(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- The ever-popular Morristown Festival of Books’ KidFest, an event for young readers within the larger festival, will feature more than 50 outstanding children’s authors and illustrators who will be present on Saturday, October 7, 2023 from 11:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday (rain or shine) to meet visitors while selling and personally signing books. 

Several authors will also read to audiences throughout the day including Dan Gutman (My Weird School chapter book series), Rajani LaRocca (Mirror to Mirror), Peter Lerangis (Throwback), Barry Lyga (The Flash Crossover Crisis), Wendy Mass (Lo & Behold), Rachel Vail (Sometimes I Kaploom), Colleen AF Venable (Katie the Catsitter).

Local high school students will also read their winning Teen Writing Contest short stories and poems. Sponsored in memory of John and Marianne Gunzler, this year's contest theme is "friendship." The finalists are announced during Friday's 10th Anniversary Keynote Event.

KidFest has something for every young reader – favorite picture books, chapter books, middle grade offerings, hands-on crafts, and more. Kidfest runs from 11:00am to 4:00pm on the lawn of St. Peter’s Church, 70 Maple Avenue, in historic downtown Morristown.

Morristown Festival of Books, New Jersey’s premier book festival, offers something for everyone. The event opens with the 10th Anniversary Keynote Event on Friday, October 6, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams will discuss their expose, Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy, with Brian Stelter, former CNN correspondent. Tickets are available online or by phone at 973-539-8008.

The all-day, free Main Festival on Saturday, October 7, features more than 100 bestselling, critically acclaimed, and award-winning fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children’s authors who will be speaking to audiences and signing their books. To see the complete author roster and to learn more, visit morristownbooks.org.

KidFest is generously sponsored by Atlantic Health System’s Goryeb Children’s Hospital. Our Keynote event is generously co-sponsored by the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and Delta Dental. JP Morgan Chase & Co. is our Special Event sponsor. Proceeds from their annual fundraising Keynote Event and book sales throughout the Festival contribute to supporting literacy and education in our community, this year through a partnership with Literacy Volunteers of Morris County and the Morris Educational Foundation. This revenue, along with the generosity of their sponsors, helps keep our Saturday book festival free and open to all. 

Morristown Festival of Books is a fund of the Community Foundation of New Jersey, a non-profit corporation.