2026 Festival at a Glance
April 16
Thursday
LIT CRAWL
Multiple Venues, Downtown Columbia
7:00 p.m. - Late
April 17
Friday
AUTHORS IN THE SCHOOLS
Boone County Public Schools
All Day
KEYNOTE:
Terry Tempest Williams
Missouri Theatre
7:30-9:30 p.m
April 18
Saturday
CHRIS HARRIS &
QUARTEZ HARRIS
Daniel Boone Regional Library
100 W. Broadway
10 a.m. –1 p.m.
MAIN FESTIVAL PROGRAM
Multiple Venues, Downtown Columbia
9:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
2026 Panels
Author Conversations
FULL SCHEDULE BELOW
April 19
Sunday
WRITE ON! WORKSHOP
Stephens College Senior Hall
10:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m.
Saturday Festival Schedule of Events
Download a copy of the schedule HERE
Click here to download a screen-reader friendly version of the schedule - coming soon
PANEL: Community Silences
Katy Ballroom in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
Featuring: Sam Cohen, James Owen, Gwen Paradice
Moderator: Cristina Mislán
PANEL: A Decade of Writing the Lower Midwest
Orr Street Studios / 106 Orr St
Featuring: George Frazier, Leslie VonHolten, Andy Oler, Kieron Walquist
Moderator: Nancy Bell
PANEL: Jane Austen
Serendipity Salon and Gallery / 1020 E Walnut St., Suite 100
Featuring: Janet Saidi, Devoney Looser
POETRY: Leyva, Rexilius
Top Ten Wines / 111 S 9th St., #160
LITERARY JOURNAL FAIR
Ridgeline in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
PANEL: What’s the Buzz?
Katy Ballroom in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
Featuring: Julie Carrick Dalton, Andrea Rexilius, RK Fauth
Moderator: Rachel Walker
PANEL: Valiant Women
Orr Street Studios / 106 Orr St
Featuring: Amber Adams, Jillian Danback-McGhan, Lena S. Andrews
Moderator: Grace Hagen
PANEL: Hit the Road
Serendipity Salon and Gallery / 1020 E Walnut St., Suite 100
Featuring: Sarah Kendzior, BJ Soloy, Nancy Crochiere, Sam Kolawole Moderator: Caylin Capra-Thomas
AUTHOR CONVERSATION: Don’t Tell the President
Little Ragtag at Ragtag Cinema / 10 Hitt St
Featuring: Jean Becker
Moderator: Charles Zug
POETRY: Rollins, Nuernberger
Top Ten Wines / 111 S 9th St., #160
LITERARY JOURNAL FAIR
Ridgeline in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
12:05-1:15 p.m.
SPECIAL EVENT: Free Expression in the AI Era
Katy Ballroom in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
PANEL: Innovators, Agitators, Provocateurs
Katy Ballroom in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
Featuring: Steve Almond, Tony Tulathimutte, Kathryn Nuernberger
Moderator: Jenny Bossaller
PANEL: Two Revolutionary Histories
Orr Street Studios / 106 Orr St
Featuring: Ted Genoways, Caleb Gayle
Moderator: Christopher Leonard
SPECIAL EVENT: Pictures of the Year Photographer Kilii Yuyan
Big Ragtag at Ragtag Cinema / 10 Hitt St
PANEL: Warp Speed Ahead - Nerd Culture and Literature
Little Ragtag at Ragtag Cinema / 10 Hitt St
Featuring: Jennifer Maritza McCauley, Steven Leyva, and Donald Quist
Moderator: Sheri-Marie Harrison
PANEL: Disappearing Acts
Serendipity Salon and Gallery / 1020 E Walnut St., Suite 100
Featuring: Kyle Minor, Mitchell Douglas, Naeem Murr
Moderator: Simon Rose
POETRY: Adams, Fauth
Top Ten Wines / 111 S 9th St., #160
LITERARY JOURNAL FAIR
Ridgeline in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
PANEL: Out There Screaming - New Black Horror
Katy Ballroom in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
Featuring: Justin Key, Erin E. Adams, LD Lewis
Moderator: John Joseph Adams
PANEL: Woo Woo Cthulhu - Cults, the Occult and New Age
Ridgeline in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
Featuring: Leah Sottile, Olivia Muenter, Joshua Wheeler
Moderator: Caroline Dohack
AUTHOR CONVERSATION: Monsters and Murder
Orr Street Studios / 106 Orr St
Featuring: Jenna Blum and Emily Franklin
Moderator: Mary O'Malley
PANEL: Boomtown
Serendipity Salon and Gallery / 1020 E Walnut St., Suite 100
Featuring: AnnElise Hatjakes, Claire Vaye Watkins, Christopher Coake
Moderator: Tina Casagrand Foss
POETRY: Douglas, Soloy
Top Ten Wines / 111 S 9th St., #160
PANEL: Water of Life
Katy Ballroom in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
Featuring: Michelle Anderson, Ted Genoways, BJ Soloy
Moderator: Jim Meyer
PANEL: Profits Over People
Ridgeline in the Broadway Hotel (lower level) / 1111 E Broadway
Featuring: Alec MacGillis, Dan Kaufman, Christopher Leonard
Moderator: Kathy Kiely
PANEL: Tales from the Book Tour
Orr Street Studios / 106 Orr St
Featuring: Samuel Kolawole, Olivia Muenter, Kyle Minor, Alison C. Rollins, Christopher Coake, Jenna Blum
Moderator: Alex George
PANEL: Creating Audiobooks
Serendipity Salon and Gallery / 1020 E Walnut St., Suite 100
Featuring: Daniel Henning
Moderator: Grace Hagen
POETRY: Walquist, McCauley
Top Ten Wines / 111 S 9th St., #160
Pen Pals: Will Schwalbe and Dani Shapiro
Two authors whose writing both crosses and defies genres, Will Schwalbe (We Should Not Be Friends) and Dani Shapiro (Signal Fires) are fans of each other’s work, and of each other. Come and listen to these two beloved writers talk frankly about books and reading, and the writing life. We can’t think of a better way to conclude the day’s proceedings.
Pen Pals: Christina Baker Kline and Mary Morris
Between them, Mary Morris and Christina Baker Kline have written twenty-eight books, which hardly seems fair, really. There’s not much about the craft of writing that Christina (The Exiles) and Mary (All the Way to the Tigers) don’t know. We’ve dragged these two good friends from their bases in New York City all the way to Missouri to discuss their work and their lives in books.
Pen Pals: Phong Nguyen and Alexander Weinstein
Sometimes literary friendships extend to a supportive professional and creative relationship. Even though their fiction takes different forms and addresses wildly different topics, Phong Nguyen (Bronze Drum) and Alexander Weinstein (Universal Love) share their work with each other at an early stage in the process, offer feedback and advice, and help each other navigate the often perilous journey from blossoming idea to completed manuscript.