Rock and Roll reporters tell their tales at Readers & Writers Fest

“Writing About Rock & Roll” will be the featured event on Sept. 17 at the fifth annual Milford Readers and Writers Festival. The conversation will include Sheila Weller, author of best-seller “Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon – and the Journey of a Generation,” with screenwriter and journalist James Greer. Moderating will be Milford resident Bob Guccione Jr., creator and publisher of Spin Magazine.

These chroniclers of rock ‘n’ roll will offer insights and anecdotes that illustrate how writing about rock ‘n’ roll covers more than songs and concerts. They will explore the ways history, personalities and culture are also part of the story.

The festival will take place Sept. 16 to 18, at Milford Theater & Performing Arts Center, at 114 East Catharine St.

It opens on Friday evening, Sept. 16, with Tony-Award-winner and star of the hit TV series “Blue Bloods,” Len Cariou and his wife, Heather Summerhayes Cariou, writer, actor, and activist, reading the two-character Pulitzer Prize-winning play “The Gin Game.”

This tragicomedy focuses on an unexpected relationship that develops between two people nearing the end of their lives. Audiences praised the couple’s prior appearance at the festival, when they read the play “Love Letters,.

On Saturday, Sept. 17, the Main Stage will feature three additional events:

· Nelson DeMille, best-selling author of 21 novels, will talk about his writing career and his collaboration with his son Alex DeMille, on their recent novel “The Deserter.” Alex DeMille is a writer, director and film editor. He has won multiple awards and fellowships for his screenplays and films. The conversation will be moderated by Steve Rubin who has published such authors as John Grisham, Dan Brown, Bill O’Reilly, Hillary Mantel and other best-sellers. He is currently consulting publisher at Simon & Schuster.

“Books You May Never Get to Read: Author Cancellations and Book Banning” - Publishing industry professionals, including literary agent Regina Brooks, editor and publisher Jamie Raab and New York Times best-selling author James Kirchick will join publisher and panel moderator Brooke Warner to share their insights about the recent spate of author cancellations and book bannings.

“What is American Food?” - Historian Paul Freedman, author of “Ten Restaurants That Changed America” and “American Cuisine - And How It Got That Way,” will talk about what makes American food unique with author, journalist and foodie Richard Morais, who wrote the food-centered best-seller, “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” which was made into a major motion picture starring Helen Mirren.

All Main Stage programs will include an opportunity for conversation between the authors and the audience.

On Saturday evening, a private reception will be hosted for festival speakers, and is open only to festival pass-holders.

In addition to the ticketed events, the festival also offers a variety of free programs, including the fantasy-themed science fiction panel, “Choose Your Reality” at the Columns Museum and “The Future of Young Adult Literature in the Age of Book Banning,” at Pike County Public Library, book signings by the authors, as well as events all around Milford.

For more information about the festival and to purchase festival passes, go to milfordreadersandwriters.com.