The Letters Festival 2023

The Letters Festival believes in the power of independent literature and is committed to increasing its role in Atlanta’s rich artistic culture. The Letters Festival is a program of Lostintheletters, an Atlanta-based literary organization which also hosts an award-winning reading series. The festival offers workshops, conversations, and live performance featuring some of the country’s most riveting independent authors.

Schedule

The Letters Festival will happen over the course of two days at Atlanta Contemporary. The full schedule is as follows:

Thursday, November 9 | 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Whitespace

Reading & Conversation with Anya Lifting

• Film Screening—7:30 - 7:45 pm
• Live Reading—7:45 - 8:00 pm
• Conversation with Stephanie Dowda DeMer—8:00 - 8:30 pm

Friday, November 10 | 7:00 - 9:00 pm

Live Readings

• Monic Ductan—7:30 - 7:45 pm
• Felicia Zamora—7:45 - 8:00 pm
• E. Hughes—8:00 - 8:15 pm
• Justin Torres—8:15 - 8:30pm

Saturday, November 11 | 11:00am - 8:00pm

Workshops—11:00 am - 3:30 pm

Finding the Heartbeat: A Workshop in Voice with Anya Liftig — 11:00am-1:00pm

In this generative memoir workshop, we will play with concepts of voice. Through close reading of short passages, we will examine how “voice” is developed in memoir. We will also look at voice in non-human forms, exploring the inner emotional state of objects and places.

This workshop is for writers, artists and makers of any type who are looking to approach their work from new perspectives. Whether you are working on a long project, starting something new, or just thinking about starting, you will find something to help your creative journey.

Overheard: Methods of Sound with Courtney Faye Taylor —1:30 - 3:30 pm

Sound is a vital unit of storytelling. Writers mold sonic textures, rhyme, tone, and even silence to convey truth and open universes of understanding. In this workshop, we will examine how sound appears in our everyday world and study artists who use sound to shape narrative. With these examples as a guide, we will generate new writing that asks us to manipulate, complicate, and reinvent our use of sound in writing.

Live Readings—6:00 - 8:00 pm

• Babak Lakghomi—6:30 - 6:45 pm
• Claire Donato—6:45 - 7:00 pm
• Courtney Faye Taylor—7:15 - 7:30 pm
• Marium Khalid—7:45 - 8:00 pm

Purchases & Parking

The Letters Festival will also feature a merch table, bartender, and food. The beverages and are paid by card-only.

Parking is always free at Atlanta Contemporary! Please park in the Carriage Works lot at the intersection of Bankhead Ave and Means St.

Purchase tickets for the Letters Festival here!