Stop by Today! Salem Athenaeum is excited to participate in the Food at 400+ events with a special one-day only exhibit of books from the 17th to 21st century related to farming, animal husbandry, and the men and women who dedicate their lives to raising the food that sustains us.

With her 450th book out this year, it's safe to say most readers of any age discovered at least one of Jane Yolen's books as they grew their love of reading. Prolifically talented, generous, inspiring. Her presence in the literary communities will be missed. @jyolen #janeyolen #greatwriters

What favorite memories do you have from any literary festival? Every fest brings new authors I love, and sometimes I've even ended up friends with the person sitting next to me. What are some of the best moments from your fests? #booklovers #bookworms #literaryfestivals #readers

Love Historical Fiction? Once a month, Salem Lit Fest alum Jane Healey delivers 30 minutes of pure book recs on the best of historical fiction out there! Go to the Ashland Public Library website for more info and the link to join the discussion. #bookrecommendations #historicalfiction #readers

In honor of National Best Friend's Day, a tribute to the books that love us back. Grab your bestie and go read a book today. #bestfriendsday #booklovers #bookquotes

Reading, yes, but also ... so much to do, so much to talk about @salemathenaeum.bsky.social.

We read proud all year but we love a bandwagon so HAPPY PRIDE, let's get reading! A few recent faves: THE THREE LIVES OF CATE KAY by Kate Fagan, PALAVER by Bryan Washington, SEPARATE ROOMS by Pier Vittorio Tondelli, and FOREST EUPHORIA: THE ABOUNDING QUEERNESS OF NATURE by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

Tonight at 6 Worthen House Cafe (Lowell), Lala Books' Book the Bar book club! Friday at 3, Meg Mitchell Moore at The Bookshop of Beverly Farms to celebrate DOWN WITH THE SHIPMANS & MANSION BEACH. Saturday at Granite Coast Brewing 4-8, @copperdogbooks.bsky.social BREWS & BOOKS TOUR.

Expore a Mystery in a Library Garden If you love the Salem Lit Fest, then we bet you love books, flowers, mystery and great company. Join us Sunday May 31 to mingle with fellow curious thinkers. This is the party for you!

If you love the Salem Lit Fest, then we know you'll love mystery, cocktails and great company in the beautiful gardens of the Salem Athenaeum. Mingle, goggle, and help solve the mystery... Learn more and buy tickets at salemathenaeum.net.

Salem Lit Fest may be in November, but we're involved in literary events in Salem next week! Salem Meets the Noir, the first conference on Hispanic Noir in literature, tv, and cinema, is May 19–21 at Salem State University. Virtual keynote with Sylvia Moreno-Garcia Info: https://bit.ly/48X4Ibd

A few gift ideas if anyone needs them... We enthusiastically recommend books as the best gift (shocking, we know): MOM COM by Adriana Mather YELLOW WIFE: A NOVEL by Sadeqa Johnson MY WIFE IS MISSING by D.J. Palmer Drop your best Mother's Day gift ideas in the comments!

Keep up with our upcoming 2026 events and updates on your preferred platforms, and don't forget to check our website for festival information and more! Want to help our team? ⬇ Like this post on your favorite platform so we know where you're seeing us.

It's finally warming up, so grab those books and head outside! A public service announcement from your friends at Salem Literary Festival. 🌷🌸 #readoutside #spring #booklovers #readers

Book Lovers! We want to hear from you! We're always trying to improve the Salem Literary Festival. What's your favorite part of any literary festival? What do you never miss? Let us know in the comments! #booklovers #bookworms #literaryfestivals #readers

New book, same incredible talent. Congrats to Salem Lit Fest alum TJ Klune on today’s release of We Burned So Bright. Go grab a copy and celebrate with us. @TJKlunebooks #BookLovers #Bookish #ReadMoreBooks #newbook

HAPPY National Library Week! We'd like to introduce you to our two favorite libraries, @salemathenaeum.bsky.social and the Salem Public Library! Check them out! (GET IT?!?! We love circulation humor.)

So much amazing coming to Lit Fest organizer @salemathenaeum.bsky.social in the next few weeks!

Come to the North Shore for Independent Bookstore Day! Explore the North of Boston Book Trail, 20 indie bookstores, each with its own character and collection of books. Try to complete the Passport Challenge on the fast track (Sat & Sun April 25 & 26) or Slow and Steady (finish by Labor Day 2026).

