By Emma Stanton, Staff Writer
Last weekend, book lovers and storytellers from near and far once again gathered in our tiny hamlet to take part in Bookstock.
The weekend, with its warm spring weather and sessions with leading authors and poets, a used book sale, a special culinary experience at Kelly Way Gardens, a discussion with an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, masterclasses for writers, and more, proved to be a triumph in almost every way, according to the Bookstock 2026 board members.
Organizers Jon Spector, Michael Stoner, and Julie Moncton took time this week to debrief Woodstock’s special literary event with the Standard.
Spector began by saying, “The most important thing that comes to mind is safety. Thankfully, there were no discussions this year about having to cancel certain events to keep participants safe. Those were serious discussions we had to make at the eleventh hour last year, and thankfully, this time around it was sunny skies and smooth sailing.”
Many will recall that last year, the board had to cancel all Saturday activities on The Green due to severe storm warnings.
“All in all, I think this weekend was terrific,” Spector said. “I think that the physical shrinking of the area, having all of the venues within walking distance — apart from Billings or Artistree (which held events on separate days) — made a huge difference.”
Spector also noted the successful partnerships that made the weekend so special. “Pentangle Arts, Sundog Poetry, the Vermont Book Awards, the Woodstock Inn & Resort, the Norman Williams Public Library, and the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce all did such a fantastic job at helping us bring this literary event to life,” Spector said.
Of the used book sale on The Green, Moncton said, “I was extremely pleased and grateful for the number of volunteers we had to sort books this year,” she said. “It was a much more [intensive] process to manage the sale than in years past, and over one hundred people came out to help us.”
She explained, “We started with 20,000 books that came in through donations and cut that down to 11,000 that were available for purchase during the weekend. Those 11,000 were scattered all over Pomfret and Woodstock, some in my garage, others in storage containers. Last Sunday, a group of volunteers came with U-Hauls to move five tons of books to the Little Theater for further sorting. We moved 11,000 books in two and a half days.”
Moncton told the Standard that of those 11,000 books, over 4,500 were sold throughout the weekend — a record high for Bookstock.
“We had over 1,000 transactions,” Moncton said. “But because a lot of those transactions were made by multiple people, we are estimating 1,500 people purchased books this year.”
Also, The Green was host to independent authors and vendors, organized this year by the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce. Jim Kelly, executive director of The Chamber, told the Standard, “I don’t think there were any complaints. The crowd was good; the vendors were happy with the job we did; and I think the patrons were pleased.”
This was also the first time Wireless Woodstock was used on The Green, which, according to Kelly, made the shopping experience much more pleasant for vendors. “I did not realize how poor the WIFI connection was. This past weekend, every vendor had fast service to sell their products, and for the next event, WIFI will be available for all to use – both sellers and buyers alike.”
There were two high-quality porta-potties stationed near the Woodstock Courthouse.“I hope the town considers making these vessels a permanent part of the Village,” Spector said. “It made a huge difference for people to know there was an easy place to go if needed.”
According to Stoner, parking worked out well, as the organizers had signage out for attendees to park at the Woodstock Elementary School, the Outtaquechee Health Center, the Rec Center, and at East End Park.
Stoner was pleased with the author events held at the Town Hall Theatre.
“Last year I spent a majority of time on The Green at the book sale. This year, I had the privilege of introducing Katherine Arden and Andrew Liptak, as well as hearing Patrick Bringley and Garrett Graff speak. At those events, the level of enthusiasm coming from attendees was wonderful. It seemed like everyone felt very enthusiastic about the talks and the venue. Town Hall Theatre created a professional and intimate setting, and I’m very pleased with how that turned out.”
The atmosphere Stoner spoke of was made possible by a divider the board installed at the back of the theater, which they would move forward or backward depending on the level of attendance at each event.
“The divider helped to create an intimate atmosphere in the theater,” Spector said. “But it was also a huge help to the speakers. Instead of looking out into an empty theater, they saw a room full of people listening attentively.”
When asked how the free-ticketing process worked and how high attendance was this year, Spector said, “In any event where the tickets are free, there’s a very high no-show rate. While the number of tickets registered this year was higher than last year across the board, the no-show rate stayed the same — around 40% – meaning that if 100 people said they were coming, 60 of them showed up.”
A good example was the sold-out opening-night event at Artistree, which Spector said registered 77 tickets but 55 people actually attended. “The room felt full, and the structure of the evening lent itself to a smaller crowd,” Spector said in reference to the literary panel and reception held with the Vermont Book Award candidates and winners.
“Moving the poetry event to Norman Williams Public Library on Sunday was also a massive improvement,” Stoner said. “That has historically been a lesser-attended event, and since the library has a max capacity of 60 people, the room felt much fuller.” Stoner told the Standard that Sunday saw around 45 to 50 people in attendance.
The one event that didn’t have any no-shows was Cookstock — a $150 prepaid culinary experience featuring Matthew McClure, executive chef at the Woodstock Inn & Resort, and cookbook author and cooking teacher Gesine Bullock-Prado, who created a five-course seasonal dinner.
“Cookstock was yet another partnership experiment which was extremely successful,” Spector said. “It was a sold-out event; the food was delicious. The discussion between McClure and Prado was fantastic, and the whole evening was so intentionally crafted and expertly executed.
“I think it’s fair to say that we would like to expand it next year to several restaurants, maybe on different evenings, so there would be no scheduling conflict,” Spector added.
Cookstock had a seating capacity of 44, and every seat was filled, according to Spector.
That was the only paid event during the entire Bookstock weekend, with even the master classes being free this year.
Author and master class organizer Robin Gaby Fisher told the Standard, “The master classes were a huge success. We had many people who signed up and others who walked in off the street.” “My master class on storytelling, Kitta MacPherson’s course on flash fiction, and Beth Malow’s class on self-publishing were full,” Fisher said. “The master class we offered for teens had fewer attendees, but it was a good start to inviting younger people to future Bookstocks. Next year, we’ll do better outreach to the younger community.
“Another thought I have is that the collaboration with Liza Bernard and the library was so, so rewarding. It was great teamwork, and it was key to the master class’s success.
“The festival was a huge hit from the vantage point of every master class instructor, author, and so many participants I spoke with — all raved about the event. I’m so pleased with the turnout and the enthusiasm. I’ve been to many Bookstocks and for me, this was the best yet,” Fisher concluded.
In speaking about attendance in general, Spector told the Standard, “Given the fact that we had people who came to author events and didn’t go to The Green (and vice-versa), I think it is fair to say we had between 1,500 and 2,000 people attend Bookstock this year, which is a huge advancement from our 1,000-1,200 person attendance last year.”
The goal of this young board is to keep Bookstock growing each and every year. “It takes eleven months to plan Bookstock,” Spector told the Standard. “[Board member] Priscilla Painton has already started floating names of authors she hopes to get for next year. We’ll reassess in a week or two, but hope to begin planning the next one soon.”
“All in all, it was a literary weekend I feel extremely proud of,” Stoner said. “I think the entire town came together to enjoy the weekend and make it a particularly special experience.”