Take a look at last year's festival pictures! Authors, poets, attendees & more 2025 Event Photos IMG_2111 IMG_2116 IMG_1883 IMG_2111 1/44

< Back Bill Ayres Bill has run or helped run bookstores all of his life. He graduated from VWC and continued his education at the MUSE Writers' Center. His work has appeared in Commonweal, Sojourners, The Hollins Critic, and many other magazines. The poems call to him and tell him what to write about. Sometimes a bird in his hand or a rolling stone like in his first book, What Passes for Wisdom, sometimes he's told to write in the voice of a horse or a fly like in We Share the World. He was called to write the Gospel-based Jesus Poems, poems that are good news but also challenging. Next

Our sponsors help our festival happen! Sponsor us and help support the Williamsburg literary community. Promotion Our sponsors are featured in our festival promotional materials, our website & ads placed in local publications. The festival poster and handout will promote sponsors to event attendees. Posters will be displayed at local businesses in addition to the festival location. Why Sponsor? Connect with a diverse audience of readers and writers. Sponsorship provides excellent brand visibility and helps promote literacy and community engagement in Williamsburg. Join us to make a positive impact while gaining valuable exposure! Sponsor

< Back Judge This Book: The Psychology and Craft of Irresistible Covers Make your cover do its job. Author and editor Marni Graff translates design principles into author‑friendly steps: genre signals, typography, color, and the crucial thumbnail test. With real case studies and before‑and‑afters, you’ll leave with a practical checklist, resource links, and the confidence to brief a designer—whether you’re indie or traditionally published. About Marni: Marni Graff is the author of the Nora Tierney English Mysteries and the Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries, celebrated for a strong sense of place, wit, and classic crime traditions. A contributor to the Miss Demeanors blog and Managing Editor of Bridle Path Press, she frequently visits book clubs and libraries to talk craft and mystery writing. Previous Next

< Back Stitching a Wild Story: How The Age of Deer Was Made Follow the tracks from field notes to finished pages. In this image‑rich, behind‑the‑scenes talk, Erika Howsare shows how she braided science, history, Indigenous knowledge, and hunting culture into a living narrative. From tools and maps to serendipity in Central Virginia, she makes big‑idea nonfiction feel close and human. About Erika: Erika Howsare is the author of The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors (2024), a finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. A longtime Shenandoah Valley journalist and poet, her work has appeared in The Atlantic, Orion, Longreads, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She teaches writing in Virginia, exploring nature, place, and our bonds with the more‑than‑human world. Previous Next

< Back T.S. Arther Arther is a nonfiction writer straight out of Newport News Virginia by way of Milwaukee Wisconsin. She’s a three time graduate of Saint Leo University and has a masters in Creative Writing. Arther served ten years in the Army. She is married to a witty cable guy and has four boys. When she is not writing, she loves to compete in pageants, travel, and craft. Next

< Back Dead Broke, Deeply Weird, and Still Iconic: Why Poe Endures Edgar Allan Poe suffered a lifetime of tragedies, then died broke and misunderstood—but he's become one of the most enduring literary brands of all time. In this funny, myth-busting talk, Catherine Baab uncovers the real Poe: his Virginia roots, the craft choices that make his work unforgettable, and the life choices packed with lessons more timely than ever. Come for the juicy lore; leave with some surprisingly useful takeaways. About Catherine: Catherine Baab is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Slate, CNBC, and NBC News. She is the author of Poe for Your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History’s Least Likely Self-Help Guru (Hachette, 2021), a finalist for the Library of Virginia People’s Choice Award and a Barnes & Noble Holiday Catalog pick. A frequent guest on NPR, she lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she writes the Substack newsletter “Poe Can Save Your Life” and is at work on her next book. Previous Next

Share your writing and enter for a chance to win a cash prize. Student Writing Contest Hi Writers! Middle school, high school, and college students, share your writing for the chance to win a cash prize and see your work published in an anthology. enter here SEND SPONSORED BY

< Back L.E. DeLano L.E. DeLano lives in Amish Country, Pennsylvania where she eats too much refined sugar and tries to thwart her cat’s plans for world domination. L.E.’s 2021 novel, BLUE, received six literary awards including the SPARK Award from The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and a Gold Medal in Young Adult Fiction in the 2022 Reader Views Reviewer’s Choice Awards. Her debut novel, TRAVELER, was a Keystone State Reading Association (KSRA) Secondary Book Awards Finalist for 2018-2019. Next

< Back Patsy Asuncion Patsy Asuncion, retired educator and Palm Beach Principal of the Year, has Cut on the Bias, Lineage of Weeds, and now, A Universal Belonging. Patsy's work is in twenty-plus other publications, e.g., New York Times, Sixty-Four Best Poets of 2019, About Place, Artemis, Cutthroat. Patsy, a bi-racial first-generation immigrant, promotes diversity through national, community, & open mic events. Find her at www.patsy-asuncion.com Next

< Back S.J. Lee S.J. Lee is the award-winning author of the dystopian military speculative fiction Altered Earth series and is currently in the foreign service. She holds a masters of science in security and intelligence and dual bachelors of science in different business fields. Her career has taken her to Iraq, Mexico, Chile, India, Brazil, and Guyana. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her spouse and their rescued street dog. Next

< Back John Conlee John Conlee is an Emeritus Professor of English and Medieval Studies at the College Studies where he specialized in Chaucer, the Arthurian Legends, and Celtic Mythology. He has been writing fiction for the last thirty years, and his novels reflect his scholarly interests as well as his youthful years as a baseball player. He grow up on the West Coast and attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In addition to writing fiction for adult readers, he is the author of a series of tales for younger readers that involve King Arthur, Merlin, and Arthur's dog Cabal. Several of his novels are set in Ireland and the U.K. (including Oxford, Wales, and Cornwall) where he has lived and studied. His most recent novel, BE NIMBLE. BE QUICK is set in Southern California. Next