonfiction, but I always try to incorporate layers so that children of different ages can read it and that teachers can use it in classrooms for a topic. Like I wrote a book about the history of dogs and there’s a lot of history and evolution and 40,000 years of how dogs developed around humans. Teachers are going to be asking questions like that, like move them in and use that in a classroom.
What are you particularly looking forward to at this festival?
It’s always just so fun to connect with readers, and as a picture book author and illustrator, I know a lot of times the focus at every event is around authors. I like to share how much a picture book is for all ages, and that we as creators, when we’re drawing pictures, that’s constructing a story narrative in the same way that words do.
At the Festival
Here are authors and moderators participating at the NH Book Festival. Bio information is according to bios at nhbookfestival.org unless otherwise stated.
Moderators
• Kari Allen — Bio: Allen lives in New Hampshire and is an author and a teacher, according to her website. She has worked with the National Writing Project in New Hampshire as a teacher consultant, her bio says. Books: Children’s books including the Maddie and Mabel Series of children’s books about two sisters, the fifth of which, Maddie and Mabel Ready For Snow, is slated for release Nov. 19, and Little Golden Books about the Bee Gees and Julia Child. More info: kariallenwrites.com
• Erin Bowman — Bio: A New Hampshire resident, Bowman is the author of books for children and teens. Books: The Taken Trilogy (the final book of which, Forged, was released this year), Vengeance Road, Retribution Rails, the Edgar Award-nominated Contagion duology, The Girl and theWitch’s Garden and Dustborn, a 2021 release described on Amazon: “Delta of Dead River sets out to rescue her family from a ruthless dictator rising to power in the Wastes and discovers a secret that will reshape her world in this postapocalyptic Western.” More info: embowman.com
• Veronica Chao — Bio: Chao is editor of The Boston Globe Magazine. She has worked at the Boston Globe since 2007. More info: bostonglobe.com/magazine
• Brinda Charry — Bio: Charry is a professor of English at Keene State College and lives in Keene. Books: Her website describes her novel The East Indian: “Inspired by a historical figure, The East Indian tells the story of Tony, a native of the Indian subcontinent who came to colonial America.” She has also published several books and articles on the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, a collection of short fiction, and two other novels, her bio said. More info: brindacharry.com
• Katie Crouch — Bio: Crouch lives in Vermont and teaches creative writing at Dartmouth College. She has written essays for The New York Times, Glamour and other outlets. Books: Her 2021 novel Embassy Wife, about a woman posing as the wife of an American diplomat in Nigeria, was a Joyce Carol Oates Prize nominee and a recommended read from Time, EW, Buzzfeed and other sources; Kirkus Reviews called it “a sharp, funny, page-turning romp.” She’s also the author of Men and Dogs: A Novel (2010). More info: us.macmillan.com/author/katiecrouch
• David Elliott — Bio: Now an emeritus at Lesley University’s Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, where he taught for 20 years, Elliott spent time as “a cucumber washer in Greece, a popsicle stick maker in Israel, a teacher in Libya, and a singer in Mexico,” according to his bio. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife, the bio said. Books: Elliott is the award-winning author of more than 35 books for young people, including the picture books Finn Throws a Fit, Baabwaa and Wooliam and And Here’s to You!.He is also the author of three critically acclaimed YA verse novels: Bull, Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc and The Seventh Raven. More info: davidelliottbooks.com
• Julie Gerstenblatt — Bio: Her website describes her a native New Yorker now living in Rhode Island, a novelist, essayist and educator, and says she is a producer and on-air host for A Mighty Blaze.Books:Daughters of Nantucket is her debut novel: “Set against Nantucket’s Great Fire of 1846, this sweeping, emotional novel brings together three courageous women battling to save everything they hold dear,” her website says. More info: juliegerstenblatt.com
• Amanda Gokee — Bio: Gokee covers New Hampshire news for the Boston Globe, according to her bio; she co-writes the Globe N.H. Morning Report. More info: See bostonglobe.com.
• Marty Kelley — Bio: Kelley “spent his formative years drawing action-packed pictures of his teachers being eaten by dinosaurs,” according to his online biography. “Marty spent many years as a second grade teacher and loved it when students gave him pictures of himself being eaten by dinosaurs.” Books: Among the 30+ books he’s written and/or illustrated are Almost Everybody Farts (2017) and Almost Everybody Farts: The Reek-quel (2022), as well as the Molly Mac series and many more. More info: martykelley.com, which features activity sheets related to his books.
• Laura Knoy — Bio: Longtime host of NHPR’s The Exchange, Knoy now hosts the podcast ReadLocalNH and in 2022 she joined the Rudman Center at UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law as its Director of Community Engagement. Books: Knoy wrote a novel called The Shopkeeper of Alsace, which she describes on her website as “a dramatic family saga spanning the World Wars, based on a true story that unfolds in a unique, little-known region with a complex past: Alsace, France.” More info: lauraknoy.com
• Virginia Macgregor — Bio: Now a New Hampshire resident, Macgregor was born in Germany, lived on the island of Corsica until age 5, moved to Oxford in England and spent her early career teaching at British boarding schools, her bio said. Books: She has written five novels for adults — What Milo Saw (2014), The Return of Norah Wells (2016), Before I Was Yours (2017), You Found Me (2018) and The Children’s Secret (2021) — and two young adult novels, Wishbones (2017) and As Far As the Stars (2019). About The Children’s Secret, her website says: “one hot Saturday afternoon, at a back-to-school party, nine children sneak into a barn — and only eight come out unharmed.” More info: virginiamacgregor.com
• David Moloney — Bio: A graduate of Middlesex Community College and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, he now teaches creative writing at Southern New Hampshire University. Books: Barker House (Bloomsbury 2020) revolves around a number of correctional officers at a fictional county jail in New Hampshire. More info: davidrmoloney.com
• Margaret Porter — Bio: “Margaret and her husband live in New England with their dog, dividing their time between an architecturally unique book-filled house in a small city and a waterfront cottage located on one of the region’s largest lakes,” according to her bio.
Books: Contemporary novels A Change of Location (2024) and Sequins and Starlight (2025), historical fiction The Myrtle Wand (2022), The Limits of Limelight (2021), Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr (2018), and others. More info: margaretporter.com
• Jocelyn Winn — Bio: Winn is a New Hampshire–based freelance writer and the associate nonfiction editor for The Maine Review, her online bio says. Books: “Her recent work can be found in WTWH Media publications, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Eratio, The Waterwheel Review as a Pushcart Prize nominee, and Fourth Genre as a Steinberg Memorial Essay Prize finalist,” her bio said. More info: theeleventhletter.com
Authors
• M. T. Anderson — Bio: A lifelong New Englander who lives in Vermont, Anderson earned a B.A. from Cambridge University and an MFA from Syracuse University, his online bio says; and “He has curated concerts that bring together text and classical music all over New England.” Books: His 2024 release is Nicked, his adult fiction debut: “Based on a bizarre but true quest to steal the mystical corpse of a long-dead saint, Nicked is a fantastical, genre-defying, and delightfully queer historical romp,” according to his website. He’s written picture books for children, adventure novels for young readers, graphic novels, books for teens and adults. His books include Feed, a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the LA Times Book Prize and which made both Time Magazine’s and NPR’s lists of the 100 best YA novels of all time, and Elf Dog & Owl Head, a Newbery Honor book for 2023. More info: mtanderson.com
• Kayla Min Andrews — Bio: She grew up in central New Hampshire and is now a New Orleans resident. Andrews was a finalist in the Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival’s Very Short Fiction Contest in 2023 and assisted Putnam on the posthumous publication of her mother’s (Katherine Min) novel The Fetishist (January 2024). She is an MFA candidate in fiction at Randolph and is working on a novel, the bio said. More info: kaylaminandrews.com, where you can find links to her published works.
