Doylestown: Carla Conti // THE JACKLIGHTER (SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY)
Featured Book
The Jacklighter
In 1976, attorney Martin Dillon went hunting in the Pennsylvania woods with his best friend-and never came home.
Officials called it a tragic skeet-shooting accident. But when the only witness was Dr. Stephen Scher, the man having an affair with Martin's wife, the Dillon family refused to believe it. Then Scher did the unthinkable: he married the widow and raised her children as his own, living a stolen life for 20 years-until Martin's body was exhumed.
Some secrets never stay buried.
In The Jacklighter, journalist-turned-true crime author Carla Conti reconstructs the decades-long quest to understand what happened in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains: the early missteps, the evidence that reopened the case, the witnesses, two trials, and the aftermath. She also uncovers a murder confession that never reached either jury-and the reasons it remained hidden.
With unique access to hometown victims and key witnesses, Conti reveals how one shotgun blast shattered multiple lives and tested whether justice can survive when everyone in town thinks they know the truth.
From the award-winning author of Chained Birds: A Crimemoir.
This book will be available for purchase at the event.
About This Event
Join us in welcoming author Carla Conti at The Doylestown Bookshop on Saturday, November 28th, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m, as part of Doylestown's Small Business Saturday, where she will be signing copies of her book The Jacklighter. This a signing only; there will not be a book talk. This event is free to attend and does not require registration.
About the Book:
In 1976, attorney Martin Dillon went hunting in the Pennsylvania woods with his best friend-and never came home.Officials called it a tragic skeet-shooting accident. But when the only witness was Dr. Stephen Scher, the man having an affair with Martin's wife, the Dillon family refused to believe it. Then Scher did the unthinkable: he married the widow and raised her children as his own, living a stolen life for 20 years-until Martin's body was exhumed.Some secrets never stay buried.In The Jacklighter, journalist-turned-true crime author Carla Conti reconstructs the decades-long quest to understand what happened in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains: the early missteps, the evidence that reopened the case, the witnesses, two trials, and the aftermath. She also uncovers a murder confession that never reached either jury-and the reasons it remained hidden.With unique access to hometown victims and key witnesses, Conti reveals how one shotgun blast shattered multiple lives and tested whether justice can survive when everyone in town thinks they know the truth.From the award-winning author of Chained Birds: A Crimemoir.
About our Guest: Carla Conti is a journalist-turned-true crime author and founder of Crimemoir Press. Her second book, THE JACKLIGHTER: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains, reconstructs the decades-long fight to understand a 1976 hunting-camp death ruled an accident - and uncovers a murder confession that never reached either jury. Her debut, CHAINED BIRDS: A CRIMEMOIR, is a decorated true crime memoir of corruption, gang violence, and the fight for justice inside America's federal prison system. It won a host of 2025 True Crime prizes, including Best Crimemoir from AudioBookReviewer.com for Carla's own audiobook narration. Carla serves as a conference speaker and panelist, and gives workshops on nonfiction writing and the ethics of true crime storytelling. She writes about her books, the true crime genre, and indie publishing life on her blog and Substack, and publishes through her own imprint, Crimemoir Press. Carla lives near Philadelphia with her husband, who supports her true crime habit. You can read more about Carla on her blog and sign up for her free newsletter: Blog - https: //carlajeanconti.com Substack - https: //carlaconti.substack.com/
Featured Author
Carla Conti
Carla Conti is a journalist-turned-true crime author and founder of Crimemoir Press. Her second book, THE JACKLIGHTER: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains, reconstructs the decades-long fight to understand a 1976 hunting-camp death ruled an accident - and uncovers a murder confession that never reached either jury. Her debut, CHAINED BIRDS: A CRIMEMOIR, is a decorated true crime memoir of corruption, gang violence, and the fight for justice inside America's federal prison system. It won a host of 2025 True Crime prizes, including Best Crimemoir from AudioBookReviewer.com for Carla's own audiobook narration. Carla serves as a conference speaker and panelist, and gives workshops on nonfiction writing and the ethics of true crime storytelling. She writes about her books, the true crime genre, and indie publishing life on her blog and Substack, and publishes through her own imprint, Crimemoir Press. Carla lives near Philadelphia with her husband, who supports her true crime habit. You can read more about Carla on her blog and sign up for her free newsletter: Blog - https: //carlajeanconti.com Substack - https: //carlaconti.substack.com/
About the Venue
The Doylestown Bookshop
"The Doylestown and Lahaska Bookshops are locally owned and operated bookstores dedicated to preserving the heritage and traditions of independent bookstore ideals. Since opening our doors in downtown Doylestown in 1998, we have offered our customers an alternative to the ordinary. We carry an extensive inventory of new books, from classic literature to current bestsellers, and a curated selection of gifts, cards, toys and much more. Our staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and looking forward to helping you choose the perfect book for you or your family. Both bookstores were sold again in September 2023 to long-time Bucks County residents and business owners Lauren & Damian Ford. We opened our second store, the Lahaska Bookshop, in September 2017. The Lahaska Bookshop is located in Peddler's Village and is dedicated to providing the same customer service and wide selection of books that the Doylestown Bookshop provides.
