Thank you to all the amazing authors, poets, students, teachers, librarians,
and volunteers who made the 2017 Festival of Words a huge success!
Check out the gallery to see photos.

All attendees are invited to share their feedback by completing our evaluation form. 

If you enjoyed the Festival of Words and want to see it continue to bring diverse authors and ideas to Delaware, at no cost to students, please consider making a small donation.
Any amount is greatly appreciated. Donate here.

Below are the authors who were featured at the 2017 event.
Stay tuned for news of our 2018 line-up! (Interested authors can submit this form.)
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The Peace Poets are a collective of artists who celebrate, examine and advocate for life through music and poetry. Their art can take you on a journey from the Boogie Down to Berlin, from the border to the bodega. Their style emphasizes lyricism, rhythm and authenticity. They hail from the Bronx and have been rocking the mic since 2005. Visit the Peace Poets' website to learn more and hear a little bit of what they do. 
Brendan Keily is the author of New York Times bestselling All American Boys ​(with Jason Reynolds), The Last True Love Story, and The Gospel of Winter. His work has been published in ten languages, received a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award, the Walter Dean Myers Award, the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, and was selected as one of the American Library Association’s Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults. Originally from the Boston area, he now lives with his wife in Greenwich Village. 
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Adam Silvera was born and raised in the Bronx. He has worked in the publishing industry as a children's bookseller, marketing assistant at a literary development company, and book reviewer of children's and young adult novels. His debut novel, More Happy Than Not, received multiple starred reviews and is a New York Times bestseller. He is tall for no reason and writes full-time in New York City. His latest book, History is All You Left Me, will be released in January 2017.
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Maggie Thrash grew up in the south, and now lives in Delaware. She is the author of the graphic memoir, Honor Girl, and the YA mystery We Know It Was You. She is a contributor to the online teen magazine, Rookie, and will defend the Twilight series with her dying breath. 
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By day, Lara Deloza works for the International Literacy Association, a global advocacy and membership organization dedicated to literacy for all. By night, she writes books for teens and tweens. In her spare time, she likes to cook tasty things, watch too much tv, and read until she can't keep her eyes open. She lives in Delaware, and is the author of seven novels. Her latest is Winning.
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Meghan Rogers has been telling stories since she could talk and writing creatively since the third grade. She spent her high school years completing her first novel and has been actively writing ever since. After college, Meghan worked with high school writers while earning her MFA in Creative Writing from Rosemont College. She is currently living in the Philadelphia area. Crossing the Line is her debut novel.
Julie Eshbaugh has lived in places as varied as Utah, France, and New York City, but returned to the Philadelphia area, where she now lives in her childhood home with her husband and son. Early in her career, she focused on filmmaking and online video, producing two short films and a web series for teens that became an early YouTube hit. Ivory and Bone ​is her debut novel.
Isabel Bandeira grew up in Southern New Jersey, but summers were always spent in Portugal, where the cathedrals, castles, and ancient tombs fed her fairy tale obsession. In her free time between writing and her day job as a Mechanical Engineer, she reads, dances, figure skates, and knits. Bookishly Ever After is her debut novel.
Dianne J. Salernia is author of the YA historical, The Caged Graves,  a Junior Library Guild Selection  inspired by two real caged graves in an abandoned Pennsylvania cemetery; and The Eighth Day series about a secret day of the week tied to Arthurian legend.
Sharon Huss Roat is co-chair of the Delaware Festival of Words and will serve as MC for the event. She is the author of Between the Notes (2015) and How to Disappear (coming in Aug. 2017). She grew up in Lancaster, Pa., and now lives in Hockessin, Del., with her husband and two children. Sharon worked in public relations for twenty years before writing her first novel.