• C.B. Bernard Bio: After spending much of his adult life in Alaska and Oregon, he can now be found on the Rhode Island coast and is the author of the novels and a nonfiction travel narrative, the bio said. Books: His 2024 release is the Alaska-set novel Ordinary Bear, described on Amazon as “dark and humorous, literary but with the heart of a detective novel.” Previous books include his debut novel Small Animals Caught in Traps (2023) and the non-fiction Chasing Alaska: A Portrait of the Last Frontier Then and Now(2013). More info: cbbernard.com
• Shannon Bowring — Bio: She lives in Bath, Maine, and her work has been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net prizes, her bio said. Books: The Road to Dalton, her debut novel, which Amazon describes as “a novel of small town America,” was selected as an NPR Best Book in 2023 and won the Maine Literary Book Award for Fiction in 2024, according to her website. Its sequel, Where the Forest Meets the River, was published in September, and a third book in the series, In a Distant Valley, is forthcoming from Europa Editions, according to her website. More info: shannonlbowring.com
Ann Dávila Cardinal.
• Ann Dávila Cardinal — Bio: Ann Dávila Cardinal is a Nuyorican, Vermont-based author from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, her bio says, and lives in Vermont with her husband “in a lovely little house with a massively creepy basement.” Books: Her young adult Five Midnights won the 2020 International Latino Book Award for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Adventure and an AudioFile’s Earphones Award for the audiobook, and was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award; the story continues in Category Five (2020), which was a 2021 finalist for International Latino Book Award category. She had a 2023 young adult horror novel Breakup From Hell; co-wrote a middle grade biography, Hispanic Star: Bad Bunny (2024), and has two recent adult novels — the Puerto Rican magical realist mystery The Storyteller’s Death (2022) and We Need No Wings, slated for release Oct. 10, according to her bio. More info: anndavilacardinal.com
• Mark Cecil — Bio: Host of The Thoughtful Bro podcast, Cecil was originally from Worcester, Mass., and is head of strategy for A Mighty Blaze as well as a journalist and author Books: His debut novel is Bunyan & Henry; Or, the Beautiful Destiny, a book described on the publisher page of a reimagining of the stories of Paul Bunyan and John Henry. More info: markcecilauthor.com
• Maryann Cocca-Leffler — Bio: Cocca-Leffler grew up in the Boston area and now lives in Portland, Maine. She writes kids’ books and is also a playwright and has a BFA in illustration from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Her daughter, Janine Leffler, inspired the book Janine (2015) as well as We Want To Go To School! The Fight for Disability Rights (2021), which the two co-authored, her bio said. Books: Cocca-Leffler is an award-winning author and illustrator of over 70 books for children including her most recent book Don’t Ask Cat, about which the Amazon description says: “A cat who struggles with social skills learns ways to be honest without being rude.” Her book Marabella’s Moments is slated for April 2025, her website says. More info: maryanncoccaleffler.com
• Vinson Cunningham — Bio: Cunningham is a critic for The New Yorker and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2024. He teaches at Yale and is a co-host of the weekly podcast Critics at Large. Books: His debut novel, Great Expectations, came out earlier this year; Publishers Weekly called it a “remarkable first novel.” More info: vinson.nyc
• Kate DiCamillo — Bio: Born in Philadelphia and raised in Florida, DiCamillo now lives in Minneapolis, according to her website, which also says: “I am short. And loud. I hate to cook and love to eat. … I think of myself as an enormously lucky person: I get to tell stories for a living.” Books: Her books include picture books, and early chapter books such as the Mercy Watson series, the Tales from Deckawoo Drive series and the 2024 release Orris and Timble: The Beginning. Her many novels include Because of Winn-Dixie, Flora & Ulysses and 2024 release Ferris. More info: katedicamillo.com
• Margot Douaihy — Bio: Born in Scranton, Douaihy lives and works in Northampton, Mass., and is an assistant professor at Emerson College, according to her website. Books: Douaihy is the author of three books of poetry and the queer hardboiled mysteries Blessed Water (2024) and Scorched Grace (2023). The next mystery in her Sister Holiday series, Divine Ruin, will be published in 2025, her bio said. More info: margotdouaihy.com
• Terry Farish — Bio: Farish lives in Portsmouth. According to her website: “I really like doing writing workshops with kids, teens, and adults who are finding their own stories to tell. I love collaborating with illustrators, writers, and in a classroom with everyone while we all inspire each other to create.” Books: Farish is the author of young adult books including The Good Braider and Either the Beginning or the End of the World and picture books such as A Feast for Joseph, which was written with OD Bonny and illustrated by Ken Daley. More info: terryfarish.com
• Donna Gephart — Bio: Gephart grew up in Philadelphia, where “the books that I write are on the shelves of that library I used to love as a kid,” she says in her online bio. Books:Death by Toilet Paper (ages 9-12), How to Survive Middle School (ages 10-12), Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen (ages 8-12), Lily and Dunkin (ages 10-13), the Woofmore series, cowritten with Lori Haskins Houran, about a luxury hotel for dogs, (ages 5-8) and many more. More info: donnagephart.com
• Jennifer Goldfinger — Bio: Goldfinger lives in Portland, Maine. She writes and illustrates picture books and is a fine artist whose work has been shown throughout the country.Books: Her most recent is this year’s humorous picture book Daisy the Daydreamer. There’s also My Dog Lyle (2007), Hello, My Name is Tiger (2016) and A Fish Named Spot (2001). More info: jennifergoldfinger.com
• Alina Grabowski — Bio: Grabowski grew up in Massachusetts and now lives in Texas, according to her website. Books: Her debut novel, Women and Children First, published earlier this year by SJP Lit (Sarah Jessica Parker’s publishing imprint), earned starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. More info: alinagrabowski.com
• T. Greenwood — Bio: Greenwood grew up in rural Vermont and now splits her time between San Diego and Vermont. She has a background in dance, teaches creative writing and is also a photographer. Books: She’s written 15 novels, including Keeping Lucy (a 2020 Target Book Club pick), the true crime story Rust & Stardust and The Still Point (2024, an Indie Next pick, about the cutthroat world of dance moms). More info: tammygreenwood.com
• Evan Griffith — Bio: Griffith studied creative writing at UNC Chapel Hill, earned an MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, worked as an editor at Workman Publishing and now lives in Austin Texas, teaching online writing classes. His hobbies include rocking climbing and playing guitar, according to his website’s FAQ. Books: Griffith’s middle-grade novel Manatee Summer (2022) was nominated for several awards and praised by critics. Its “sweet characters facing complicated problems will keep readers hooked,” wrote Kirkus Reviews. Griffith also wrote the middle-grade The Strange Wonders of Roots, released this year, and the picture books Secrets of the Sea and Wild at Heart. More info: evangriffithbooks.com
• Edwin Hill — Bio: A teacher at Emerson College, Hill lives in Roslindale, Mass. Books: Hill is a suspense writer and author of novels including Who to Believe (2024) The Secrets We Share, and the Hester Thursby mysteries. The description of Who to Believe on his website says: “In this twisting domestic suspense thriller … the aftermath of a murder in a quiet New England coastal town reveals a web of dark secrets.” More info: edwin-hill.com
• Jannie Ho — Bio: Ho studied at Parsons School of Design in hopes of being a fashion designer, her website bio says, but then became an illustrator and worked as a designer and art director at Nickelodeon and Scholastic. She lives near Boston and illustrates for books, magazines and games and also writes her own stories. Books: The Lost Mitten (a 2023 ALA Best Graphic Novels for Children selection), Bear and Chicken (“When Bear finds a chicken frozen in the winter snow, he brings it home to try to defrost it.”) and more. More info: chickengirldesign.com
• Ann Hood — Bio: Hood grew up in Rhode Island and worked for TWA as a flight attendant. She’s won two Pushcart Prizes and two Best American Food Writing Awards and written for several magazines. Books: The Knitting Circle: A Novel (2006), The Stolen Child: A Novel (2024), Fly Girl: A Memoir (2022) and several other novels and memoirs, plus a ten-book series for middle-grade readers and a short story collection. She is the editor of Life’s Short, Talk Fast: Fifteen Writers on Why We Can’t Stop Watching Gilmore Girls, set for release on Nov. 12. More info: annhood.us
