The schedule of talks and readings has been set for the New Providence Book Festival on Saturday, September 17th. The talks will take place behind the Salt Box Museum at 1350 Springfield Avenue in New Providence, NJ 07974.

10:00 AM – Children’s Story Hour
   ● Laura Kaighn, Rabbit’s Tale and Other Rites of Passage
   ● Angela LaCarrubba, Dancing with theTruth
   ● Lisa Jacovski, Lets talk!

11:00 AM – Michelle Cameron 
“Historical Fiction – What’s Real and What’s Fiction?”

12:00 Noon – Elissa Matthews
“How to Tell a Great Story”

1:00 PM – The Journey to Becoming an Author
Authors Michael Daigle, Sarajane Giere and Kal Uddin wil share their journeys to
becoming an author in a panel discussion.

2:00 PM – Janice Berliner
“Familial Implications of Genetic Disorders Examined Through the Lens of Fiction”

The following authors will be signing their books during the 9am-3pm event: J.R. Bale, D.M. Barr, Linda Barth, Janice Berliner, Michelle Cameron, Michael Stephen Daigle, Ann Frommer, Kristina Garlick, Sarajane Giere, Lisa Jacovsky, Laura Kaighn, Tom Kranz, Angela LaCarrubba, Elissa Matthews, Andrea Stein & Kal Uddin.

The New Providence Historical Society will be offering free tours of the historic Salt Box Museum, a 18th century farmhouse. Refreshments will also be available.

The date of September 17, 2022 has been set for the fifth New Providence Book Festival, which will once again be on the grounds of the Salt Box Museum at 1350 Springfield Avenue in New Providence, NJ.

Our objective is to make this this year’s festival reach new heights! So, many volunteers will be needed. If you are interested in volunteering, please go to our Contact page.

The 2021 New Providence Book Festival is over. The canopies have been struck. Newly acquired books have been taken home, soon to be explored soon. Thank you all for making this the best festival yet.

Attendee Reviews

“We had a wonderful time at the New Providence Book Festival. My husband and I bought five books. The authors were accessible and enthusiastic about their books. We will attend again next year.”

— Kathie Veloric 

“I enjoyed listening to writers discuss their work and their writing process.  The conversation was informative and relevant to any form of creative work.”

— Katie Weiss

“It was amazing! I just started to read “My Pilot: A Story of War, Love, and ALS” by Sarajane Giere. So far it offers a glimpse into the life of a military wife and her struggles with her husband who is suffering from ALS. I cannot wait to finish the book and start the other books I have purchased.”

— Victoria Pepper

“The New Providence Book Festival offered a charming tented venue beside the Salt Box museum and a series of author talks and book signings. The community came out in a stream of friendly folk and curious readers! Chatting under a canopy with authors and readers–about books, ah! What a grand day!”

— Nev March, author

“An honor to meet actual authors and see their works!”

— Nancy Wick

“We really enjoyed the homemade baked goods and meeting such a wide array of authors who were willing to talk about their work. It was a nice small forum and we bought two children’s books for family.

— Mary Ann Cece

See you all in 2022!    

Authors Angela LaCarruba, Nadja Springer and JoAnn Jackvino will be reading their books during the Children’s Reading Hour at the New Providence Book Festival on Saturday, September 18th at 10 AM.

Angela LaCarruba will read from Dancing with the Truth. Jake LoSanto is making his professional ballet debut with the Imperial Dance Company in New York City. This is an exceptional accomplishment for a ten-year-old boy, but he tells no one outside his family as he fears that he will be bullied for his ballet dancing. Jake finds that hiding the truth leads him to other lies that turn him into a person he doesn’t like. In protecting himself from the possibility of bullying, he loses who he really is and finds he has the ability to hurt others.

Nadja Springer will read from The Big Adventures of a Little Tree. If no tree has ever tried to set out and explore – is it even possible at all? In a world, where everyone dreams about possibilities, Tree gets up and lives them. Tree’s curiosity about the unknown, the power of friendship and love, and an open heart come together to make the impossible possible! An adventure awaits in this story of a little tree who changes its mindset and shows how kindness, inclusion and an open heart will make all the difference. 

JoAnn Jackovino will The Tale of Benjamin Bulldog: Be a Buddy, Not a Bully. This is a charming tale about a small, friendly bulldog named Benjamin, who is secretly bullied by his next-door-neighbor, Duke Bulldog. With the help of his friends, Prince Bulldog, and Humphrey the Magic Frog, Benjamin learns how to end the bullying, and Duke learns the importance of being kind to others.

In addition to our Children’s Reading Hour, we will have other speakers, 15  authors signing their books, a bake sale and free tours of the Salt Box Museum.

Due to the uncertainty of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the New Providence Book Festival is cancelled for 2020.  We hope to return  stronger and better than ever in 2021.

There has been some discussion of having a virtual book festival, but no definite plans have been set. Check back and keep reading!

Once again we will be having the New Providence Book Festival for book lovers of all types. The festival will be on Saturday, September 19, 2020, 9 AM – 3 PM, on the grounds of the Salt Box Museum.

This will be the fourth year the festival will be held. This event will include speakers, author signings and refreshments. More details will appear on this website in the coming months.

We are looking for authors, sponsors and other supporters.

Our roster of exciting author talks for Sunday, September 22nd have been locked in.

12:00 Noon – Lisa Romeo
Lisa will read from her book, Starting With Goodbye: A Daughter’s Memoir of Love after Loss, and give tips and advice for writing memoir.

1:00 PM – Elissa Matthews
Where do Writers Get Their Ideas?
Our favorite writers are always coming up with new and intriguing ideas, whether it’s an intriguing mystery that just doesn’t turn out the way you expected, to a wonderful new twist on an old fairy tale. In this talk I will review some of the responses that different authors have given to this question (“a post office box in Schenectady”), and what those answers all have in common.

2:00 PM – David Watts
From ‘Just the Facts, Ma’am’ to Author
Real-life private investigator David Watts will chronicle his journey from being a Plainfield policeman and detective to writing a memoir, and then two novels.

In addition to our three speakers, 13 other authors will be available to sign their books and speak with readers, including Bert Abbazia, J.R. Bale, Linda Barth, Robert Ciampi, Michael Stephen Daigle, Reyna Favis, Vivian Fransen, Kerry Gans, Kristina Garlick, Laura Kaighn,  Bob Mayers and Jenn Stroud Rossmann.

UPDATE: This year’s author lineup includes a range of authors and genres, fiction and non-fiction: Bert Abbazia, J.R. Bale, Linda Barth, Michael Stephen Daigle, Reyna Favis, Vivian Fransen, Kerry Gans, Kristina Garlick, Laura Kaighn, Elissa Matthews, Bob Mayers, Lisa Romeo, Jenn Stroud Rossmann and David Watts. We expect a few more authors to be added to the list, so please check back here for addition announcements.

We are also pleased to announce Lantern Hill has agreed to be our Platinum Level Sponsor. And we so appreciate their support of the community. Two Gold Level sponsorships remain available.