Visit store pageMore at The Doylestown Bookshop
Doylestown: Melanie Benjamin // THE WINDSOR AFFAIR
Join us in welcoming New York Times best-selling author Melanie Benjamin to Doylestown, PA, as she discusses and signs her new book, The Windsor Affair, at The Doylestown Bookshop on Wednesday, November 18th, 2026, at 6:30 pm. This is a ticketed event. Each ticket includes admission for one person and a hardcover copy of The Windsor Affair. DATE: Wednesday, November 18th, 2026 at 6:30 pm LOCATION: The Doylestown Bookshop, 16 S. Main Street, Doylestown, PA 18901 THIS IS A TICKETED EVENT - HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Doors open at 5:30 pm, and the event will start at 6:30 pm.Each ticket admits one person and includes one hardcover copy of The Windsor Affair. No substitutions.Books will be available for pick-up at the event.The author will sign and personalize books with your first name only, with no messages. She will not be able to sign any posters, bookmarks, scraps of paper, etc...You may bring TWO books from home to be signed by the author in addition to anything purchased in the store during the event.An adult must accompany children under 16.If you cannot attend the event, we will hold your books at the front counter of The Doylestown Bookshop for pick-up. We will do our best to have them signed, but that is not guaranteed. We can hold books for up to two weeks. Any books that have not been picked up or arranged to be shipped by the two-week mark will be donated. Please give us 24 hours post-event to prepare your books for pick-up.Event tickets are non-refundable .About the book:A scandalous affair. A power struggle for the throne. A sensational rivalry between an English queen and an American social climber. In this electrifying novel, the New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue tells the story of the Abdication of Edward VIII—and the two women at the center of it all.“As deliciously dishy as an English cream tea and the royal gossip whispered over it!”—Kate Quinn, author of The Astral LibraryFeuding Windsor brothers and their wives—some things, it seems, never change. The Windsor Affair recreates the cataclysmic events that nearly toppled the monarchy and incited the power struggle between Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and Wallis Simpson. Told from the perspective of both women, the novel propels readers into the fabulous world of the debonair Prince of Wales, café society of the 1930s, and the glittering private lives of the Windsors. The first novel to be dedicated to this infamous rivalry, The Windsor Affair brings us all the gossip and intrigue between the two very different—yet perhaps more similar than they would admit—wives of royals.As Queen, Elizabeth would become the symbol of British pluck and courage during World War II and remain a British institution the rest of her long life. Wallis would be forever forced to enact the World’s Greatest Love Story even after it sours, as she goes from being admired to vilified and, ultimately, pitied. Against the backdrop of the Abdication Crisis, World War II, coronations, funerals, births, and deaths, these two women maintain a biting, sharp-tongued feud—until age and the long arm of history bring about a kind of understanding. For the last communication between these bitter rivals was a simple, surprising message: “In friendship, Elizabeth.” About our Guest:Melanie Benjamin is a prize-winning novelist and New York Times bestselling author of California Golden, The Children’s Blizzard, Mistress of the Ritz, The Girls in the Picture, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, The Aviator's Wife, The Autobiography of Mrs.Tom Thumb, and Alice I Have Been.