• Lori Haskins Houran — Bio: She’s a former children’s book editor and author of more than 50 books for kids and lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts, her bio said. Books: Her books include nonfiction books such as Little Golden Book biographies of Jane Goodall, Tom Brady, Johnny Appleseed and George Washington, an I Can Read book about Thomas Edison, and books about animals. Her fiction books include books for learning to read, picture books and a series called The Woofmore co-authored with Donna Gephardt — “Welcome to the Woofmore, where the water bowls are always full, and there’s kibble on every pillow!” according to her website. More info: lorihaskinshouran.com
• Lita Judge — Bio: An author and illustrator who has written more than 35 nonfiction and fiction books, Judge lives in Peterborough, her bio said. Books: Among her many books are two Hoot and Peep books about owl siblings, Red Sled, Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein (which combines verse and black-and-white watercolors) and the forthcoming Old Blue Is My Home (April 8, 2025), described as “poignant yet reassuring picture book [that] follows a family and the van that provides them with safety, warmth, and togetherness amidst economic and housing insecurity,” and Wake Up, Moon! (Oct. 29), in which “An energetic squirrel isn’t ready to give up on winter fun and go to bed”). More info: litajudge.me
• Marjan Kamali — Bio: Kamali received the National Endowment for the Arts 2022 Creative Writing Fellowship. Her novels have been published in more than 25 languages and her essays have run in The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She holds an MFA from New York University and an MBA from Columbia University. Having spent her childhood in Turkey, Iran, Germany, Kenya and the U.S., she lives in the Boston area and is writer-in-residence at Brandeis University, according to her website. Books: Kamali is the author of the 2024 novel The Lion Women of Tehran (an Apple Must-Listen for July and an Indie Next pick) as well as 2019 national bestseller The Stationery Shop and 2013’s Together Tea. More info: marjankamali.com
• A.H. Kim — Bio: A.H. (Ann) Kim was born in South Korea, immigrated to the U.S. as a child, attended Harvard College and Berkeley Law School, and practiced corporate law for many years, her website bio says. Books: Kim’s debut novel was A Good Family, inspired by her family’s experience when her sister-in-law was held in a women’s prison camp. Her second novel, Relative Strangers, was published earlier this year and is a contemporary take on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. More info: ahkim.net
• Jean Hanff Korelitz — Bio: Born in New York City, where she lives today with her husband, Irish poet Paul Muldoon, Jean Hanff Korelitz graduated from Dartmouth College and Cambridge University and is the author of nine novels, according to her website. Her book You Should Have Known (2014) was adapted as a limited series for HBO as The Undoing; her book Admission (2009) was adapted as a movie starring Tina Fey. The Latecomer (2022) and The Plot (2021) are both in development as limited series, the website said. Books: The sequel to The Plot, called The Sequel, was released this week. “With her signature wit and sardonic humor, Jean Hanff Korelitz gives readers an antihero to root for while illuminating and satirizing the world of publishing in this deliciously fun and suspenseful read,” according to her website. She has also written a novel for children. More info: jeanhanffkorelitz.com
• Michael Leali — Bio: “Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, Michael currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area,” according to his bio. Leali is “an award-winning writer and veteran educator. He earned his MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts,” the bio said. Books: “His widely-praised debut novel, The Civil War of Amos Abernathy (2022), won the prestigious Golden Kite Award in 2023 and was a finalist for the Lambda literary award among many other honors,” his bio said. His second novel, Matteo (2023), was a 2024 Lambda award finalist; author Cynthia Leitich Smith said, “This enchanting, modern homage to Pinocchio reminds us anything is possible if we’re true to ourselves.” His third novel, The Truth About Triangles, was released in May and is described on Amazon as “A heartfelt contemporary middle grade novel perfect for fans of Front Desk, following Luca Salvatore, a young gay Italian American trying to save his family’s pizza restaurant….” More info: michaelleali.com
• Tim Liardet — Bio: Born in London in 1959, Liardet is Professor of Poetry at Bath Spa University according to his website. Books: Eleven collections of poetry; The World Before Snow and The Blood Choir were shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. Recently he received an Authors’ Foundation work-in-progress award from the Society of Authors for his 12th collection, Atlas, Tick, Hog and Gold, his bio said. More info: timliardet.org
• Kekla Magoon — Bio: Magoon grew up in Indiana, graduated from Northwestern University, and earned an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a full-time author, speaker and writing teacher and received the 2021 Margaret A Edwards Award for her contribution to Young Adult literature. Books: The Season of Styx Malone, Chester Keene Cracks the Code and other middle-grade books, as well as non-fiction and YA novels including Fire in the Streets, which was an NAACP Image Award Nominee, and The Rock and the River, which won a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award. More info: keklamagoon.com
• Cate Marvin — Bio: Marvin has two MFAs and a Ph.D.and teaches poetry writing at the University of Southern Maine, according to her website. Books: She’s written four books of poetry and co-edited an anthology. Her collection Fragment of the Head of a Queen received a Whiting Award, and her book Oracle was named one of the best poetry books of 2015 by The New York Times. More info: catemarvin.com
Claire Messud
• Claire Messud — Bio: “A recipient of a Guggenheim and Radcliffe Fellowships and the Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her family.” her bio said. Books: Her latest is This Strange and Eventful History (2024), which is longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize and on several lists of most anticipated books of 2024, her website said; “from 1940 to 2010, the pieds-noirs Cassars live in an itinerant state — separated in the chaos of World War II, running from a complicated colonial homeland, and, after Algerian independence, without a homeland at all,” according to the book’s description on her website. Other books include The Emperor’s Children (2006) and an “autobiography through essays,” Kant’s Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write (2020). More info: clairemessud.com
• Jennifer Militello — Bio: A poet and memoirist, Militello is the Poet Laureate of New Hampshire and “teaches in the MFA program at New England College,” according to her bio. Books: “She is the author of the forthcoming collection Identifying the Pathogen, named a finalist for the FC2 Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Prize; The Pact (Tupelo Press/Shearsman Books, 2021), and the memoir Knock Wood, winner of the Dzanc Nonfiction Prize (Dzanc Books, 2019), as well as four previous collections of poetry,” her bio said. More info: jennifermilitello.com
• Paul Muldoon — Bio: “Paul Muldoon was born in County Armagh in 1951. He now lives in New York. A former radio and television producer for the BBC in Belfast, he has taught at Princeton University for thirty-five years,” his bio said. Books: 15 collections of poetry, including Joy in Service on Rue Tagore this year, his bio said. “In his latest collection, Paul Muldoon continues his longtime trick of marshaling obscure references into fluent, fun and rollicking lyrics,” according to a quote from the New York Times review of the book on Muldoon’s website. More info: paulmuldoonpoetry.com
• Linda Sue Park — Bio: “Linda Sue is the founder and curator of Allida Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. She serves on the advisory boards of We Need Diverse Books and the Rabbit hOle museum project, and created the kiBooka website, kibooka.com, to highlight children’s books created by the Korean diaspora,” her bio said. Books: 2002 Newbery Medal winner A Single Shard and the NYTimes bestseller A Long Walk to Water (2010), and many other books. Her most recent title is The One Thing You’d Save (2021), a collection of linked poems. More info: lindasuepark.com
Oliver de la Paz.