A republic, if you can keep it Link to more information and to preregister at https://salemathenaeum.net/event/these-truths-reading-series/?instance_id=18870

Salem Lit Fest's primary presenter, Salem Athenaeum, offers author events, writing workshops, and literary programs year round! The They are pleased to welcome New York Times-bestselling historian Colin Woodard on April 16, 2026. Hear him discuss his latest: Nations Apart. More: salemathenaeum.net

A Republic If You Can Keep It

Salem Lit Fest's primary presenter, Salem Athenaeum, offers author events, writing workshops, and literary programs year round! The They are pleased to welcome New York Times-bestselling historian Colin Woodard on April 16, 2026. Hear him discuss his latest: Nations Apart. More: salemathenaeum.net

NEW DATES! Mark your calendar ~now~ for November 12-15th, so that you don't miss a moment of literature-based fun! We're the same festival you love (with incredible authors, panels, and books) but now in November. Get excited, we have some fun plans to share!

TONIGHT! Join Andrew Warburton, author of NEW ENGLAND FAIRIES, plus fairy- and folk-tale tellers at Gulu tonight at 6!

Join us & Andrew Warburton, author of NEW ENGLAND FAIRIES, plus fairytale- & folktaler-tellers SUNDAY! 6 p.m. at Gulu-Gulu Cafe. $20 suggested donation supports Salem Lit Fest 2026, coming in November.

Join us & NEW ENGLAND FAIRIES author @and_rew_war Sunday at 6 to talk fairies and folktales! Suggest $20 donation benefits Salem Lit Fest, returning to Salem in November!

Join us Sunday at 6 p.m. at Gulu-Gulu Cafe for FAIRIES AND SCARIES, featuring NEW ENGLAND FAIRIES author Andrew Warburton plus fairy stories and folktales from local storytellers, plus a door prize and more! Suggested donation $20 benefits Salem Lit Fest (coming to Salem in November!).

THIS SUNDAY! Join us at Gulu-Gulu for a night of Fairies and Scaries, featuring NEW ENGLAND FAIRIES author Andrew Warburton plus local storytellers sharing their own favorites, plus door prize and more! Suggested donation $20 benefits the Salem Lit Fest, coming up in November.

Tuesdays Dec 9, 16, & 23 writers' quiet work time 9-11 a.m. Wed. Dec. 10 Writers in Your Neighborhood w/ @ainegreaney.bsky.social Karen Gross, Danielle Jones, Rod Kessler, Paul Marian & Victoria Sirriani. Sat. Dec. 13 at 11 in person or Zoom discussion of Jane Austen's PERSUASION. salemathenaeum.net

Read & listen to interviews with SLF alumni! James Bird @publisherswkly.bsky.social (11-18) re: showcasing Indigenous culture & community in books for young readers. Jim DeFilippi recently featured 3 alumni on Blue Smoke & Black Ink (YouTube): Stephen P. Kiernan January Gill O'Neil & J.D. Scrimgeour

Congrats Kylie Lee Baker—I’LL FIND YOU WHERE THE TIMELINE ENDS—magical YA romance; Jennifer Lynn Barnes—THE SAME BACKWARD AS FORWARD—romantic YA thriller; @jcostabates.bsky.social—RICA BAPTISTA: THE BOX OF POSSIBILITIES—creative, funny chapter book; Danielle Jones—HUNGER—fierce, intimate poetry

11-12 Gord Hill THE 500 YEARS OF INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE COMIC BOOK zoom & @salemstatelibrary rm 209; 11-15 poetry reading by @instacolleenm @thebottleshopbeverly 112 Rantoul St.; 11-23 storytime w/ @tavaresbooks DASHER AND THE POLAR BEAR Hastings House 14 Oak St. Beverly, more @bookshopofbeverlyfarms

Congrats Lit Fest alums! Amanda Foody & C.L. Herman-A FATE SO COLD, first in a new fantasy duology; @alixeharrow.bsky.social-THE EVERLASTING, a moving and genre-defying quest; @kendallkulper.bsky.social-A TIME TRAVELER’S HISTORY OF TOMORROW, a time-bending love story

Coming to the Salem Athenaeum: 11-13 KILL TALK with Dr. Janet McIntosh plus combat poetry readings by @myownwilderness.bsky.social Dave Connolly, Preston Hood & Marc Levy. 11-15 Writing Workshop: Pieces of Salem with J.D. Scrimgeour. 11-21 The Hard Work of Hope with @michaelansara.bsky.social

Congrats to alumni with YA books out in PB: @missdahlelama.dahliaadler.com edited AT MIDNIGHT: 15 Beloved Fairy Tales Reimagined; in Kathleen Glasgow’s THE GLASS GIRL, a teenager struggles with alcohol; @laurataylornamey.bsky.social’s WITH LOVE, ECHO PARK features two Cuban teens in LA—sparks fly!

