Saratoga Book Festival to Stage in Downtown Saratoga Springs Oct. 4-7

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Dozens of authors, a literary marketplace and a Kid Zone will participate in this year’s Saratoga Book Festival Oct. 4-7 in venues throughout downtown Saratoga Springs.

“We try to appeal to many ages and interests,” festival founder and co-chair Ellen Beal said in a statement. “At this year’s multi-day event, we’ll present more than 30 sessions, 50 featured authors, and the popular Saturday KidZone and Literary Marketplace that showcases more than 90 local authors and organizations. Our goal is to encourage people of all ages to read more books.”

Among this year’s lineup are headliners Liz Moore (The God of the Woods), Brenda Wineapple (Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation), Paul Tremblay (Horror Movie: A Novel), and Kelly Link (The Book of Love); acclaimed authors Roxana Robinson (Leaving), Garth Risk Hallberg (The Second Coming: A Novel), Corey Brettschneider (The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It), Amitava Kumar (My Beloved Life), and bestsellers Mai Corland (Five Broken Blades), Daniel Kraus (Pay the Piper), and Karen McManus (Such Charming Liars).

Saratoga Book Festival is a presentation of the Friends of the Saratoga Springs Public Library,

New this year are three “Beyond the Book” special ticketed events that merge books with other forms of art and entertainment. They include: 

-Comedy Night with Sally Chaffin Brooks and Beck Krefting. Come for a night of stand-up comedy with Sally Chaffin Brooks – author of the new memoir “Going to Maine: All the Ways to Fall on the Appalachian Trail,” and Beck Krefting, a Skidmore professor, humor expert, and comedian. Books can be purchased at the venue. A book chat and signing follows. Friday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 pm, at Putnam Place. 

-Warren Zanes Celebrates Springsteen’s Nebraska in Song & Stories. Universal Preservation Hall partners with the Saratoga Book Festival to present Warren Zanes, one of the founding members of the American 1980s garage-style rock band The Del Fuegos, in a night of music and stories inspired by his latest book, “Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’.” Saturday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. at Universal Preservation Hall. 

Gossip Girl Brunch, a meet-and-greet in and book chat with Cecily von Ziegesar, creator of the Gossip Girls books that launched two hit TV series with the Palette Community’s CEO Marcella Hammer. Sunday, Oct. 6 at 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Universal Preservation Hall. 

The headline event with Liz Moore in conversation with Joe Donahue, will be held 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6 at Universal Preservation Hall. 

For ticket information, and the entire list of authors and sessions, go to: SaratogaBookFestival.org.