• Oliver de la Paz — Bio: The current Poet Laureate of Worcester, Mass., de la Paz teaches at the College of the Holy Cross and in the Low-Residency MFA Program at Pacific Lutheran University, his bio said. Books: He is the author and editor of seven books, including The Diaspora Sonnets (2023), which won the 2023 New England Book Award for Poetry,and was longlisted for the 2023 National Book Award, according to his bio. More info: oliverdelapaz.com
• Lyra Selene — Bio: According to her website, Selene “grew up on a steady diet of mythology, folklore, and fantasy,” and now lives in New England “in an antique farmhouse that probably isn’t haunted.”Books: Selene is the author of the YA duology Amber & Dusk and Diamond & Dawn, as well as the adult novel A Feather So Black. Its follow-up A Crown So Silver, about a trickster king and ancient magic, is due in January. More info: lyraselene.com
• Lochan Sharma — Bio: Sharma’s family is from Nepal and lived as refugees in Bhutan before moving to New Hampshire. He’s currently a student at Keene State working on a degree in biology, according to a writeup at Shelf Awareness, and said he loved the Percy Jackson books as a kid. Books: Sharma co-authored the 2024 YA novel Go Home with author Terry Farish.
• Melissa Stewart — Bio: “While gathering information for her books, she has explored tropical rainforests in Costa Rica, gone on safari in East Africa, and swum with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands,” her website said. “When Melissa isn’t writing or exploring the natural world, she spends time speaking at schools, libraries, and conferences for educators.” Books: “Melissa Stewart has written more than 200 science books for children,” according to her bio. Her website lists books on animals, earth and space science, environment and plants, health and the human body, physical science, technology and math and more. A recent release was Mega-Predators of the Past (2022), and Meet the Mini-Mammals: A Night at the Natural History Museum is slated for a March 4, 2025, release. More info: melissa-stewart.com
• Michael Stewart — Bio: Stewart has an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Ottawa, Canada, the bio said. Books: He is the author of more than “two dozen books for kids and young adults,” his bio said. His latest is Seeking Draven (2024), described in a blurb on his website as a novel-in-verse — “Using free verse, wordplay, concrete poetry, and more, Stewart’s story provides a lovely mycorrhizal mutualism for readers of all ages,” K.A. Holt, award-winning author of Ben Bee and the Teacher Griefer, is quoted as saying. More info: michaelfstewart.com
• Lisa Stringfellow — Bio: Stringfellow is a middle school teacher who lives in Boston; her work “often reflects her West Indian and Black southern heritage,” according to her bio. Books: Middle-grade fantasies Kingdom of Dust (2024) and A Comb of Wishes (2022). Her website describes Kingdom of Dust as “a West African-inspired fantasy about a girl who is determined to return both magic and justice to her people — and whose destiny holds more surprises than she could ever imagine.” More info: lisastringfellow.com
• Matt Tavares — Bio: An author and illustrator, Tavares was born in Boston and now lives in Maine, “and he’s even done a few book signings at Fenway Park,” according to his website. Books: Tavares has created more than 20 books since his first, Zachary’s Ball, about a boy who catches a foul ball at a Red Sox game, was published and “named one of Yankee Magazine’s 40 Classic New England Children’s Books,” according to his website. Hoops (2023), a graphic novel about a girls’ high school basketball team in 1975 inspired by a true story, received multiple awards. He also wrote and illustrated Dasher (2019) and Dasher Can’t Wait for Christmas (2023). More info: matttavares.com
• Sarah Stewart Taylor — Bio: Taylor is a former journalist and teacher who lives and writes mysteries in Vermont. Books: The acclaimed Maggie D’arcy mystery series, featuring an American detective in Ireland. Her latest mystery is Agony Hill, the first in a new series set in rural Vermont in the 1960s. More info: sarahstewarttaylor.com
• Joseph Earl Thomas — Bio: “Thomas teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and courses in Black Studies, Poetics, Video Games, Queer Theory and more at The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research,” his bio said.Books: Thomas is the author of Sink, a memoir (one of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2023); the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer (2024, named Best of June by the Washington Post and Book Riot), and the short story collection Leviathan Beach (Grand Central, 2025), according to his bio. More info: josephearlthomas.com
• Dawn Tripp — Bio: “She graduated from Harvard and lives in Massachusetts with her sons,” her bio said. Books: Tripp’s books include Georgia (2016), which was a national bestseller, finalist for the New England Book Award, and winner of the Mary Lynn Kotz Award for Art in Literature, and this year’s release Jackie (2024). “Her sixth novel will be published by Random House in 2026,” according to her website. More info: dawntripp.com
• Sharon Wishnow — Bio: Wishnow is “a transplanted New Englander who makes her home in Northern Virginia,” according to her website, and “has been a member of the Boston Malacological Club since she was ten years old.” (They study mollusks.) She’s also the founder of Women’s Fiction Day and has an MFA from George Mason University. Books: The Pelican Tide, released this year, is her first novel. It’s set in Louisiana. More info: sharonwishnow.com
Some books Festival participants love
A River Runs through It and Other Stories by Norman MacLean (1992)
“It’s all about how hard it is to understand the people you love the most, your family.” — Emilie Christie Burack, Festival co-founder and president
By Any Other Name: A Novel by Jodi Picoult (2024)
“I went to a really intriguing event by Jodi Picoult just a couple of weeks ago, and she has this new book that contemplates the history of Shakespeare and whether Shakespeare was a woman. She’s done a lot of research and it really positions the female perspective at a time when we are facing so many challenges surrounding womanhood and the female perspective…” — Jennifer Militello, Poet Laureate of New Hampshire
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016)
“The writing is so beautiful, and the story is simple, but so incredible…. Actually, strike the simple. The man at the center of the story is very philosophical and I love his sort of musings on life and change and how we must adapt and make the best of what we’re given.” — Laura Knoy, keynote moderator
Mexikid, by Pedro Martin (2023)
“It’s hilarious, poignant, and extremely well-done.” — Matt Tavares, author
This is Happiness, by Niall Williams (2021)
“It feels like a very contemporary novel but captures an old-fashioned literacy. It just slows the world down and makes you feel much more present in your own life. I love the sets of this book; I’m giving it away to all my friends.” — Lita Judge, author-illustrator
The Friends Program, a Concord-based nonprofit organization serving at-risk youth, seniors and families, re-dedicated its newly renovated Emergency Housing Shelter in Concord with a ribbon cutting and tours on Sept. 25, according to a Friends press release. “The renovation increased both the capacity and efficiency of the shelter, which can now house up to nine families at a time,” the release said. The organization helps to support families after they leave the Emergency Housing Program to help them maintain long-term housing, the release said. See friendsprogram.org for more on the programs and for a wish list of items the shelter needs.
