Amherst's 8th annual literary festival celebrates the College's extraordinary literary life by inviting distinguished authors and editors to campus.

LitFest: Illuminating Great Writing and Amherst College's Literary Life

Amherst's annual literary festival celebrates the College's literary life by inviting distinguished authors and editors to discuss the pleasures and challenges of verbal expression — from fiction and nonfiction to poetry and spoken-word performance.

Schedule of Events

February 23, 2023

8 p.m. - Spoken Word Slam for Amherst Students at The Powerhouse

February 24, 2023

6 p.m. - Reception and Opening of God Made My Face: A Collective Portrait of James Baldwin at Mead Art Museum
Introductions and remarks: Hilton Als; Siddhartha V. Shah, Director of the Mead Art Museum; Jennifer Acker '00, editor-in-chief of The Common

7 p.m. - A Conversation with National Book Award Finalists Meghan O'Rourke & Ingrid Rojas Contreras and Moderated by Dennis Sweeney at Johnson Chapel
Introductions and remarks: President Michael A. Elliott; Jennifer Acker '00, editor-in-chief of The Common; Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation

February 25, 2023

12 p.m. - Phosphorescence: Special Edition, A Poetry Event with Victoria Chang and Tyehimba Jess at Friendly Reading Room, Frost Library

2 p.m. - Craft Talks for Amherst Students: Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Meghan O'Rourke, Valeria Luiselli, Victoria Chang and Hilton Als

4 p.m. - Readings by Amherst Alumni Authors and The Common Student Interns
Introductions and remarks: Sofia Belimova '22, Literary Editorial Fellow, The Common.
Amherst Alumni Authors: Ted Conover '80, Catherine Newman '90, Mark Vanhoenacker '96, and Marti Dumas '98. The Common interns: Olive Amdur '23, Alma Clark '25, Sophie Durbin '25, Andrenae Jones '23, Kei Lim '25, and Sarah Wu '25

7 p.m. - Valeria Luiselli in Conversation with Jennifer Acker '00, Editor in Chief of The Common at Johnson Chapel

February 26, 2023

1 p.m. - President's Colloquium on Race and Racism: Hilton Als in Conversation with Professor Frank Leon Roberts at Johnson Chapel
Introductions and remarks: President Michael A. Elliott

Date: February 23-26, 2023

Location: Various Venues in Amherst, MA 01002.

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