TWFest Gets Mysterious This Year
Be prepared to hear "Stella" on Sunday, March 23, as the 39th annual Tennessee Williams Literary Festival amplifies Jackson Square with shouting competitions of Stanley Kowalski's iconic line.
Only 25 brave voices will be allowed to sign up for this free event beginning at 1:30 p.m. and ending at 3:15 p.m. The annual Shouting Contest is an awareness and fundraising campaign for the New Orleans Family Justice Center, a partnership of agencies dedicated to ending domestic violence.
The main Tennessee Williams Festival week will continue on Wednesday, March 26, and runs until Sunday, March 30. There will be shrimp boils, writing marathons, journal readings of Williams, and walking tours for those interested in literary history and arts. In addition, there will be a number of live theater performances, artist showcases, and book fairs.
The festival lineup includes over 50 New Orleans writers and over 100 speakers, including Michael Cunningham, Gillian Flynn, Megan Abbott, Karisma Price, and more. You can find the complete speaker line-up on the festival's website.
Five Days of Theatre & Culture
Saturday, March 29, the 10th anniversary of the Diana Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction day culminates with an awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m., which is free and open to the public. To continue the mysterious theme, the festival is hosting a 1920s-themed murder mystery event later into the night.
"Once we booked the Pinckley winners, we leaned into the natural mysterious atmosphere of the French Quarter," said Managing Director Tracy Cunningham in a press release. "We chose Interview with the Vampire as our book club selection, added a murder mystery event, and, of course, we're at the Hotel Monteleone, which brings its own mystique and spirits to the weekend."
The five-day festival includes many cultural and theatrical events celebrating the Bohemian nature of New Orleans, appropriately named "The Last Bohemia" series. The series will include Mink at the Monteleone, a soirée at the Toulouse Theatre featuring Tim Murray Is WITCHES!, a musical comedy fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a culinary and cocktail event with Chef Eric Cook at his restaurant, Saint John, A Drag Brunch Named Desire with Poppy Tooker at Dickie Brennan's Tableau, a four-course Romani culinary event with music and tea leaf readings, and much more.
The series also includes five theatrical productions at The Twilight Room. In addition, the Mudlark Puppeteers will present Tennessee Williams' A Recluse and His Guest.
Saints & Sinners Fest
The weekend continues in tandem with the Saints and Sinners (SAS) LGBTQ Literary Festival, which runs from March 28-30 at the Hotel Monteleone. This festival gathers LGBTQ writers, readers, and publishers for award ceremonies, panel discussions, writers craft sessions, and more. A SAS membership supports the queer literary community and includes great perks. More information about SAS can be found at their website.
About the Tennessee Williams Festival
Since 1947, the Tennessee Williams Festival's (TWF) mission has gone towards providing year-long educational programs for the city's writers, as well as contributing to the city economy. When they are not having this five-day event, they partner with Baldwin & Co. Coffee and Bookshop with a free writing workshop series, Coffee & Craft, and in their commitment to promoting New Orleans writers.
TWF memberships are available to those who wish to influence and amplify the New Orleans literary scene in addition to enjoying a number of exclusive privileges such as free passes, opportunities to mingle with the literary elite at VIP events, festival merchandise, and public recognition.
More Info
As most of the events are in or near the Hotel Monteleone, the festival's host hotel, out-of-town guests can take advantage of a discount room rate at the Hotel Monteleone, as long as rooms are available. A comprehensive schedule can be found here at the event's website.
