Celebrate New Orleans' Iconic Literary Culture
The Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival is coming back for its 40th anniversary.
The festival kicks off Wednesday, March 25, and continues through Sunday, March 29. Most events will be held in the French Quarter and in or around the Hotel Monteleone. Things will also kick off early on March 21 at 2 p.m. with Williams Under the Oaks, a free to the community event, held on the grounds of the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
The event will launch with the popular Stella Shout Contest, where contestants will give their best impression of Stanley
What's Going On
This year, the Tennessee Williams Festival
is putting on 100 events in its five-day run, giving you plenty of opportunities to satiate your literary and theater desires. Some returning favorites include
the Writer's Craft Series. Open to writers at any level, this series features 10
sessions on poetry, fiction, plot, memoirs, etc. The Literary Discussion
series, for readers and writers alike, consists of three days of panel discussions,
several of which cover New Orleans as an iconic literary city.
Of the 100 speakers this year, half
are New Orleans writers. The full lineup can be found on the festival's website, and it includes
such writers as Justin Torres, Robert Olen Butler, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Addie
Citchens, Maureen Corrigan, and so many more.
The festival is packed with new and iconic performances. We Have Not Long to Love, an immersive theater experience, will be showcasing several of Williams' works at the BK House and Gardens. The production will be directed by Rob Ashford, an award-winning director and choreographer.
The Last Bohemia Series opens this year with the one-man show Kind Stranger:
A Memory Play, based on the playwright's memoirs. The event will be held at Le Petit Theatre, where the Tennessee Williams Festival started 40 years
ago. Don't miss The Tennessee Williams Theater Company's production of Tennessee
with the Tea, an adult-only drag story time featuring Debbie with a D. A Streetcar Named Desire will be
produced by The Irene Collective at Big Couch.
Saints and Sinners Festival
The Tennessee Williams Festival
will also be hosting the Saints & Sinners festival the same weekend. Saints
& Sinners is an LGBTQ+ literary festival featuring book launches, reading
series, and craft sessions.
Celebrating its 23rd year, SASfest has grown to international recognition, bringing together members of the LGBTQ+ literary community from all over the world.
Get your passes to the Tennessee Williams Festival here. Want to see the whole festival? Get you VIP passes here!
