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TULSA, Okla. – The Center for Poets and Writers at OSU-Tulsa, Magic City Books and PEN America announce the third annual Tulsa LitFest is set for April 16-19, 2020 at locations across downtown Tulsa. This year’s festival includes author talks, craft talks, writing workshops, a small press book fair, a poetry slam and more. All events are free and open to the public.
This year’s headliners feature United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, Layli Long Soldier and Terese Mailhot, alongside Kendra Reynolds, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Lisa E. Wright, Lara Prescott and Andre Aciman.
Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and lives in Tulsa. She is the author of nine books of poetry, several children’s books and plays, and is the first Native American to be appointed United States Poet Laureate.
Soldier is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation, the author of the chapbook Chromosomory and the full-length collection Whereas, which was a finalist for a National Book Award.
Mailhot is from Seabird Island Band of First Nations peoples in British Columbia, whose work has appeared in Guernica, Pacific Standard, Granta, Mother Jones, Medium, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere.
Co-Directors Lindsey Smith from the Center for Poets and Writers at OSU-Tulsa and Jeff Martin from Magic City Books curated the festival with the help of an advisory committee of nearly a dozen local leaders.
“This year’s LitFest is a buffet of literary arts,” Smith said. “If you’re interested in getting published or just want to support local and Native American writers and businesses, LitFest has something for you.”
“LitFest is chance to check out a variety of literary organizations in Tulsa, across Oklahoma, and in surrounding states,” Martin said. “Because it is a three day event series spread across downtown Tulsa venues, every bit of time, money and interest spent during LitFest directly invests in Tulsa.”
Tulsa LitFest 2020 is presented by the Center for Poets and Writers at OSU-Tulsa, PEN America and Magic City Books. Additional support is provided by Tulsa Artist Fellowship, the Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity, Duet Restaurant + Jazz, Greenwood Cultural Center, Living Arts Tulsa, Nimrod International Journal, American Indian Quarterly Journal, The Tulsa Voice and the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center.
For a full schedule of events and workshop pre-registration, visit tulsalitfest.org.