Grant for health
The Foundation for Healthy Communities — “a nonprofit organization that builds healthier
communities for all” — has been awarded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Federally Facilitated Exchange grant, a five-year grant, according to a Foundation press release. In its first year, the grant will provide $1.5 million to “assist consumers across the state with enrollment in the federal marketplace, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the release said. The grant will help expand the NH Navigator program, which offers “free assistance to people exploring health coverage options through HealthCare.gov” as well as those enrolling in or renewing Medicaid and CHIP coverage, the release said.
“We are thrilled with this expanded opportunity to support all people across the state in garnering the access they need to health care services. Quality health insurance is vital to ensure people get the care they need, as well as be protected from unaffordable health care costs without coverage” said Peter Ames, Executive Director of the Foundation for Healthy Communities, said in the release.
“Consumers who have questions about acquiring health insurance can call 1-877-211-NAVI, visit acanavigator.com/nh/home, or email Adrian Jasion at ajasion@healthynh.org to request an in-person visit to identify the right insurance options available to them,” the release said.
Seeking workers
The New Hampshire Auto Dealers Association will host a Career Day at Manchester Community College (1078 Front St. in Manchester) on Thursday, Oct. 3, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. “There are hundreds of job openings available in the automotive industry in New Hampshire,” according to an association press release. “The event will host manufacturer-specific auto tech programs to include Heavy Diesel, GM ASEP, Toyota, Motorcycle, Audi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford, Nissan, Honda, Power Sports, Auto Body and Auto Technology,” the release said. For more information, email support@nhada.com or call 224-2369.
Sustainability projects
Plymouth State University has received $4.67 million in federal grants to support sustainability projects such as solar arrays on building rooftops; insulation, heat and energy efficiency upgrades at the Physical Education Center, and the installation of a Renewable Energy Open Lab, according to a university press release from Sept. 20. The Lab will “provide students with hands-on learning opportunities with the latest in sustainable energy technology,” the release said. The new solar arrays will be on rooftops of buildings such as the Savage Welcome Center & Ice Arena and the Silver Center for the Arts and are expected to generate approximately three times as much energy as existing solar panels on the Physical Education Center, the release said. See plymouth.edu.
NH day
Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (23 Science Center Road in Holderness; nhnature.org) will hold a fall New Hampshire Day on Sunday, Oct. 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with the last trail admission in the 2:30-to-3:30 entry block), according to a press release. New Hampshire residents pay $5 for trail admissions on that day (rather than the regular $26 for adults), the release said. All NH Day tickets are for a one-hour block and must be purchased in advance at nhnature.org, the release said. An “Up Close to Animals” presentation at the Amphitheater will take place at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., the release said.
New board members
Girls Inc. of New Hampshire has seven new board members on its board of directors, joining eight returning board members including Chair Susan Walsh, according to a press release. Girls Inc. of New Hampshire, which operates centers in Manchester and Nashua, “has provided thousands of girls ages 5 to 18 with life-changing experiences and solutions to the unique challenges faced by girls,” the press release said. The new board members are Lisa Cramb, senior vice president of Montagne Powers; Dan Hickey, vice president sales & marketing at Comcast; Kristen Koch, vice president of public policy at Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire; Jamie Marcial, U.S. business development manager at ServiceNow; Jeff Moynihan, vice president of employee benefits at Clark Insurance; Rebecca Thomas, senior vice president of marketing at Triangle Credit Union, and Valerie Whitman, a president and CEO in the health care industry, the release said. For more on Girls Inc. of New Hampshire, see girlsincnh.org.
The Lakes Region Parade of Homes, a self-guided tour of homes in the Lakes Region, will run Saturday, Oct. 12, and Sunday, Oct. 13, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and feature “new homes, remodeling possibilities and allow builders to present the latest home innovations,” according to a press release from Meredith Village Savings Bank, one of this year’s sponsors. Tickets to this event from Lakes Region Builders & Remodelers Association costs $25. See lakesregionparadeofhomes.com.
Spooky Season is the theme for the Oct. 4 First Friday in downtown Concord from 4 to 8 p.m. Hear live music from The Wandering Souls from 6 to 8 p.m. and watch a dance performance by the Wicked Witches of the Lakes Region at 6:30 p.m. Food trucks will be Wicked Tasty Food Truck on Main Street and Teenie Wienies on Capitol Street, according to intownconcord.org.
The first Science on Tap of the 12th season of the SEE Science Center discussion program will be Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m. and focus on “New Hampshire Creatures of the Night” — bats, owls and insects, according to a SEE press release. These free discussions take place at Bo’s Lounge at Stark Brewing Co., 500 Commercial St. in Manchester; doors open at 5 p.m. RSVP at see-sciencecenter.org/science-on-tap.
Tuscan Village in Salem will host the Sam Adams-sponsored Barktoberfest featuring adoptable dogs, music, beer and more on Saturday, Oct. 5, from noon to 3 p.m. The event will support Salem Animal Rescue, Live Free Rescue, Dawgs Fight Bank and Great Dog Rescue New England, according to a press release. The event is dog-friendly. See tuscanvillagesalem.com/events.
Peter Bradley Adams makes first New Hampshire appearance
In 1999, Robbie Robertson recognized the talents of Peter Bradley Adams and brought his band Eastmountainsouth into the studio to make a critically acclaimed album. Adams went solo a few years later and has produced a steady stream of stellar music since. In the pre-internet era he would headline summer sheds, but this is now and Adams is content to have a dedicated audience that fills up places like the Music Hall Lounge in Portsmouth, where he appears Oct. 2. It’s his first time performing in New Hampshire.
