Book it: Acton Festival of Authors returns with new features, old favorites
A new cohort of writers will host events under the stewardship of the Friends of the Acton Free Public Library.
For more than 30 years, Acton has celebrated its famed literary history through its Festival of Authors, inviting writers of all genres to share their works in conversations townwide.
This year’s festival, running October 8-29, will see a new cohort of writers hosting events under the stewardship of the Friends of the Acton Free Public Library (CFPL), primarily at the main library’s Goodwin Forum and at the Fowler Branch in West Acton.
In addition, the festival will feature partnerships with 10 other organizations across Acton and West Acton, an expansion of its operations from prior years to what CFPL Head of Reference Barbara Gugluizza describes as “truly a communitywide effort.”
“We are featuring a wide variety of authors, including mystery writers, romance authors, first-time authors, historians, Thoreau scholars, and established writers with ties to either Acton or New England,” Gugluizza said about the festival programming.
She highlighted appearances by two past CFPL writers-in-residence, as well as the incorporation of the Acton Art Association’s monthly Independent Press Prose Reading Series under the Festival of Authors banner.
The festival kicks off October 8 with Boston author Emily Martin hosting the Meet Cute Book Club at the library’s Goodwin Forum and discussing her raucous Vegas-set novel, “Winner Takes All.”
Events will continue one week later with more discussions at the main library, Fowler, and bookstores and organizations across town through October.
Environmental novelist Julie Carrick Dalton will share her Acton-set novel “The Forest Becomes Her” on October 26. Courtesy photos
Gatherings will include award-winning biographer Carla Kaplan hosting a talk on her latest biography, “Troublemaker,” about the life of Jessica Mitford, aristocrat turned radical social activist, on October 15. The Book-a-Mystery group meets with Jennifer Brown on October 21 to explore her British medieval dual-timeline novel “The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton.” Environmental novelist Julie Carrick Dalton shares her Acton-set novel “The Forest Becomes Her” on October 26.
2026 CFPL writer-in-residence Danielle Bradley will host the Debut Authors Panel at the Fowler Branch on October 17, bringing together new authors Laura Garden (“Queenslander”), Meghana Mysore (“Let All Our Ghosts Depart”), and Abigail Savitch-Lew (“Livonia Chow Mein”). Steve Edwards, 2025 writer-in-residence, will appear at the Goodwin Forum on October 19 to discuss his essay compilation “Rare Good,” which explores his relation to art and education in light of multiple autism diagnoses within his family.
Other featured events include:
- A discussion at Wright Tavern with Brooke Barbier, author of “Cocked and Boozy,” her examination of the role of alcohol in the American Revolution, on October 28.
- A “talkback” forum on October 18 at the Umbrella Arts Center following a performance of Lauren Gunderson’s Walt Whitman-centered play “I and You.”
- “Breakfast with the Authors,” a ticketed event at Acton’s Colonial Inn on October 24, featuring novelists Christopher Castellani (“Last Seen”), Gish Jen (“Bad Bad Girl”), and biographer Hester Kaplan (“Twice Born”).
For more information, visit concordfestivalofauthors.org.
