John and Elizabeth Edwards cancel Salem appearance; college books new speaker

Wordsmiths, bookworms and Scrabble experts are invited to get their fill of intellectual thrills at the city’s first literature festival on Friday, Sept. 12 and Saturday, Sept. 13.

Cornerstone Books and the Chamber of Commerce and other local groups have teamed up to offer the following events for Literally Salem, a new literary festival. Check regularly for updates at www.salemlitfest.com.

Last month founders of The Parlor, the North Shore’s Independent Writing Studio, Jennifer and Adam Pieroni garnered praise from the Boston Globe for their literary magazine Quick Fiction, which was listed as No. 4 in a top-10 list of Best New England literary journals.

Assistant City Solicitor Jerald Parisella recently addressed a lawsuit filed against the city in Superior Court in August by 18 residents concerned about zoning changes on Lafayette Street at the St. Joseph Church property.