Daily Show’s Trevor Noah To Headline 1st Montclair Literary Fest

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair and the Daily Show seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Organizers of the 1st annual Montclair Literary Festival announced this week that their headlining guest will be comedian Trevor Noah, who took over hosting duties on The Daily Show for Jon Stewart in 2015.

Noah is also the author of “Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood,” which discusses his experience of being born in South Africa under apartheid.

The two-day festival, which takes place on Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1, aims to “showcase the town's vibrant literary life,” according to organizers. It will partially benefit Succeed2gether, a Montclair-based nonprofit that tutors and teaches low-income students with the aim of “closing the achievement gap.”

• See related article: Black and White: Fixing The Student Achievement Gap In Montclair

Festival partners include Montclair Public Library, Montclair State University, Montclair Art Museum and Watchung Booksellers.

Participating writers include:

• Trevor Noah, who will speak about his memoir “Born a Crime” at Montclair State University 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31
• Paul Auster who will discuss his latest novel 4 3 2 1 at the First Congregational Church 6:30 pm on April 1
• Sam Lipsyte, author of “The Ask”
• Award-winning novelist and essayist Siri Hustvedt
• New Yorker writers and authors D.T. Max and Daphne Merkin
• Matthew Thomas, author of the bestseller, “We Are Not Ourselves”
• Jamaican novelist Nicole Dennis Benn with her debut novel, “Here Comes the Sun”
• Elisabeth Egan, author of “A Window Opens”
• Garth Risk Hallberg, author of the bestseller, “City on Fire”

In addition, a day of free, public moderated panels will take place at the Montclair Public Library, and the First Congregational Church will host forums that discuss race, politics and the environment, as well as sports, music, poetry and fiction.

Children’s workshops and events will be held at the library and at Montclair Art Museum, and the Book Doctors will be on hand to offer advice on getting published.

An evening at Montclair High School on Friday, March 31 will showcase student slam poets and feature the winners of a short story contest, organizers stated.

All events are free except for Trevor Noah ($40, which includes a copy of Born a Crime) and Paul Auster ($50, which includes a copy of 4 3 2 1).

"Montclair and authors go together like any great pairing,” said Jacqueline Mroz, who is directing the festival for Succeed2gether. “We want to celebrate the town’s rich literary scene, but also harness that talent to benefit young readers, in particular those with fewest advantages.”

For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.succeed2gether.org or the Montclair Literary Festival Facebook page.

MONTCLAIR AND THE DAILY SHOW (ALUMS)

Noah isn’t the only Daily Show alum to give a shout out to the arts in Montclair. Check out some of the below stories.

• See related article: Stephen Colbert, John Oliver Join Forces For Montclair Film Fest
• See related article: Jon Stewart To Appear At Montclair Film Festival Screening
• See related article: Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell Coming to Montclair Film Festival

Photo: Trevor Noah, YouTube screenshot

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