The 2025 Passaic County Book Festival Has Been Cancelled Due to Weather

Celebrate the 4th Annual Passaic County Book Festival, a full-day event filled with engaging panels, poetry sessions, and author meet-and-greets. Enjoy family-friendly activities like arts and crafts, story time for kids, and even reading to dogs. With delicious food truck options and a vibrant literary atmosphere, this festival is a perfect celebration of creativity, knowledge, and the written word for all ages!

See a list of all the authors coming here!

Panels

Literary Panels

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM:

TENT 1: The Intrigue of Crime: Murder, Mystery, and the Search for Justice
Moderated by Violeta Aybar-Maki
Featuring Elle Hartford, Lori Robbins, and Theresa Varela

TENT 2: The Supernatural Path to Self-Discovery: Memoirists Embrace the Unseen
Featuring Kathy Biehl and James Jorgensen

12:15 PM – 1:00 PM:

TENT 1: Past Meets Page: Writing History for Every Generation
Featuring Selene Castrovilla, Veronica Ditko, Michael Gabriele

TENT 2: Modern Love: More than just the Meet-Cute
Moderated by Janette Pardo
Featuring Kimberley Ash, Nancy Herkness, and Jodi Payne

1:15 PM – 2:00 PM:

TENT 1: Love, Magic, and the Unseen: The Allure of YA Paranormal Fantasy
Featuring D. L. Cocchio, Cathy Greenfeder, Michael Rizzo, and Deborah Zelasny

TENT 2: Beyond the Page: The Emotional Journey of Writing Your Life
Moderated by Diana Filippi
Featuring Maria C. Palmer and Barbara Worton

2:15 PM – 3:00 PM:

TENT 1: Haunting the Page: Crafting Fear, Mystery, and the Supernatural
Moderated by Janette Pardo
Featuring JA Lopez and Lisa Hodorovych

TENT 2: Building Worlds for Young Imaginations
Moderated by Nick Bastean (with special guest)
Featuring Nadine Haruni, Valerie Munro, and Taylor Tracy

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM:

TENT 1: Women Writing Women: Centering Female Narratives Across History
Featuring Marina Antropow Cramer, Samantha LaPointe, Maria Menico Sifniades, and Suzanne Trauth

TENT 2: From Manuscript to Market: Turning a Book into a Business
Moderated by Diana Filippi
Featuring Adam Berg and Miriam Simon

Poetry Tent Schedule

11:00 AM – 11:20 AM:
Introduction by John J. Trause

11:20 AM – 12:30 PM:
Reading of William Carlos Williams’ Paterson: Book Four
Read by Joel Allegretti, Denise Laneve, John J. Trause, Raymond Turco, Tamara Zbrizher, and Don Zirilli

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM:
Lunch Break

1:00 PM – 1:30 PM:
Paterson Poetry Festival Reading

1:30 PM – 2:15 PM:
Panel discussion on Building and Maintaining Poetry Communities
Featuring John J. Trause, Don Zirilli, Raymond Turco

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM:
Paterson: Book Four poets reading (10 minutes each)
Joel Allegretti, Denise Laneve, John J. Trause, Raymond Turco, Tamara Zbrizher, Don Zirilli

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM:
Festival Poets Reading (8 minutes each)