Books, Stories, Community
BANGOR | BRUNSWICK | FARMINGTON | PRESQUE ISLE | PORTLAND I WATERVILLE I ONLINE
The 2024 Maine Lit Fest will take place from October 3 through 13.
2024 Maine Lit Fest Schedule
Please check back for the most up-to-date information.
Thursday, October 3
7:00 PM Voices in the North Country - “Finding Your Voice in Maine”
PRESQUE ISLE - UMPI Campus Center
Tony-award nominated actor and playwright, John Cariani, will talk about his work and growing up in Presque Isle.
Friday, October 4
5:00 PM A conversation with Lynda Barry, Cartoonist & Graphic Novelist
WATERVILLE - Gordon Center for Performing Arts
Cartooning superstar Lynda Barry (creator of Ernie Pook’s Comeek and author of the illustrated novels The Good Times are Killing Me and What It is) will speak on the importance of creativity.
Friday, October 4
6:00 PM “Everything, Everywhere All at once” Weekend
STATEWIDE - Fri, Oct. 4 - Sun, Oct. 6
Book lovers lead community events and activities across the state. Stay tuned for a complete set of event listings.
Saturday, October 5
All Day Graphic Novel Workshops
WATERVILLE - Greene Block + Studios
Featuring Lynda Barry, Sharon De La Cruz, Robert Gipe, and Yao Xiao.
Saturday, October 5
7:00 PM Short Story Writers on UNDERSTANDINGS OF Home
FARMINGTON - West Farmington Grange Hall
Featuring Jason Brown (author of Outermark and A Faithful but Melancholy Account of Several Barbarities Lately Committed), Juliana Lamy (author of You Were Watching From the Sand) and Ghassan Zeineddine (author of Dearborn).
Sunday, October 6
4:00 PM Shannon Downey Discusses Let’s Move the needle
PORTLAND - Mechanics Hall
Shannon Downey, the artist and craftiest behind Badass Cross Stitch, discusses how to use art as a vehicle for creative resistance and community building.
Monday, October 7
7:00 PM Intimate Geopolitics: Reverberations of EMPIRE Across Centuries and Continents
ONLINE via Zoom
This panel explores the rocketing and ricocheting of American foreign policies across continents, oceans, generations, diasporas, and language. Featured authors include Hala Alyan (author of the novel The Arsonists’ City and the poetry collection The Moon That Turns You Back), Sahar Muradi (author of the poetry collection OCTOBERS), Jen Soriano (author of Nervous: Essays on Heritage & Healing), and Maine Lit Fest Fellow Leila Nadir.
Tuesday, October 8
7:00 PM Thriller Writers on the Art of Suspense and Influences of Stephen King
BANGOR - Penobscot Theater Company
Thriller writers at all stages of their careers will discuss the genre, the types of suspense that excite them most, and the lasting impacts of the books and stories of Stephen King. Featuring Steph Cha (author of Your House Will Pay and current series editor of the Best American Mystery & Suspense anthology), Mo Drammeh (Maine Lit Fest Fellow and author of Where the Cryptids Fled), Paul Tremblay (author of 10 books including his latest, Horror Movie, and The Cabin at the End of the World), and Rebecca Turkewitz (author of Here in the Night). Facilitated by Katrina Niidas Holm.
Wednesday, October 9
6:00 PM A showcase of Black PoetS Laureate
PORTLAND - SPACE Gallery
Five Black poets from all over the U.S. who have held or currently hold the title of Poet Laureate in their city will read their original work and engage in a panel discussion moderated by former poet laureate of Portland, Maine Maya Williams. Featuring A$iahMae (Charleston, South Carolina), Andrea Vocab Sanderson (San Antonio, Texas), Diannely Antigua (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), Junious "Jay" Ward (Charlotte, North Carolina), and Melissa Ferrer-Civil (Kansas City, Missouri).
