Rick Atkinson, photo by Elliott O'Donovan
(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- The Morristown Festival of Books will welcome two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and master historian Rick Atkinson as the festival's 2025 Keynote Speaker. Atkinson will discuss his latest book, The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780, which debuted as the #1 New York Times nonfiction best seller.
Rick Atkinson is the best-selling author of seven previous works of history, including The Long Gray Line, the Liberation Trilogy, and The British Are Coming, the first volume of the Revolution Trilogy. He has won numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes for history and journalism.
On Friday, October 10, 2025 at 7:30pm at the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) in Morristown, Atkinson will bring to life the sweeping story of the American Revolution from the very ground where key moments unfolded.
In The Fate of the Day, the second volume of his landmark Revolution Trilogy, Atkinson presents a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution as George Washington’s army fights on the knife-edge between victory and defeat. As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, Atkinson’s brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British is perfectly timed, offering deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history and a fresh perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on each of its citizens.
Tickets are available through morristownbooks.org or by calling the MPAC box office at 973-539-8008. Tickets are $68 for general admission (MPAC All-In pricing includes all service fees). Each ticket also includes a signed copy of The Fate of the Day ($42.00 value). This fundraiser event helps underwrite the remarkable free offerings of MFOB’s all-day Saturday Festival, which features the opportunity to interact with scores of authors.
The Morristown Festival of Books is generously sponsored by The Family Wealth Group at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. Our Keynote Event is co-sponsored by Delta Dental and the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation as well as Special Event Sponsor Valley Bank.
The all-day, free Main Festival takes place on Saturday, October 11, and has something for everyone. More than 100 award-winning and best-selling authors will speak and answer questions at five locales, all within walking distance of each other along South Street in historic Morristown. Book sales and signings will take place on the grounds of the historic Vail Mansion.
KidFest is an activity-filled part of the event where kids meet their favorite authors, get their books signed, and partake in crafts, face painting, and more.
Morristown Festival of Books is a fund of the Community Foundation of New Jersey, a non-profit corporation.
