After a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (MWPA) has brought back the Maine Lit Fest. This event includes a week of readings, conversations, and gatherings with members of Maine’s literary scene, starting in Waterville and ending in Portland.
The College’s Creative Writing Program with the MWPA, kicked off Maine’s Literary Festival in the College’s Given Auditorium on Friday, Sep. 30. Renowned author Carmen Maria Machado took the spotlight as part of a panel with Colby Creative Writing students and faculty, answering questions about her journey as a writer. The next day, the festival moved to Greene Block + Studios in downtown Waterville for a few more talks and panels.
The author of the Big Nate comic book series, Lincoln Pierce, spoke about the process of writing and drawing comics, and a panel of the College’s alumni in publishing spoke about their careers and what it takes to break into the publishing world. In the spirit of the community event, there were Lit Fest t-shirts for sale as well as books written by Creative Writing faculty.
Professor of English Adrian Blevins led the Creative Writing Department’s efforts with this event, along with Lit Fest fellows Annabelle Williams `23 and Julie You `23. The trio’s efforts began this past summer and left them working long hours until the culmination of the events this past weekend.
As of Monday, Oct. 3, the Lit Fest traveled to Portland for more evening talks, book signings, and conversations, leading up to a day-long event on Saturday, Oct. 8, which will end with a literary bar crawl through downtown Portland. The events on Tuesday, Oct. 4, focused on the celebration of Native Writers while Wednesday, Oct. 5 focused on trans voices and futures. One theme on Saturday, Oct. 8 is crossing borders and writing the diaspora, along with parenthood and writing the natural world.
If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by and check it out! Read more about Carmen Maria Machado’s talk in Arts & Entertainment and Lincoln Peirce’s talk in Features.
~ Mahika Gupta`23
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