If you are a writer, you must be in the New Orleans area come March for two of the biggest creative festivals of 2024. Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival (TWFest) will be held March 20-24, and the Saints + Sinners LGBTQ + Literary Festival (SASFEST) will be March 22-24. Both festivals have opened their submissions for contests, totaling six different categories together.
The TWFest has announced four contest categories: a one-act play with a prize of $1500, fiction with a prize of $1500, poetry with a prize of $1000 and very short fiction with a prize of $500. The one-act play and fiction category has a deadline of Oct.1
For the one-act play, the winner will earn a professional staged reading at the 2024 festival, publication in Bayou Magazine, and a 2024 VIP festival pass.
The fiction winner will be given domestic airfare (up to $500) and accommodations to attend the 2024 Festival, a 2024 VIP festival pass, and a public reading at the 2024 festival.
The poetry winner will also gain perks, including public reading at the 2024 festival and a 2024 VIP festival pass with a deadline of Oct. 15. Very short fiction has the same deadline and is their last category where the winner will receive a 2024 VIP festival pass, publication in New Orleans Review Web Features and a public reading at the 2024 festival.
It costs $25 for entry into the one-act play and fiction category. Entry into the poetry section is $15 and $10 for very short fiction.
All finalists will also be posted on the website, social media and newsletter and receive a literary discussion pass worth $100 to the 2024 festival.
You can find a list of this year's finalists and runner-ups, as well as information on the judges of each category, on their site.
The SASFEST is another festival used to round up the best writers in NOLA but for only two categories: fiction and poetry. Both are $500 to the winner and $100 to two runner-ups.
These two writing sectors are prevalent amongst writers, bringing out perspectives and universes created to enlighten and sometimes brighten the mood.
These poets and fiction writers come from all backgrounds, so regardless of whether you are a middle school teacher or a National Playwrights Conference Awardee, you can be the next SASFEST winner.
Entering into its 20th year, SASFEST was a program created by the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival to bring awareness to the LGBTQ+ community; that has now grown into an internationally recognized event. The festival will be filled with publishers, writers, and readers who are part of this growing community and want networking opportunities and a safe and lively good time.
Winners of both categories will be posted on the SASFEST website, social media and in the newsletter. A literary discussion pass to the 2024 festival is also included.
More details and guidelines can be found on their site.
