Local literary nonprofit Punch Bucket Lit will soon launch the Punch Bucket Literary Festival, bringing the literary community together for readings, panels, and workshops. Read on to see what’s in store for the fest — it’s still a few weeks away, so there’s plenty of time to binge-read the featured authors’ works.
On the schedule
The fest kicks off on the evening of Friday, Sept. 20 with five-minute prose and poetry readings from more than 15 authors.
Then on Saturday, Sept. 21, it’s an all-day spectacle. From 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., more than 100 authors will participate in readings, panels, and workshops at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts and the Renaissance Hotel. In between attending these events, you can stop by the bookfair at the Wortham Center, which will feature more than 20 literary magazines and presses (like The Rumpus and Otterpine) and books from the festival’s featured authors.
To close out the occasion on Saturday night, the keynote will welcome headlining poets Diamond Forde and José Olivarez in conversation with Eric Tran. Then, local writer and memoirist Tessa Fontaine (who recently released “The Red Grove”) will converse with novelist Lauren Groff, named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2024.
See the detailed schedule — you can buy an $89 festival pass for entry into all the events or individual tickets to each event.
Bonus: To learn more about the authors featured at the festival and what you should be reading from them, check out the festival episode of Punch Bucket Lit’s podcast.
If you’re an open book...
Even beyond attending the festival, you can get involved with the group’s regular events. Local writers can inquire about sharing their work by attending one of the reading series and talking to the curator. If you aren’t keen on sharing, anyone is welcome to listen. Check out Punch Bucket Lit’s events page to stay in the know about the reading series and author events.
