2020 Salem Lit Fest Schedule

We are updating this page weekly!

Please check back for the latest about this year’s festival, September 10-13, 2020.

Thursday, September 10

7:00 p.m. Opening Conversation
Chris Bohjalian, The Red Lotus
Jim DeFilippi, Pals, Punks, and Pagans: Stories and Studies of the Criminal’s Mind

 

Friday, September 11

7:00-7:30 p.m. Red Carpet Kick-off

7:30 p.m. Keynote: Kiley Reid, Such a Fun Age

 

Saturday, September 12

Adult Author Panels and Conversations

Panels are 45 minutes long, with a 15-minute break between each session.

10:00 a.m. Reckoning with Faith
Mimi LeMay, What We Have Become
Alena Dillon, Mercy House
Moderator: Meghan MacLean Weir, The Book of Essie

11:00 a.m. Writing My Life
Grace Talusan, The Body Papers
Calvin Hennick, Once More to the Rodeo
Moderator: J.D. Scrimgeour, Themes from English B

1:00 p.m. Giving Stories Voice
Sara Sheckells, voice actor
Aaron Mahnke, LORE podcast
Moderator: Matt Phillion

2:00 p.m. Conversation—Writers Writing Writers
Laura Zigman, Separation Anxiety
Emily Henry, Beach Read

3:00 p.m. Conversation—Meet the Debuts
Alexis Schaitkin, Saint X
Elizabeth Ames, The Other’s Gold

4:00 p.m. Reclaiming Identities
Adrienne Brodeur, Wild Game
Jeffrey Colvin, Africaville
Moderator: Marjan Kamali, The Stationery Shop

7:00 p.m. Evening Conversation—Mystery
Hank Phillippi Ryan, The Murder List
Joseph Finder, House on Fire

 

Sunday, September 13

Young Adult Author Panels and Conversations

Panels are 45 minutes long, with a 15-minute break between sessions.

11:00 a.m. Witchy YA
Alexis Henderson, The Year of the Witching
Christine Lynn Herman, The Deck of Omens
Zoraida Córdova, Wayward Witch / Vampires Never Get Old
Moderator: Isabel Sterling, This Coven Won’t Break

12:00 p.m. Conversation—Writing Partners
Tehlor Kay Mejia, Miss Meteor
Anna-Marie McLemore, Miss Meteor

1:00 p.m. Suspenseful Storytelling
Kelly McWilliams , Agnes at the End of the World
Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown
Diana Urban, All Your Twisted Sisters
Rory Power, Burn Our Bodies Down
Moderator: Hal Schrieve, Out of Salem

2:00 p.m. Conversation—Political Activism
Natalia Sylvester, Running
Brandy Colbert, The Voting Booth

3:00 p.m. Immersive Fantasy
Marie Rutkoski, The Midnight Lie (Winner’s Curse trilogy)
Cinda Williams Chima, Deathcaster (Shattered Realms)
Shveta Thakrar, Star Daughter
Moderator: Lyra Selene, Diamond & Dawn

4:00 p.m. Conversation—Fairytale Retellings
Kalynn Bayron, Cinderella Is Dead
Julie C. Dao, The Mirror: The Broken Wish

5:00 p.m. Exploring the Depth of Contemporary Romance
Leah Johnson, You Should See Me in a Crown
Nandini Bajpai, A Match Made in Mehendi
Moderator: I.W. Gregorio, This Is My Brain in Love