Congrats to Lit Fest alum whose middle-grade books are out in PB: In @kalynnbayron.bsky.social’s RISE OF THE WRECKING CREW, the Squad makes a stand against the undead. In @annhood56.bsky.social’s HARRY HOUDINI: PRINCE OF AIR, Maisie & Felix find themselves at an 1894 magic show with Harry Houdini.

Congratulations Lit Fest alumni! @kristinbairokeeffe.bsky.social—CLEMENTINE CRANE PREFERS NOT TO, narrated by @sarasounds.bsky.social. Julie C. Dao—SO BLOOMS THE DAWN. @kyliu99.bsky.social—ALL THAT WE SEE OR SEEM. @aptshadow.bsky.social—LIVES OF BITTER RAIN.

Silent Book Club at The Castle Bvrly Oct 21 6PM cohosted @copperdogbooks.bsky.social; book talk w/ Daniel Seddiqui—GETTIN' NAUTICAL IN NEW ENGLAND—Oct 23 6PM The Bookstore of Gloucester; book event w/ @kristinbairokeeffe.bsky.social—CLEMENTINE CRANE PREFERS NOT TO—Oct 25 5PM Jabberwocky Newburyport

Congrats to Lit Fest alums! @kalynnbayron.bsky.social’s MAKE ME A MONSTER is a Frankenstein-tinged horror romance. Tiffany D. Jackson’s THE SCAMMER follows a girl whose roommate’s ex-convict brother moves in. Return to Katie Zhao’s hidden world of the Descendants of the Zodiac in ZODIAC LEGACY.

Congrats to Lit Fest alumni @victoriachang.bsky.social Jim DeFilippi & Matthew E. Henry on recent publications/pods.

Congratulations to Salem Lit Fest alumni honored at the 2025 Mass Book Awards! In alphabetical order: @marjankamali.bsky.social @crystalking.bsky.social Margot Livesey Catherine Newman Jennifer Martelli January Gill O’Neil (Did we miss you? DM us and we’ll shout you out!)

Congrats to Lit Fest alumni James Bird on the publication of WOLF CLUB, about 3 kids who search for an elusive wolf, and to Lori Haskins Houran on the PB publication of THE WOOFMORE ON THIN ICE, about a luxury hotel for dogs, co-written w/ Donna Gephart & illustrated by Josh Cleland

Congrats! @levacrosen.bsky.social’s Evander Mills series follows a 1950s detective taking on cases related to the queer community. #4 MIRAGE CITY, out now, #3 ROUGH PAGES out in PB. In @hankphillippiryan.bsky.social’s ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS, a glam book tour becomes a deadly cat-and-mouse chase.

Congrats to Lit Festers with new work! Moh Afdhaal published “The Kaiju in the Room” with Razzle Dazzle Cafe (Substack&YouTube); Denise Granniss published an excerpt of THE PLAGUE SHIP with @embarklitjournal.bsky.social; & @chadpoetforhire.bsky.social published 4 poems with A Thin Slice of Anxiety

Oct 6 2:30-5 @leannareneehieber.bsky.social, AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC, @wickedgoodbooks.bsky.social. Oct 10 7pm Ally Russell, author of middle-grade MYSTERY JAMES DIGS HER OWN GRAVE, @copperdogbooks.bsky.social. Oct 22 7-9 @stgibson.bsky.social, author of Savage Blooms, @nocturnesalem.bsky.social.

Jennifer Martelli, talented poet & dedicated literary citizen, passed away last week. Jenn was a Salem Athenaeum trustee and friend of Lit Fest; past committee member and many-time panelist, including earlier this month. We will miss Jenn's strong poetry, sharp humor, and literary friendship.

Congrats to Lit Fest alums @painternik.bsky.social & @scottymagoon.bsky.social! LOVE STAYS STRONG, written Paula Schneider & illustrated by Nicole, is about the strength of a family's love. Scott’s THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE GNOME’s presents a loving example of a community supporting each other.

Today is National Coffee Day! Enjoy a coffee-cup read by Matt Yost from Lit Fest partner @fiveminutelit.bsky.social - short enough to read while you're sipping your first (fifth?) cup.

Congrats Lit Fest alum @peculiaritea.bsky.social @chuckwendig.bsky.social & studiohoffmann.bsky.social on Kayla's EXTRAORDINARY QUESTS FOR AMATEUR WISHES & (PB) PRACTICAL RULES FOR CURSED WITCHES; Chuck's (PB) MONSTER MOVIE!; & PIGGY BANK SAVES THE DAY, by Kimberly Wilson & illustrated by Mark.