Adams has a storyteller’s knack for pulling listeners into his songs. The title track of his last full-length album A Face Like Mine is a hardscrabble portrait of generational regret, a Steinbeck novella sung like a James Taylor song. Miles Away, a four-song EP released in spring 2024, couples apocalyptic allegory on the title traack with the optimism of “When She Comes” — the latter has a lovely harmony from Ruth Moody of the Wailin’ Jennys and a haunting Mayuri Vasan outro.
One of the most appealing things about Adams is his voice, soothing and understated while also utterly engaging. Which is why it’s strange that he resisted using it for a long time, until the legendary leader of The Band nudged him. Born into a musical family, discovering his dad’s Beatles records at age 5 helped seal his fate as a musician. But at the time he met Robertson, Adams considered himself a composer, not a singer-songwriter.
“I was hiding a bit in the beginning behind Kat, the other half of the duo, and he was like, ‘Man, I really want you to sing more,’” Adams said recently from his home in Nashville. “I would get off the phone and be like, ‘f-ing Robbie Robertson just told you to do this, how can you not?’ I’m really grateful that he got what I was, could kind of hear what I was trying to reach…. We weren’t close friends or anything, but I do feel very connected to him because of that.”
Adams often goes it alone in the studio, building songs track by track, but lately he’s missing the spark of playing with other musicians.
“I realized that it was just killing me, that process, trying to construct something that felt like people in the room together,” he said. “Sometimes it works and a lot of times it doesn’t.”
He’s drawn to working with others. One example is the gorgeous “Rachel’s Song,” co-written and recorded with musician and director Haroula Rose for her film Once Upon a River. In that spirit, Adams reconnected with his longtime friend and collaborator Lex Price when he began to think about making a new album earlier this year.
“I’ve worked with him really longer than anyone…. He’s one of the reasons why I moved to Nashville,” he said. “We talked about it, and he said, ‘Let’s get an incredible band and go in the studio. And it’s not like it all has to happen live, but get as much as we can live so that all the elements are going down at the same time. I know this is how you’re supposed to make a record on some level. But it was just good for me to actually do it again.”
They went into Nashville’s Blackbird Studio, with Price on bass, Todd Lombardo playing acoustic guitar, electric guitarist Jed Hughes and Jerry Rowe on drums. “These are all the best guys in town, that straddle doing really interesting, creative, independent stuff,” Adams said, adding, “I’ve got almost a full record.”
As icing on the cake, Adams is heading out to his old hometown of Los Angeles to record Greg Leisz on steel guitar for one of the tracks. Leisz is a legend who’s worked with everyone from Joe Cocker to Sheryl Crow as well as Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan. He’s also produced records by Jackson Browne, Greg Copeland and others. “For me he’s like a prophet,” Adams said. “I mean, he is just my favorite musician in the world … there’s just no one like him.”
World Music for Peace – The Meter Maids, Amorphous Band w/ Senie Hunt & EJ Ouellette, and Big Blue World When: Friday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. Where: Rockingham Ballroom, 22 Ash Swamp Road, Newmarket Tickets: $20 at coastalsoundsnh.com (21+)
Senie Hunt Trio appears Thursday, Sept. 19, at 9 p.m. at Penuche’s Ale House in Concord, and Senie Hunt plays solo at the Concord Multicultural Festival in Keach Park on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 3 p.m.
Featured photo: Senie Hunt.Courtesy photo.Photo by Christine Torrey (Birch & Fern Photography)
Three women bristle around each other in a New York apartment as they wait out their father’s final moments in His Three Daughters, a quiet movie packed with bittersweet humor and first-rate performances.
Oldest sister Katie (Carrie Coon) comes from Brooklyn, where she lives with her family that includes a teenage daughter she is clashing with. Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) is the mother to a young toddler and lives somewhere on the West Coast. They return to their father’s apartment, where he lives with Rachel (Natasha Lyonne), the daughter of his second wife, who he has raised since she was little. He is her father, she is his daughter, as Rachel explains at one point, as much as he is the father of Katie and Christina, but you can tell they’ve never entirely thought that.
On top of the difficult relationship they’ve clearly always had, they are now all dealing with grief — Rachel by getting and staying high, Katie by being angry at that and pretty much everything else Rachel does, and Christina, who we get the sense is always a little woo-woo, by what feels like aggressive meditation and forceful positivity. Katie and to some extent Christina sort of poke at Rachel about the fact that she will get their father’s large rent-controlled apartment to herself when he’s gone. Benjy (Jovan Adepo), Rachel’s boyfriend, urges her to stand up for herself and the fact that she has been with her father through his illness, taking care of him and keeping him company. And everybody seems to agree that Christina is, as Benjy said, not on this planet. These are three big personalities squished together in an apartment — big personalities with a lot of feelings they don’t know how to manage. It’s claustrophobic, it’s darkly funny and it’s occasionally throat-grabbingly sad.
There’s an almost stage-play quality to some of the elements of this movie — the mostly-in-one-apartment setting, the conversations between sisters — but with the best that an indie movie has to offer in the way it can study characters or root an insular space in a larger setting. The movie often gives us long, close shots of the women as they’re talking or just sitting and thinking. They don’t have the space to get away but we get the space and the time to really watch them — and to watch the excellent performances that Olsen, Coon and Lyonne are giving. The women give you so much with facial expressions and looks — the hard set of Coon’s face, Lyonne’s big-eyed gazes, Olsen’s ability to look quiet and neutral and also sort of crazed and at the end of her emotional rope. The movie can organically have them deliver monologues about their dad and also fight saying almost nothing and it all reads as believable. The movie also gets the balance of humor, dark humor and sadness just right. A
Rated R for language and drug use, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Written and directed by Azazel Jacobs, His Three Daughters is an hour and 41 minutes long and is in theaters and streaming on Netflix.
Transformers One (PG)
Before they were Optimus Prime and Megatron, the rival Transformers from Cybertron were Orion Pax and D-16 in Transformers One, an animated origin story for the Transformers and perhaps for a new approach to the franchise.
And while these Transformers are animated and lacking in the PG-13-ness of Michael Bay’s whole weird Megan Fox live-action deal, the movie is probably right at the edge of what I’d show to younger Transformers fans (think older elementary school-aged or so), what with all the robot-on-robot violence and characters being sliced in half and whatnot. I definitely heard some concerned squeaks from kids in the theater during some of the scarier parts. One of the too-cool-for-elementary-school kids I saw the movie with, while declining to call the movie scary, did say there were some creepy parts.
The animated nature of the movie does, however, allow for what feel like fuller, more complete personalities for the Transformers than some of the live-action movies. While we are still dealing with actor voices and separately generated images, these Transformers feel more, I don’t know, nuanced? We’re watching Orion Pax and his good buddy D-16 on their journeys to becoming Optimus and Megatron and I felt like the movie did a good job of showing those character arcs.
