Writers from around the world coming to North Jersey, virtually – NJ.com

With participants from Cameroon, Ireland, Iran, Korea, Dubai, Scotland, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, Spain, the Caribbean and the U.S., it’s little wonder why the 2021 Montclair Literary Festival is titled “Global Voices.”

The all-online lineup of programs will begin 4 p.m. Saturday, March 13, with Cameroonian author Imbolo Mbue and continue next weekend with 11 more offerings. All but three events are free. Proceeds will benefit Succeed2gether, a Montclair-based nonprofit that addresses unequal access to educational resources for low-income families and children from Montclair and Essex County.

Here’s an overview:

♦ The festival’s kickoff event 4 p.m. Saturday, March 13, also will serve as the launch of Imbolo Mbue’s new book, “How Beautiful We Were,” a story about the “collision of a small African village and an American oil company.”

A native of Limbe, Cameroon, and a graduate of Rutgers and Columbia universities, Mbue lives in New York City. Her first novel, “Behold the Dreamers,” was a New York Times bestseller and won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. It has been translated into 11 languages, adapted into an opera and a stage play, and optioned for a miniseries. Mbue will be in conversation with New York Times Book Review editor Elisabeth Egan.

Tickets cost $30, which includes a copy of “How Beautiful We Were.” The first 50 registrants will receive a signed copy. Sign up here.

♦ Irish author Kevin Barry will discuss his new short story collection, “That Old Country Music,” on a Crowdcast from County Sligo, Ireland, 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20. He will be interviewed by writer Matthew Thomas. Sign up here.

♦ “New Voices” at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 20, will place the spotlight on Iranian writer Amir Ahmadi Arian and his first novel in English, “Then the Fish Swallowed Him”; and Ruvanee Pietersz Vihauer, whose debut novel is “The Mask Collector,” a thriller set in New Jersey and Sri Lanka. Sign up here.

♦ “Bringing Korean Stories to the World” is the theme of the 4 p.m. Saturday, March 20, session with Frances Cha, author of the novel “If I Had Your Face,” and Jooyoun Kim, author of “The Last Story of Mina Lee.” They will be in conversation with comedian and writer Karen Chee, streaming from South Korea.

♦ “CNN Tonight” host Don Lemon will discuss his new book, “This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism,” and talk with MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 20. Tickets are $30, which includes a copy of Lemon’s book. The first 100 who register will receive a signed copy. Sign up here.

♦ New Jersey-born Avni Doshi will talk about her new work, the 2020 Booker Prize-shortlisted “Burnt Sugar,” with author Christina Baker Kline, noon Sunday, March 21. Sign up here.

♦ “Caribbean Voices” with first-time novelists Cherie Jones from Barbados and Maisy Card from Jamaica in conversation with poet and author Tiphanie Yanique 1 p.m. Sunday, March 21. Sign up here.

♦ “Writing Across Cultures in English and Spanish” at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 21, will feature Ernesto Quiñonez, author of the novel “Bodega Dreams,” and Pilar Fraile Amador, speaking from Spain, about her novel, “Days of Euphoria (Días de euforia)” Montclair State University professor and author Marta López-Luaces will moderate.Sign up here.

♦ “Poets in Conversation” with former UK poet laureate Andrew Motion and two-time US poet laureate Billy Collins is slated for 3 p.m. Sunday, March 21. Sign up here.

♦ Elizabeth Kolbert, author of “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future,” will take part in the festival 4 p.m. Sunday, March 21, in a program in conjunction with Montclair Public Library’s Open Book Open Mind series. Sign up here.

♦ Scottish-American author Douglas Stuart will speak with fellow Scot — actor, author, filmmaker, and activist Alan Cumming — about his 2020 Booker Prize-winning debut novel “Shuggie Bain” on Sunday, March 21 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10, or $20 with copy of the book (first 100 signed). Sign up here.

♦ The festival will close noon Monday, March 22, with “O Wondrous World,” a discussion with essayists Ross Gay and Aimee Nezhukumatathil, presented by the Virginia Festival of the Book. Sign up here.

For more information, phone 973-746-0553, email montclairliteraryfestival@gmail.com or visit succeed2gether.org.