NYT Columnist Headlines Morristown Festival Of Books

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Long-time New York Times columnist, Frank Bruni, will be the keynote speaker at this year's Morristown Festival of Books in October.

Bruni will be promoting his new memoir "The Beauty of Dusk: On Vision Lost and Found," in which he discusses his adjustment to the terrifying reality of partially losing his eyesight, a medical and spiritual odyssey that involved not only reassessing his own priorities, but also reaching out to, and gathering wisdom from, longtime friends and new acquaintances who had navigated their own traumas and afflictions.

Bruni will be speaking at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, in conversation with MSNBC news anchor Katy Tur.

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 Beauty of Dusk.

The all-day free Main Festival, which includes popular KidFest events, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 8.

More than 60 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.

Bruni has been a prominent journalist for over three decades, including more than 25 years at The New York Times, the last ten of which he spent as a nationally renowned op-ed columnist and frequent television commentator. He also previously worked as the Times' White House correspondent.

In July 2021, he was appointed as a full-time professor at Duke University, where he taught media-related courses in the Sanford School of Public Policy. He continues to write the Times' popular weekly newsletter and contributes essays as one of the paper's official Contributing Opinion Writers.

Bruni’s Keynote appearance is co-sponsored by Investors Bank and Delta Dental, along with special event sponsor RegentAtlantic.

The proceeds from this annual fundraising Keynote event benefit literacy and education in our community, this year through a partnership with Literacy Volunteers of Morris County. "This revenue, along with the generosity of our sponsors, helps keep our Saturday book festival free and open to all," officials said.

The Morristown Festival of Books takes place on Oct. 7 and 8 at various places around Morristown. Authors will hold one-hour question and answer sessions, and book sales and signings will take place at Vail Mansion.