Inaugural Tahoe Literary Festival to offer weekend full of events

Event Date: 
Repeats every day until Sat Oct 12 2024 .
October 11, 2024 (All day)
October 12, 2024 (All day)

TAHOE CITY, Calif. - The inaugural Tahoe Literary Festival is on Oct. 11 and 12 at venues in Tahoe City. Author and naturalist Obi Kaufmann is the keynote. Kaufmann will speak on Oct. 12 as part of the tour for his newest book, “The State of Fire, Why California Burns,” to be released in September.

The theme of this year’s festival, Spirit of Place, speaks to the festival's roots in the mountains. Open to anyone who loves the literary arts, the festival offers a unique opportunity to connect with the vibrant community of authors, aspiring writers, songwriters, poets, and journalists who call Tahoe and the surrounding region home.

The festival kicks off with a free literary open mic night on Oct. 11. Enjoy Poetry & Prose at the Boatworks hosted by Scott Green of Tahoe Poetry Collective. The evening features invited poets along with a literary open mic open to everyone and for any writing style. Featured poets will include Green, Reno Poetry Laureate Jesse James Ziegler, Karen Terrey, Teresa Breeden, Roxy Hankinson, Edward Manzi, John Merryfield, and others.

On Oct. 12, enjoy a morning keynote with Wildbound PR founders Jared and Julia Drake, followed by panels, workshops, and discussions with local journalists, poets, and authors. Featured panelists include Mike Rogge of Mountain Gazette, Mayumi Peacock of Moonshine Ink, along with writers and authors Lisa Michelle, Tim Hauserman, Bruce Rettig, Eve Quesnal, Clare Frank, Alenka Vreeck, Marianne Porter, Lara Gularte, Dr. Kim Bateman, Karen Terrey, June Sylvester Saraceno, Leslie Hsu Oh, Wendy Voorsanger, Lisa Parsons, Frank Riley and Emilee Guido.

The festival concludes on Saturday night with a Songwriters’ Showcase hosted by Will Richardson of the Tahoe Institute of Natural Science. This event brings together talented singer-songwriters offering a unique blend of music and storytelling. Featured artists include Megan Lacy, Aaron Oropeza, and Taylor Murphy, alongside host and musician Richardson.

There are a limited number of free tickets available for Tahoe and Truckee high school and college students and for educators from Tahoe and Truckee schools.

Tickets are available for the festival with $35 for access to all events, or a $15 option for the keynote only with Kaufmann. Find the full schedule and purchase tickets at tahoelitfest.eventbrite.com. Festival details available at TahoeLitFest.com.