October is nearly upon us and with it, the Easton Book Festival, which will take place October 19-22 in downtown Easton, PA. The central hub of the festival is Book & Puppet Company at 22 Centre Square but programming is scheduled all over town including:

International Fusionism Museum
Nurture Nature Center
College Hill Tavern
Easton Area Public Library
Skillman Library
Quadrant Book Mart
Easton Farmers Market

The full schedule of impressive events can be found here on the festival website.

I’ll be participating on Sunday, October 22 in the following events:

11AM – 5PM – Easton Small Press Expo. Author tables will set up in the Easton Public Market located at 325 Northampton St. Come on out to see local writers Angel Ackerman, Michael Stephen Daigle, Phil Giunta, Christopher Ochs, Ginny Shephard, Felicia Heath, Dianna Sinovic, and Tom Lubben.

11AM – Noon – Grit and Crime: The Art of Writing Noir with Albert Tucher, Suzanne Mattaboni, Dianna Sinovic, Phil Giunta (moderator).

Noir is a subgenre of crime literature featuring cynical characters and bleak settings. Dark in theme and subject matter, noir often features systemic corruption and a disturbing mixture of sex and violence. It is frequently associated with hard-boiled detective fiction, but they’re not exactly the same. Panelists will discuss the similarities and differences between noir and hard-boiled fiction, and what inspired them to write in these genres. Panelists will read excerpts from their stories in “Hard-Boiled and Loaded with Sin,” the latest crime noir anthology from Hawkshaw Press.

2PM – 3PM – A Dark and Stormy Night: Game Show with Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group. Host: John Evans. Participants: Phil Giunta, Bernadette Sukley, Michael Stephen Daigle, Suzanne Mattaboni, Dianna Sinovic, Charles Kiernan.

Storm clouds gather as the audience votes on their favorite excerpts read by three GLVWG authors in a literary “gameshow.” Each round showcases the authors’ mastery of an element of fiction: dialogue, setting, character with the audience as the judge. Expect audience participation, a literary trivia quiz, door prizes, and fun for all.

3:45PM – 4PM – I will be reading a 10-minute excerpt (unless I speak quickly and finish the entire thing!) from my short story, “Where Halloween Never Ends” at the Easton Public Market.