Wednesday, October 9
8:00 PM Proud Mary Reading
PORTLAND - Cocktail Mary
Queer writers from Maine and beyond will read their work after hours at Cocktail Mary. Featured writers include Johan Alexander, Chen Chen, Michael Colbert, Melissa Febos, Emily Lowe, Rebecca Turkewitz, and Arisa White.
Thursday, October 10
5:00 PM An Evening with Melissa Febos
BRUNSWICK - Massachusetts Hall, Faculty Room, Bowdoin College
Melissa Febos, the author of four books, including the nationally bestselling essay collection, Girlhood, and the craft book, Body Work, will talk about her work and evolution as a writer.
Friday, October 11th
5:30 PM Graphic Novel Night with Marjorie LIu
PORTLAND - Back Cove Books
Celebrate the second installment of the Wingbearer Saga with Hugo and Eisner Award winning author, Marjorie Liu.
Friday, October 11th
7:00 PM Storytelling in Magazines
PORTLAND - Mechanics Hall
Seasoned creative nonfiction writers will share their experiences crafting stories of all kinds for national publications. Featuring Jaed Coffin (author of Roughhouse Friday), Michael Paterniti (author of Love and Other Ways of Dying: Essays), and Vanity Fair’s Senior Editor Keziah Weir (author of The Mythmakers). Mira Ptacin (author of The In-Betweens: The Spiritualists, Mediums, and Legends of Camp Etna) will facilitate.
Saturday, October 12th
10:00 AM Kids’ Lit Bookfair at the Maine LIt Fest
PORTLAND - Portland Public Library
Family-friendly & Free. Featuring 20+ Children's Authors and Illustrators from Maine & New England. Plus Drag Queen Storytime, Illustrator Draw-Offs, Puppets, Music, Crafts, and BOOKS galore!!
This event is co-hosted by Back Cove Books and Portland Public Library.
Saturday, October 12th
7:00 PM An Evening with Viet Thanh Nguyen
PORTLAND - John Ford Auditorium at Portland High School
Celebrated fiction and nonfiction writer, Viet Thanh Nguyen, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer was recently adapted into an HBO mini-series, will read from his work and speak on its influences.
Sunday, October 13th
1:00 PM An Afternoon of Poetry in honor of Deborah Cummins
FALMOUTH - Gilsland Farm Audubon Center
Poets Julia Bouwsma (Maine’s 6th Poet Laureate and author of Midden), Franny Choi (author of The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On), and Stuart Kestenbaum (Maine’s 5th Poet Laureate and author of Things Seemed to Be Breaking) will read and share poetry in honor of writer, poet, and former MWPA Board President, Deborah Cummins.
Sunday, October 13th
7:00 PM The magic of the Spoken Word: Maine Authors and Their Audiobook Narrators
ONLINE via Zoom
AudioFile will present a dynamic LIVE Zoom discussion pairing two Maine authors (Paul Doiron, Pitch Dark, and Morgan Talty, Fire Exit) with the narrators of their audiobooks (Henry Leyva and Darrell Dennis). The author-narrator interview led by Publisher Michele Cobb will offer a behind-the-mic glimpse into the collaborative process that brings excellent recordings to our ears.
2022 Maine Lit Fest
Books, Stories, Community
WATERVILLE I PORTLAND I ONLINE
Thank you for a great 2022 Lit Fest!
Presented by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance and the Colby College Creative Writing Program
After extended time apart and held for the first time on September 30 through October 8, 2022, the Maine Lit Fest addressed the need for a welcoming large-scale series of gatherings that celebrate diverse experiences and stories and bring Maine’s communities together through the power of the written and spoken word.
The Maine Lit Fest included a week of 20+ readings, conversations, and happenings, beginning in Waterville and then heading down to Portland, including a final day full of free outdoor events in Downtown Portland, and a bookfair featuring Maine publishers and author collectives. The slide show above captures some great moments from the festival.
