JMS Students Brave the September Nor’easter to Attend Brooklyn Book Festival

Determined to attend the annual Brooklyn Book Festival despite the nor’easter, students in Associate Professor of Professional Practice Mary D’Ambrosio’s Journalism and Media Studies class, Writing about Social Issues, braved the trip to the city on Sunday, Sept. 27.

The festival started in 2006 as a free, major literary event to serve the people of New York City and has since expanded into one of the biggest literary festivals in the U.S. northeast. It’s a multi-day event that connects readers to local, national, and international authors and publishers, with the credo “hip, smart, and diverse.”

“My students were thrilled to have an opportunity to hear from some of the country’s top investigative journalists and social issues authors—and also to learn more about what it takes to develop groundbreaking work,” D’Ambrosio said.  

D’Ambrosio’s class visited on the Flagship Festival Day, which celebrates 300 authors and 250 publishers. They took the train to the city together and then students spent the day cycling through various panels. They met and learned from investigative reporters, radio personalities, and authors of nonfiction, among them Manoush Zomorodi, Rachel Aviv, Tom Junod, Jelani Cobb, Anand Gopal, and Ibram X. Kendi.

Panels included “Reclaiming the Human Connection: Movement, Media, and Micro-Rituals,” where experts discussed how to break free from digital exhaustion, and “Women Changing History,” which showcased the authors of three new graphic novels with female characters who challenge powerful men. 

Students had the chance to interview several authors about their books and hear about the challenges and rewards of working as an investigative reporter and social issues writer today.

 Alina Arshad JMS'28, co-president of the campus chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, went on the trip and said, “I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to attend the Brooklyn Book Festival. As an aspiring author, it was great to learn about how other authors approached their craft.” 

The trip was funded by grants from the office of Rutgers Vice Provost for Experiential Learning Charles Keeton, and the Rutgers School of Communication and Information.