Passaic County Book Festival

Celebrate the 5th 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!

Download a map of the Book Festival here.

Schedule of Events

Panel Discussions

All Author Panels Located in the Outside Tent Area

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM
Sparks Fly: Writing Modern Romance
Beck Erixson & Kimberley Ash; Moderated by Janette Pardo

12:15 PM – 1:00 PM
Coming of Age in Supernatural Worlds
Debbie Cocchio, Maria Rodriguez Bross, Paul Dickinson, Michael Rizzo; Moderated by Nicholas Bastean

1:15 PM – 2:00 PM
Turning Moments into Memoir
Peter E. Murphy & Barbara Worton; Moderated by Diana Filippi

2:15 PM – 3:00 PM
The Anatomy of a Page-Turner
James Irvin & Suzanne Trauth; Moderated by Devin Sogluizzo

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM
Literature to Life
Lisa Beth Vettoso and Cheryl Howard

Poetry Readings

All Poetry Readings Located Inside the Vanderhoef House

11:00 PM – 12:10 PM
Reading of William Carlos Williams’ Paterson Book Five
Josh Humphrey, Denise LaNeve, Paul Nash, Salvatore Roseo, John J. Trause, John
T. Trigonis, Raymond Turco, Shane Wagner, Anton Yakovlev, Don Zirilli

12:10 PM – 12:40 PM: Lunch Break

12:40 PM – 1:10 PM
Paterson Poetry Festival reading
Talena Lachelle Queen et al.

1:10 PM – 1:40 PM
Panel discussion on Modernism
John J. Trause (moderator), Gabriella Radujko, Raymond Turco, Don Zirilli

1:40 PM – 3:00 PM
Paterson Book Five poets reading
Josh Humphrey, Denise LaNeve, Paul Nash, Salvatore Roseo, John J. Trause, John
T. Trigonis, Raymond Turco, Shane Wagner, Anton Yakovlev, Don Zirilli

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Panel discussion on the Effect of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Poetry
John J. Trause (moderator), Gabriella Radujko, Raymond Turco, Don Zirilli

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Festival Poets Reading
Mizan Rahman, Michael Mandy, Peter E. Murphy

More Activities

Olmsted Design Park Tours
12:00 PM & 3:00 PM – Meet in Front of Vanderhoef House

Arts & Crafts
All day under Art Tent with Pop-up Book and Book Compartment Activities

Paterson Book Mobile
All day near the Art Tent

Book Sale
$5.00 bag book sale in rear of Art Tent area