On Stage

Bestselling, prizewinning authors headline the Festival, discussing their work with readings and book signings that set the stage for further inspired conversations.

In Conversation and Author Talks

Authors and other notable figures engage in one-on-one conversations and thought-provoking discussions. An opportunity to find out what inspires some of today’s most important writers.

Walk & Talk

Small groups of festivalgoers along with featured authors stretch their legs and their minds during morning meditations, walking tours, and other literary-themed activities.

Schedule:

May 17, 2024

5:00 PM - Reception

All ticket holders are welcome!

Venue: Santa Fe Community Convention Center

6:00 PM - On the Big Stage with Jesmyn Ward

Two-time National Book Award winner and bestselling author of Sing, Unburied, Sing and Let Us Descend

In conversation with Tracy K. Smith

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

May 18, 2024

8:00 AM - Morning Meditation and Author Talk with Roshi Joan Halifax

Buddhist teacher and social and environmental activist

Venue: Lamy / Peralta Rooms

9:15 AM - On the Big Stage with David Grann

Bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, The Wager, and The Lost City of Z

In conversation with Hampton Sides

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

11:00 AM - On the Big Stage with Lynsey Addario

Legendary conflict photographer and bestselling author of the memoir It’s What I Do

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

12:00 PM - Lunch Break

Please enjoy live music in the courtyard. Bring lunch or visit the food truck.

Venue: Courtyard

1:00 PM - On Stage with John Vaillant

2023 National Book Award finalist in nonfiction for Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World

In conversation with William deBuys

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

1:00 PM - On Stage with Arthur Sze and Wang Jiaxin

Arthur Sze, National Book Award–winning poet, and Wang Jiaxin, award-winning poet, translator, and educator—two legendary international stars talk poetry

Venue: Rooms A/B

2:30 PM - On Stage with Tommy Orange

Pulitzer Prize finalist, winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award for There There, and author of Wandering Stars

In conversation with Ramona Emerson

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

2:30 PM - On Stage with Tracy K. Smith

Two-term U.S. poet laureate, Tracy K. Smith, is a memoirist, translator, and opera librettist for the world premiere of The Righteous. In conversation with Hakim Bellamy

Venue: Rooms A/B

2:30 PM - Walk & Talk: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum with Roxana Robinson

Join us for a short walk to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Research Center to visit the museum’s library and archives and enjoy a short talk by a museum staff member, followed by a self-guided tour of the museum. (Limited to 10)

Venue: Walk & Talk

4:00 PM - On the Big Stage with Anthony Doerr

Pulitzer Prize–winning author of All the Light We Cannot See, About Grace, and Cloud Cuckoo Land In conversation with Bryan Curtis

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

4:00 PM - Spirits Tasting at Sazón

A spirited tasting of the spirits of Mexico, by Chef Fernando Olea, at the famous Sazón restaurant.

Venue: Spirits Tasting & Author Talk

5:00 PM - Reception

All ticket holders are welcome!

Venue: Santa Fe Community Convention Center

6:00 PM - On the Big Stage with Julia Alvarez

National Medal of Arts recipient, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, In the Time of the Butterflies, and the new The Cemetery of Untold Stories In conversation with Manuel Muñoz

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

May 19, 2024

8:00 AM - Morning Meditation and Author Talk with Natalie Goldberg

Legendary writing teacher and author of Writing Down the Bones

Venue: Lamy / Peralta Rooms

9:15 AM - On the Big Stage with Kai Bird

Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and biographer of Robert Oppenheimer, Robert AM - es, Jimmy Carter, and others

In conversation with James McGrath Morris

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

11:00 AM - On the Big Stage with Patrick Radden Keefe

Revered investigative journalist for The New Yorker and author of Empire of Pain, Say Nothing, and Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

12:00 PM - Lunch Break

Please enjoy live music in the courtyard. Bring lunch or visit the food truck.

Venue: Courtyard

1:00 PM - On Stage with Hua Hsu

Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award winner for the memoir Stay True

In conversation with Bryan Curtis

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

1:00 PM - Walk & Talk: Willa Cather's Santa Fe

Join us for a short guided walk of Willa Cather’s Santa Fe with author, tour guide, and historian Garrett Peck as we explore Cather’s the inspiration behind her “best book” (her words), Death Comes for the Archbishop.

Venue: Walk & Talk

1:00 PM - Walk & Talk: Chocolate Immersion

Join us on short walk from the Convention Center to Kakawa Chocolate House as owner, Bonnie Bennett, guides us through chocolate's long history. We'll be treated to sample drinking elixirs and several of Kakawa's other delicious chocolate creations. 

Venue: Walk & Talk

2:30 PM - On Stage with Diana Gabaldon, Roxana Robinson and Douglas Preston
Internationally bestselling author Diana Gabaldon, celebrated novelist and short story writer Robinson and bestselling journalist and author Preston discuss the star-studded collaborative novel Fourteen Days. Presented by the Authors Guild.

Venue: Rooms A/B

2:30 PM - On Stage with Javier Zamora

Author of the harrowing memoir Solito, a New York Times Notable Book

In conversation with Demetria Martínez

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

4:00 PM - On Stage with Hampton Sides

Bestselling master of narrative histories including Blood and Thunder, In the Kingdom of Ice, and the recently released The Wide Wide Sea

In conversation with Mark Bryant

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

4:00 PM - On Stage with Jenn Shapland and Jamie Figueroa

Two brilliant New Mexico authors-critically acclaimed novelist Figueroa and prizewinning essayist and memoirist Shapland—talk about the power of essay and memoir

In conversation with Marin Sardy

Venue: Rooms A/B

4:00 PM - Spirits Tasting at the Los Poblanos Farm Shop Norte and Author Talk with Cheryl Alters Jamison

Join us on a short walk from the Convention Center to Los Poblanos Farm Shop Norte, where we'll raise a glass of botanical spirits with local treasure and James Beard Award winner Cheryl Alters Jamison.

Venue: Spirits Tasting & Author Talk

5:00 PM - Reception

All ticket holders are welcome!

Venue: Santa Fe Community Convention Center

6:00 PM - On the Big Stage with Anne Lamott

Perennial New York Times bestselling author of Bird by Bird and Help, Thanks, Wow and Somehow: Thoughts on Love, released in April.

In conversation with Ellen McGirt

Venue: Sweeney Ballroom

Date: May 17 - 19, 2024

Location:

Santa Fe Community Convention Center -

201 W Marcy St

Santa Fe, NM 87501

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