The Rozzie Bound Co-op Bookstore in the Square is hosting what organizers hope to be the first of many book festivals this Saturday Nov. 14 at the Roslindale Branch of the Boston Public Library (BPL) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Rozzie Bound Co-owner and organizer Talia Whyte said they are working with the BPL and the Friends of the Roslindale Library to bring the festival to reality. She said it’s been the collective work of a lot of people.

“We’re really excited to start doing this,” she said. “A lot of people in the community have been asking to do something like this. Our Board member Namida Davi has really been pushing for this. She wanted Roslindale to have more programming. And other parents have said they wanted more age-appropriate programming that’s open to families. And doing a book festival is just a great thing to do for that.”

Whyte said she’s hopeful they can make it an annual Roslindale tradition. Organizing certainly seems to be, as she said they started working on this last February.

“It’s our first time doing it, and when we first announced it, everybody was like, ‘Oh this is so cool and such a great idea,’ and it’s just nice to have something like this in the neighborhood to go to,” she said. “We hope we can do this year every year depending on how well this one does this year.”

Whyte said originally they looked at doing a multi-location event that went throughout Rozzie Square, but she said for the first iteration, at least, they wanted to keep it in one place.

“A little bit smaller and a little bit more manageable,” she said; however, she did not rule out such a sprawling festival for following years.

The day is literally packed with events from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Whyte said after they announced the festival and the local author lineup, they had several more reach out, interested in participating.

“We’re really excited and we have a full schedule of events going on, like starting at 10 a.m. we’re having a Kids’ Story Time with Amanda Davis,” Whyte said. “She just published her book, ‘Chasing the Light,’ did the artwork in the book as well, and it’s just a really nice book.”

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Then at 11:30 a.m., we start a Writing Workshop. “It’s open to all writing levels and run by Judy McClure, who is a former worker / owner at the store and is also a writer,” she said. “She does these types of workshops all over the city. It’s really for anyone who might be inspired by the festival. November is National Novel Writing Month after all, so hopefully people will feel inspired to write that book they’ve always wanted to write.”

Whyte said following that, they will have a panel discussion starting at 1 p.m. with Ellen Meeropol, Randy Susan Meyers, Theresa Okokon, Lisa Stringfellow and Cameron Dryden. The panel will focus on how fiction can help develop empathy within a person.

“Fiction and social justice have always been an ongoing topic,” she said.

Lastly, Jennifer Haigh and Rebecca Pacheco will be discussing Haigh’s latest book, ‘Rabbit Moon,’ from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Haigh’s book, ‘Mercy Street,’ was named a Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker and won the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award.

In addition, Whyte said there will be an Author’s Alley in the Reading Room, where local authors will have a set up to sell their books.

“We’ll set up authors at different tables with self-published authors, and it’s a great way for the community to meet these authors and buy from them directly,” she said.

For more information, go to https://gvimes.link/rzzbkfst2026