Concord Festival of Authors: Writing New England with Jenn Bouchard and Kathleen Reidy

About

From Boston to the Cape, and from the mountains to historic Concord, there is no shortage of New England settings to inspire your writing. In this session, published novelists Jenn Bouchard and Kathleen Reidy will discuss how local settings have influenced their fiction--both authors have new books out in 2026 with New England settings. Kathleen and Jenn will read from their work, discuss why New England provides such rich soil for writing, and provide tips for anyone looking to take inspiration from their surroundings. Jenn Bouchard is the award-winning author of the novels First Course , Considering Us and Palms on the Cape , as well as several short stories. Her next book, Way Outta Left Field , will be released in June 2027. She is a graduate of Bates College and Tufts University. An avid cook, Jenn volunteers for good causes and is a devoted Red Sox fan. A high school social studies teacher of twenty-five years, she lives with her family in the Boston suburbs. About her newest novel Palms on the Cape After a tumultuous childhood with a mother she describes as “a train wreck compounded by a dumpster fire that smelled like cheap perfume,” Rachel Sinclair has made a life for herself. On the verge of turning forty, her upscale beach bar-Palms on the Cape-is packed with vacationers and regulars throughout the busy Cape Cod summer season. She has surrounded herself with a chosen family of devoted staff and great friends, including her best friend, Carlos...who she might be in love with. When a visiting study group from a Vermont business school, known as the A-List, descends on Rachel’s bar in late August, she gets pulled in by the charms of their leader, Tripper, a younger man with good looks, access, and tremendous connections in the restaurant industry. But when Rachel learns of the A-List’s plans to take over her business, she must decide if it’s worth the gamble to join forces with an unlikely ally or risk losing everything she has worked for. Kathleen Reidy is a writer and public librarian based in Concord, MA. She holds a master’s degree in library science and spent more than a decade in the tech industry. Her short fiction has been published by Puddingstone Press and WayWords. She lives with her husband, daughters, and fluffy best friend. Engineering a Love Story is her first novel. About her newest novel Engineering a Love Story Set in the dying days of the dot-com boom, Engineering a Love Story is a witty and warm coming-of-age story about a divorcing software engineer whose hopes for a bigger life are tested by a workplace affair that threatens her career, her newfound independence, and her heart. For more information on the Concord Festival of Authors, please visit www.concordfestivalofauthors.org .