When we start out, Orion Pax (voice of Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (voice of Brian Tyree Henry) are miners looking for Energon, the Transformers’ energy source, which used to flow freely on Cybertron but has become harder to find since the Primes died during a conflict years earlier. (And if that all sounds like nonsense words, maybe just: “robots search for glowy blue stuff.”) But Orion firmly believes he and his friend are more than meets the eye, despite their lowly social status and inability to transform. To prove that, he tricks D-16 into joining a big race that only transforming Transformers have ever competed in. They don’t win, but their moxie attracts the attention of Sentinel Prime (voice of John Hamm), the big noise hero and leader of their massive city-state. He promises them that they’ll become role models, but a jealous competitor sends them to the garbage transfer room, where B-127 (voice of Keegan-Michael Key), who is called B, or maybe “Badassatron” if he can make that nickname stick, is ecstatic see other people for once. When it turns out some of the trash contains information that could help Sentinel Prime find a path to more Energon, Orion, D-16 and B think they’ve found their ticket out of the garbage room and begin a quest.
Eventually they join up with Elita-1 (voice of Scarlett Johansson), make it to the surface, learn a bunch of surprising information and are ready for a fight that eventually tears our core duo apart.
Spoiler alert, I guess? Except that Megatron v. Optimus Prime is probably the base level of information everybody has going in about the Transformers.
And if that’s all you know going into this movie, that’s probably fine. This is a pretty standard, easy-to-follow story about how people respond to discovering injustice — with a call for revenge or a call for, like, a more perfect union. If you are a bigger fan (or a parent who has had Transformer toys and cartoons injected into your life), you’ll appreciate the “hey it’s Starscream” and the “ha, the boombox guy.” And I think either way, viewers can enjoy this story that makes Transformers more individual characters than just the CGI marvels most are in the live-action movies. And I appreciated the effort put into the vocal work — Hemsworth allows you to hear that deep Optimus voice emerge from Orion’s more happy-go-lucky youngster while Henry turns D into a villain more in the Magneto vein, someone with justifiable anger who makes some good points.
Transformers One is also visually winning, adding both warmth and beauty to these metallic characters and their world. B+
Rated PG for sci-fi violence and animated action throughout, and language, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Josh Cooley with a screenplay by Eric Pearson and Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari, Transformers One is an hour and 44 minutes long and is distributed in theaters by Paramount Pictures.
Didi (R)
Young teens young-teen it up the summer before high school in Didi, a sweet, charming, only occasionally traumatic story written and directed by Sean Wang.
Based on his background as a Taiwanese-American who grew up in the Bay Area, as he describes in various media reports, Wang seems to be riffing on his own experiences for the experiences of Chris Wang (Izaac Wang) in the summer of 2008, all MySpace and Facebook and awkwardness everywhere. Chris, called Wang Wang by his friend group, is both kind of a mess and totally fine in that very specific young teen way. He gets along horribly with his big sister Vivian (Shirley Chen) who is about to leave for college. He is embarrassed by and sassy to his mom Chungsing Wang (Joan Chen) while politely semi-ignoring his paternal grandma Nai Nai (Zhang Li Hua), who lives with the family. Not living with the family is Chris’s father, who is working in Taiwan — a state of things that seems to irk everybody even as they are all resigned to it. Chungsing in particular seems frustrated with how this has all worked out for her. The movie spends a fair amount of time with Chungsing, a painter whose artistic ambitions have taken a backseat to raising her kids and caring for her hypercritical mother-in-law. We also in small ways get to see Vivian, her relationship with these two women and how she fits in with this family that she is moving a day’s drive away from for college.
But of course Chris is the movie’s true focus. We see him attempt to date a girl he has long been interested in, have falling-outs with his friends and attempt to impress an older group of skater kids — a lot of which plays out on MySpace and Facebook and via AOL Instant Messenger. Along the way, there is a lot of asking YouTube for advice — on how to kiss, on how to shoot a skater film. It’s all very cute and traumatizing in that “watching through your fingers” way as Chris tells a very boy-based, girl-horrifying story on a group date or fronts like he can handle various party intoxicants only to wind up puking in the bathroom. Mixed in with the standard teenage stuff are Chris’s struggles with what it means for him to be Asian — which comes with its own microaggressions even in this culturally diverse environment — and to be an American-raised kid with American desires even as his mother and grandmother have their own different (from Chris and from each other) cultural expectations and experiences. The movie does a great job of pulling this all in while still keeping the story very much on his specific life, his specific feelings and his difficult time communicating his feelings particularly to his friends. (Rather than say he was embarrassed or explain what he’s feeling he tends to just block his friends on AIM.) And all the stuff with his family seems equally well-drawn — the sibling relationship, with its horribleness and its supportiveness, is wonderfully spot-on. Excellent performances all the way around in this very solid movie. A
Rated R for language throughout, sexual material, and drug and alcohol use — all involving teens, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Written and directed by Sean Wang, Didi is an hour and 33 minutes long and distributed by Focus Features. It is available for rent or purchase and in theaters.
A traditional celebration of beer in Munich, Germany, Oktoberfest has been held each fall since 1810, and it has been adopted by many American breweries and brew pubs. Oddball Brewing in Suncook will hold its first Oktoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 12. For co-owner and brewer Joe Friolet, that means focusing intensely on the beer.
“We do a Märzen-style Oktoberfest,” he said. “That’s more of your traditional style.” Märzen is a pale, traditional, Munich-style lager. Friolet describes it as “still malty and flavorful — just an easy-drinking, full-bodied Oktoberfest.”
While it might be tempting to play around with a Märzen, to try infusing it with fruits or spices, Friolet said that would not be in the proper Oktoberfest spirit.
“The Germans are very purist, “ he said. “They don’t like fruit or anything else added to their beer besides yeast, water, hops and barley.” The oldest food purity law in history, Munich’s Beer Purity Law, enacted under Wilhelm IV in 1516, limits the ingredients allowed in beer to water, barley malt and hops. (The law was relaxed slightly in the 1800s to allow yeast.) “A fruited sour beer would not be a thing that would happen in Germany,” Friolet said. “The Märzen just spoke to us; it was more of the classic style.”
Oddball has saved its whimsy for another fall beer, its Built Gourd Tough Pumpkin Spiced Ale. “It’s based off of a pumpkin pie,” Friolet said. “So it comes in around 9.5 percent [Alcohol By Volume, or ABV]. It’s got real pumpkin in it and it’s roasted with brown sugar. There’s a little lactose for sweetness for the whipped cream aspect. It’s got some graham cracker malt and it also has some spices, so, you know, like your cinnamon and molasses for extra flavor.” While it isn’t an authentic Munich-style Oktoberfest beer, it is very Octobery.
While Oddball Brewing is just starting to celebrate Oktoberfest, the Mile Away Restaurant in Milford is reaching the end of an era. After more than 50 years, the restaurant and event venue will close permanently at the end of September, and its yearly Oktoberfest Dinner on Oct. 6 will be its last meal.
“This is our largest outdoor event to the public every year,” said Kyle Altman, the Mile Away’s general manager. “This year is going to serve not only as our final Oktoberfest but kind of a farewell to the Mile Away since the property was just sold to a charter school.”
Altman said that the restaurant’s connection with Oktoberfest and all things Teutonic goes back to the 1960s. The Mile Away was originally started by two men from Switzerland, Ernst Kell and Joe Zund.
“Because of the heavy Swiss influence, there was a lot of German atmosphere to the whole restaurant and German food,” Altman said. “When it was purchased by the Murphy family from the original owners in 1996, Kevin and Sandy Murphy had actually just come back from teaching overseas in Germany for two years. So it was a natural fit to start doing an Oktoberfest as a kind of an end to the wedding season.”
