FREEPORT — Novelist Kate Woodworth, cofounder of Writers@Work Writers Conference in Park City, Utah; Connie Lay, innkeeper at Candlebay Inn in Freeport; and Zoë Howard, assistant store manager of Sherman’s of Maine bookstore in Freeport, have joined forces to create a literary weekend from May 15-17 featuring bestselling female authors over 50.
Beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 15 and continuing until 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, authors will be available at Sherman’s of Maine in Freeport to visit with readers about their work and to sign their books, which will appeal to readers of historical fiction, fantasy, romance, mystery and literary climate fiction. They are also happy to talk with aspiring authors about their experience completing a novel and finding a publisher as women of a certain age.
Participating authors are Susan Price (American Royalty), Barbara Viniar (Little Bird), Jennifer Safrey (After Happily Ever, Moonrise Inn novels), Kate Woodworth (Little Great Island, Racing into the Dark), Kate Hotchkiss (On Harbor’s Edge), Laura Bonazzoli (Our Share of Morning) and Maureen Anne Jennings (Bartender Wanted, One Too Many). Each author will be available for a two-hour period.
-Susan Price, whose laugh-out-loud American Royalty was called “absolutely divine!” by critically acclaimed author Alice Elliott Dark: 5/15, 4 p.m.
-Barbara Viniar, whose historical novel Little Bird tells the story of a young woman adapting to life in American after fleeing Russia: 5/16, 10 a.m.
-Jennifer Safrey, author of After Happily Ever: An Epic Novel of Midlife Rebellion — the story of Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty as they reach middle age — which earned a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. Safrey will also be signing Moonrise Inn romance series: 5/16, noon
-Kate Woodworth whose gold-award winning Little Great Island has earned rave reviews from bestselling authors Jenna Blum, Marjan Kamali, and Caroline Leavitt. Woodworth will also be signing her novel Racing into the Dark, called “….an unsettling and compelling book about finding ourselves in places we’d never thought we’d be” by New York Times bestselling author Susan Minot: 5/16, 2 p.m.
-Kate Hotchkiss, author of On Harbor’s Edge, a two-book historical fiction series called “Captivating!” by New York Times bestselling author Linda Greenlaw: 5/17, 11 a.m.
-Laura Bonazzoli, whose historical novel, Our Share of Morning, tells the story of two sisters growing up in Depression-era New England: 5/17, 1 p.m.
-Maureen Anne Jennings, author of the Rose Leary mysteries, about which memoirist Susan Bono wrote, “…what Raymond Chandler did for 1940s Los Angeles, Maureen Anne Jennings does for 1980s New York.”
The cooperative effort, designed to build business during the traditionally slow mud season, is particularly helpful this year, says Lay, when rising prices combined with a lull in international travel to Maine threaten the future of Maine’s small businesses.
Woodworth — whose novel, Little Great Island, is the April 2026 Maine Public Book Club choice — originally conceived of the weekend as a lockdown-style writers’ retreat. Once the rooms at the inn were full, she says, she saw the opportunity to involve the bookstore.
“Maine has established and respected writers’ conferences, festivals and retreats, and the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance is a tremendous resource for writers and readers,” Woodworth notes. “The hope with this model, which can be tailored to different creative communities, is that it will be adopted by small business owners throughout the year.”
