Bookstock, a 501c3 organization, was founded in 2009. In October 2021 it was formally organized. www.bookstockvt.org EIN: 87-2896531. PO Box 666, Woodstock, VT 05091.
Volunteer Jennifer Belton was Executive Director of Woodstock’s Norman Williams Public Library for six years and contributed then to the development of Bookstock. She has 24 years of experience managing research and information services. Jen designed and directed the first White House library for a sitting President, President Carter.
Tech Wizard Jeff Brand manages our website. He, his wife and two young children live in the Upper Valley. Jeff is a member of Woodstock’s Shir Shalom.
Board Member Edward Ciarimboli and his wife bought a house in Woodstock during the pandemic. With the addition of their daughter, they now have four beautiful children that are as close as close can be, a grandson who lights up all of their lives, two dogs, two cats, and some wild animals on their farm in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Poetry Director Chard deNiord has been our Poetry Director since 2023. He is the author of seven books of poetry. He served as Poet Laureate of Vermont from 2015 to 2019.
Board Member Peter Gilbert, vice chair, has a broad knowledge of the cultural resources of Vermont, largely by virtue his serving as executive director of Vermont Humanities for 16 years.
Bookstock’s Vermont Literary Inspiration Award Coordinator Jez Harrington has volunteered often at Bookstock. He gratefully retired seven years ago and is eager to coordinate the Award for 2024. The award was first issued in 2019.
Marketing Manager Bea Jennings is a resident of Woodstock since 2018. An Upper Valley native, she returned to the area after finishing college in 2015 and worked as a legal assistant before starting in finance at Dartmouth College.
Children’s Program Manager Rebecca Kaiser joins the Bookstock team this year, managing the addition of children’s programming to the Bookstock line up. She brings a passion for children’s books, driven largely from reading with her two children, ages 9 and 6, students at Woodstock Elementary School. Rebecca Kaiser and her family made Woodstock their home during the pandemic.
Workshop Manager Mary Kronenwetter first joined Bookstock as a volunteer welcoming attendees and introducing authors. In 2023, she joined other presenters as an author (Pauper Auction, New England historical fiction, 2023). In 2024, she will be joining the Bookstock team as Workshop Manager, seeking out authors who also happen to be great teachers, to share their hard-won lessons on the writing life.
Volunteer Julie Moncton and her husband Lee bought a house in Woodstock in 2022 and plan to split their time between their homes in California and Woodstock. Julie worked as an engineer in Silicon Valley until she started a second career in the book industry. She’s looking forward to working with others in the warm and welcoming Woodstock community.
Event Manager Michele Nilsson has lived in the Upper Valley since falling in love with Vermont in the early 90’s; moving to a state where all seasons could be experienced was so enticing. With a passion to travel the world and organize events, Green Mountain Meetings & Events, LLC (GMME) was born.
Board Member Peter Rousmaniere co-founded Bookstock in 2009 and has been involved with the festival throughout its lifetime. He is especially interested in enabling people to find their own expressive voice through meeting authors at Bookstock.
Author Manager Jill Schilp was a volunteer for Bookstock for the past two years and this is her first year working on the Bookstock team. Jill currently works as an Engineer and project manager for a pharmaceutical company as her day job. She is the head coach of the local High School robotics team where she volunteers lots of her time.
Communications Coordinator Marisa Serafini, a part time resident of Woodstock, has volunteered to serve in the role of Communications Coordinator since August of 2021. She has focused on social media, growing the number of followers from under 300 to over 1000 on both Instagram and Facebook.
Senior Advisor Michael Stoner – For most of his career, Michael Stoner worked in communications, PR, and marketing roles in higher education, both on-campus and as a consultant. A full-time Woodstock resident since 2002, he was a co-founder of Bookstock and a founder of Sustainable Woodstock. He is currently chair of the board of Valley Insight Meditation Society and practices restraint by not buying every cookbook sold at the Bookstock Book Sale.
Board Member Dave Whitney, Treasurer, joined the board at its formal founding in October 2021. His term ends in September 2024. Dave has been an attendee of Bookstock since 2013 and a volunteer since 2016. He has been involved in the collection of the books and management of the festival’s used book sale since 2017.
Program Designer Elizabeth Wilcox was our Program Director in 2023 and is engaged this year to put together the author lineup. She is the founder of AuthorPods, which promotes and supports author events and talks. She is the author of The Mom Economy (Berkley, 2003) and The Long Tail of Trauma(Green Writers Press, 2020) and a health writer.