In “A Neighbor’s Primer to Organizing, Advocacy, and the Urgency of Community” (111 pages; Astyanax Press; $7.99, paperback; $3.99, ebook; 2026), Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen writes about making a difference.

“The challenges are so overwhelming, it can seem hopeless. We are in this situation now and need to fix it,” Moritz-Chapelliquen says in an interview at his home in Wilson Borough.

“The only way for change is by working with each other. It can’t be done by a single person.

“There is a glamorization in the popular imagination about organizing, viewing someone with a clipboard in one hand and a bullhorn in the other.”

He writes that political action organization is not a matter of being loud or charismatic, but being strategic, doing research and working with others.

Moritz-Chapelliquen refers to a recent decision about the former Dixie Cup site in Wilson. At issue was a $26.4 million tax abatement for the developer. Moritz-Chapelliquen and others publicly objected to the abatement because, they said, of a limited amount of funding that would be dedicated to affordable housing.

“A noted Republican and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America made similar points at the public hearing. Afterwards people said, ‘The folks on the other side are saying the same things we are. I’m glad we can talk to each other. Maybe there are more things we can do together,’” Moritz-Chapelliquen recounts.

Moritz-Chapelliquen says the book, at 111 pages, is intended to be brief. It includes charts that explain how to map agendas, a sample meeting template, guides for creating tools like an emergency call list and advice for public speaking. There are questions at the end of each chapter on possibilities for action.

Moritz-Chapelliquen is Director of Economic Development for the Local Initiatives Support Corp., President of the Wilson Area LINCS Coalition for Families and Youth and Vice Chair of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

He was born in Wayne and raised in Ringwood, N.J. He came to the Lehigh Valley to attend Moravian University, graduating with a BA in Political Science and Philosophy.

“I fell in love with the region. But each time I returned, I saw more and more building. I thought there should be some coordinated development.”

After working in New York City, he moved back to the Lehigh Valley. “A Neighbor’s Primer” is his first book.

“I have been told for many years I should write about advocacy and organizing. About a year ago, my wife finally convinced me I should do it. It was difficult since I had no time during the day and had many sleepless nights with a six-year-old in the house,” says Moritz-Chapelliquen.

The book calls for people to come together and take the first step towards improving their lives. He emphasizes the need for personal contact in the chapter “Forms of Power.”

“Formal power belongs to a position, like that of a public official or a lawyer or doctor. Informal power rests in the person.

“Neighbors live on the same road and have the same air quality. We have opportunities to fix the things that are happening right now, to set a path for the next 50 or 100 years where we want to be as a society and a country. Fixing a pothole can be the first step towards changing the world,” Moritz-Chapelliquen says.

Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen will have a discussion, book-signing and workshop, 2 p.m. Aug. 8, Bangor Public Library, 34 S. Main St., Bangor. Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen will have discussions, book-signings and workshops at: 2 p.m. Aug. 8, Bangor Public Library, 34 S. Main St., Bangor, and 6:30 p.m. Sept. 2, United Steelworkers Union Hall, 53 E. Lehigh St., Bethlehem.

“Literary Scene” is a column about authors, books and publishing. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com