USA250 Storytime Event
The Doylestown Bookshop is partnering with The Doylestown Historical Society in 2026 to offer storytelling events for children featuring books about the American Revolution and a craft. Join us Friday, November 20th at 11:00 am as special guest John Miller reads Our Flag Was Still There: The True Story of Mary Pickersgill and the Star-Spangled Banner by Jessie Hartland. John will be dressed in colonial costume, and the Doylestown Historical Society will lead a windsock-making craft.This event is appropriate for ages 4-8.
Doylestown: Mike Sielski & Ray Didinger // GOING THE DISTANCE & LOOK WHAT THE KID WROTE TODAY
Join us in welcoming local sports writers Mike Sielski and Ray Didinger as they discuss their new books Going the Distance: Stallone, Philly, and the Story of Rocky and Look What the Kid Wrote Today: Quotes, Anecdotes, and Other Musings, at the Doylestown Bookshop on Saturday, November 21st, 2026 at 6:00 pm. This event is free to attend, and no ticket is required. About the Books: A love letter to the city of Philadelphia, and the remarkable behind-the-scenes story of the creation of a timeless and beloved piece of American pop culture: Rocky.The greatest underdog story in movie history celebrates its golden anniversary. Rocky turns 50, and in Going the Distance, Mike Sielski delivers the definitive account of the film’s making, the factors that drove Sylvester Stallone to write and star in it, and its everlasting emotional connection to Philadelphia and to people around the world.Armed with his intimate knowledge of Philadelphia’s texture, culture, and history, Sielski strips away the myths about Rocky, traces how and why it came to be made, and reveals fresh details and anecdotes that will surprise even the film's biggest fans. Through extensive research and exclusive insights from some of the movie's legendary collaborators – including producer Irwin Winkler and composer Bill Conti, among others –Sielski will tell Rocky’s story in a completely new way, showing Stallone’s rise from an aimless kid to an ambitious artist, one who was willing to do whatever he had to do to succeed in Hollywood.Going the Distance will deliver the unfiltered origin story behind one of the most inspirational films of all time. This is more than a book about a movie. It’s a dramatic and fascinating ride all its own. When Ray Didinger was a young sports columnist, his proud grandfather would tape his articles on the mirror of his Southwest Philadelphia bar and tell his customers, “Look what the kid wrote today.” That phrase is now the title of Didinger’s latest book, a fond look back on his award-winning career.In Look What the Kid Wrote Today, Didinger reflects on walking the historic Merion golf course with Jack Nicklaus, shooting pool with Mean Joe Greene, touring Foxcatcher Farms with John du Pont and hanging out with Mark Wahlberg on the set of Invincible. He also writes about helping to heal the rift between the Philadelphia Eagles and arguably their greatest player, Chuck Bednarik. It is a story that went untold until now.Didinger takes the reader through the many stages of his fifty-plus years in sports media, from his time as an Emmy Award-winning producer at NFL Films, which involved writing scripts for the likes of Tom Selleck, Gary Busey, and Oscar winner James Coburn. Now a playwright, Didinger also devotes a chapter to the 2025 premiere of his critically acclaimed production Spinner.Candid and insightful, Look What the Kid Wrote Today is Didinger at his best. About the Guests: Mike Sielski is the author of four books, including the bestseller The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality. A columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, he was formerly a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and his work has been anthologized three times in The Best American Sports Writing and The Year’s Best Sports Writing. He lives in Bucks County, Pa., with his wife and two sons. Ray Didinger is a former sports columnist for the Philadelphia Bulletin and Philadelphia Daily News. He was named Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year five times. He won six Emmy Awards as a writer and producer with NFL Films. He has authored or coauthored a dozen books and was the first print journalist inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Didinger was a talk show host on 94WIP Sports Radio and football analyst for NBC Sports Philadelphia. In 1995, he won the Bill Nunn Award for his long and distinguished reporting on professional football and his name was added to the Writers Honor Roll at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.