2 Pulitzer Prize Winners Will Headline Morristown Festival Of Books

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The annual literary event created by and for people who love books is returning to Morristown.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams will be the keynote speakers at this year's Morristown Festival of Books in October.

Stewart and Abrams will speak about their New York Times bestseller, "Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy," which has been dubbed the "true-life Succession Story of Our Time."

"Unscripted" is the inside story of the battle for power and control at Paramount Global, the multibillion-dollar entertainment empire controlled by the Redstone family, and the dysfunction, misconduct, and deception that threatened the company's future, as told by the journalists who broke the story first.

"The secret inner workings of public companies and their boards usually stay secret, but Stewart and Abrams deliver in Unscripted an unvarnished look at a wealthy, dysfunctional family in the throes of seismic change and the downfall of a once-victorious multibillion-dollar entertainment empire in the wake of greed, sexual exploitation, and corporate malfeasance," Morristown Festival of Books officials said.

Stewart and Abrams will speak onstage with Brian Stelter, a former CNN correspondent, on Friday, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC), Morristown.

To order tickets, call the MPAC box office at (973)-539-8008 or go to the Morristown Festival of Books website. The cost of admission is $60, which includes a signed hardcover copy of the book.

The Morristown Festival of Books takes place on Oct. 6 and 7 at various places around Morristown.

More than 100 award-winning and best-selling authors will speak and take questions at five locations along South Street in historic Morristown, all within walking distance of one another.

Book sales and signings will take place at Vail Mansion.

Although no official lineup has been announced, attendees can expect to see a wide range of authors, from children's authors to adult nonfiction writers.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, KidFest is an activity-packed section of the event where kids can meet their favorite authors, get their books signed, and participate in crafts, face painting and other activities.

Stewart has written ten books, including the New York Times best-seller "Den of Thieves." He is currently a New York Times columnist and a Columbia University professor of business journalism. He received a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his reporting on the stock market crash and insider trading.

Abrams is a senior producer and reporter for the television documentary series "The New York Times Presents." She was previously a member of the reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2018 for its coverage of the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct allegations.