Oktoberfest has always been one of the high points of the year for the Mile Away.
“It’s always been this big blowout,” Altman said, “because it’s a completely outdoor event. We have three bars, we have authentic German food, and we have special beer that’s made in Germany that we’re the only ones in the state of New Hampshire that can receive this beer. We have to order it months and months in advance. There’s a live tuba band, people are always encouraged to come in traditional Bavarian lederhosen and all the staff dresses up. It’s the largest outdoor event that the Mile Away does every year.”
Upcoming Oktoberfest celebrations
• The Hop Knot (1000 Elm St., Manchester, 232-3731, hopknotnh.com) will have a rotating series of seasonal beers (Oktoberfest, festbiers, Marzens, pumpkin, ciders, etc.) from various breweries around New England.
• Daydreaming Brewing Co. (1 1/2 E. Broadway, Derry, 965-3454, cask.life/daydreaming-brewing-co) will have German Schwarzbier on as well as Marzen available throughout September and October. Daydreaming will also hold a 16-line tap event at Cask & Vine (1 E. Broadway, Derry, 965-3454, cask.life/cask-and-vine) with 12 Weihenstephaner beers and four additional Oktoberfest beers, along with a stein hoisting qualifying competition that runs the entire month of September, followed by an elimination round and finals into October. $25 gets you entry into the competition, a commemorative liter stein and a liter of any of the 16 options on draft.
• Samuel Adams Brewing (samueladams.com) and Dover restaurants will present the 16th AnnualDover Oktoberfest Saturday, Sept. 28, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in downtown Dover. Tickets are available at participating bars for $20. Visit facebook.com/DoverOktoberfest.
• Join Talespinner Brewery (57 Factory St., Suite B, Nashua, 318-3221, ramblingtale.com) for its third annual Oktoberfest gathering, Saturday, Sept. 28, from 1 to 5 p.m. in its new outdoor Biergarten (weather-dependent). The afternoon includes a stein-holding competition, German spelling bee, costume contest and more. Rambling House Food & Gathering will be serving brats and pretzels to pair with TaleSpinner brews. This is a 21+ event.
• There will be an Oktoberfest Polka & Pints Pub Crawls in Nashua, Manchester and Concord, Saturday, Sept. 28, from 4 to 11 p.m. Visit Pubcrawls.com.
• Henniker Brewing Co. (129 Centervale Road, Henniker, 428-3579, hennikerbrewing.com) will hold a four-day celebration of Oktoberfest, Thursday, Oct. 3, through Sunday, Oct. 6. There will be a special Oktoberfest menu, trivia, stein-holding, barrel-rolling, stein-racing, yodeling, pretzel-tossing, live music and more.
• There will be a Fall Fest Block Party at 603 Brewery (42 Main St., Londonderry, 404-6123, 603brewery.com), Saturday, Oct. 5, from noon to 9:30 p.m. The party will take over Main Street with food trucks, live music, a stein holding contest, axe throwing, 603 Scratch Kitchen specials and more.
• Celebrate Oktoberfest at the Mile Away Restaurant (52 Federal Hill, Milford, 673-3904, mileawayrestaurantnh.com) with the Tubafrau Hoffbråu Band, Sunday, Oct. 6, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Dinner plates with German specialties like sauerbraten, schweineschnitzel and jaeger chicken with German side-dishes are $20. Event is cash-only; there is a $20 per car parking fee.
• Long Blue Cat Brewing (298 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 818-8068, longbluecat.com) will participate in two Oktoberfest events this season. One is an Oktoberfest Celebration, Oct. 12, from noon to 10 p.m. at Fody’s Tavern (187 1/2 Rockingham Road, Derry, 404-6946, fodystavern.com), with Oktoberfest activities as well as beer and food. Long Blue Cat will also have an Farm Day/Oktoberfest event at Little Red Hen Farm (85 Norris Road, Pittsfield, 568-5540, littleredhenfarm.net) on Oct. 19. There will be a food truck, a beer tent and local vendors with New Hampshire-made crafts and food for sale and to sample. There will also be farm tours and petting.
• The White Mountain Octoberfest will be held Oct. 12 through Oct. 14 at Loon Mountain Resort (60 Loon Mountain Road, Lincoln, 745-8111, loonmtn.com). This three-day festival is the region’s largest celebration of German food, drink and music. There will be beer, live oompah bands, axe throwing, pretzel necklace-making, keg-tossing, stein-carrying and more. Admission is free. Visit loonmtn.com/events/oktoberfest.
• The New Hampshire Brew Fest (nhbrewfest.com) is Saturday, Oct. 12, from 1 to 4:30 p.m.. Held on the grounds of Cisco Brewers Portsmouth (35 Corporate Drive, Portsmouth, 380-7575, ciscobrewersportsmouth.com), New England craft breweries and food trucks will gather to raise money for the Prescott Park Arts Festival and the New England District of the Master Brewers Association of Americas. Admission includes entry to the session specified on individual tickets, beer samples and live music and festivities. Food is available for purchase. VIP tickets are $80 with noon access. General admission tickets are $60, with access at 1 p.m.. Designated driver tickets are $20 and include entry, food and non-alcoholic drink vouchers. Taps-down occurs at 4 p.m.
• Oddball Brewing (6 Glass St., Suncook, 210-5654, oddballbrewingnh.com) will hold its first Oktoberfest Saturday, Oct. 12, from 2 to 9 p.m., with beer specials, food specials like bratwursts and pretzels, and a stein hoisting competition. Live music from 4 to 6 p.m.
• Rockingham Brewing Co. (1 Corporate Park Drive, Unit 1, Derry, 216-2324, rockinghambrewing.com) will host its annual Steinfest on Saturday, Oct 12, from 1 to 8 p.m. There will be four German-style beers on tap, available in one-liter stein pours. There will be a men’s & women’s stein hoisting competition and Teenie Wienies Food Truck will be there with German-style Bratwurst.
• The New Hampshire Ski Club (nhskiclub.org), will hold an Oktoberfest Schussbomb on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Sweeney Post American Legion, 251 Maple St., Manchester. Come dressed in Octoberfest clothing with a chance to win a prize for the best costume. Doors open at 6 p.m., and dancing starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25.
• The Mile Away Restaurant’s(52 Federal Hill, Milford, 673-3904, mileawayrestaurantnh.com) Oktoberfest on Sunday, Oct. 6, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. will be the popular venue’s last event. Dinner plates featuring German specialties like sauerbraten, schweineschnitzel and jaeger chicken with German side-dishes are $20. This is a cash-only event and there is a $20 per car parking fee.
Local brews
Here are some of the fall-themed and Oktoberfest beers at area breweries. Know of one not mentioned here? Let us know at adiaz@hipppopress.com.
• Able Ebenezer Brewing Co. (31 Columbia Circle, Merrimack, 844-223-2253, ableebenezer.com): Gemütlich Oktoberfest Märzen
• Backyard Brewery and Kitchen (1211 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester, 623-3545, backyardbrewerynh.com); Oktoberfest Märzen
