Literary intrigue abounds at The Letters Festival

by Kiki Hill, contributor

Looking for an interesting event featuring diverse independent literature? Look no further than the third annual Letters Festival, set to happen November 12 – 14 at Atlanta Contemporary. The event features something for any literature lover including readings, workshops, discussion panels and a book market.

Readings will feature poets such as Khadijah Queen, Nick Sturm, Phillip B. Williams, Janaka Stucky, Dorothea Lasky, Daniel Bailey, Laura Theobald, Jibade-Khalil Huffman and Jane Wong. Additionally, there will be fiction and nonfiction readings from Jac Jemc, Ada Calhoun, Amelia Gray, Kalpana Narayanan, Marcela Fuentes, Julia Elliott, Tanwi Nandini Islam, Michael Kimball and Rachel Kessler. Among these writers is Nikki Igbo, a SCAD alum and the former Opinions Editor for The Connector.

After listening to these writers read their work, you might want to attend some workshops by them on Saturday, Nov. 14th, such as a workshop led by Suzanne Moses called #UNDERWOVEN, a poetry workshop led by Laskey, “The One-Hour MFA (in fiction)” led by Kimball and “The Art of Live Reading” led by Queen. A discussion panel will be moderated by Jason Koo called “Maintaining Your Writing Practice While Building a Literary Community” and will feature a talk between Williams, Islam, Amanda Johnston and Amy McDaniel.

In addition to this, the book market will be open on Friday, Nov. 13 from 6 – 10 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. The market will sell books and journals from more than 20 literary and art presses around the country.

The Letters Festival is free to all high school and college students with a valid school ID. For more information contact Scott Daughtridge, Stephanie Dowda or check the Letters Festival Facebook page.