Thursday & Friday
THURSDAY, MARCH 26
9 AM – 4 PM at the Hotel Monteleone
Box Office (Queen Anne B) at the Hotel Monteleone
See sections on Theater Offerings and Walking Tours. Use the
schedule grids and map to plan your best day at the Festival.
9 AM—Special Event
THE NEW ORLEANS WRITING MARATHON
Jumpstart your writing with the New Orleans Writing Marathon!
Hosted by Marathon founder Richard Louth, participants write
their way across the French Quarter in cafes, pubs, bookstores, and
anywhere a small group of writers can sit, write, and share their work.
It’s all about writing in the moment, writing for the joy of it, and
finding inspiration in one’s place. We start at the Hotel Monteleone
before going out to explore the French Quarter as writers. For more
information, visit www.writingmarathon.com and for questions,
contact Richard Louth at [email protected].
Writing Marathons begin at 9 AM on Thursday, Saturday, and
Sunday.Hotel Monteleone, Orleans A, Free and open to the public
9 – 10:15 AM—Writer’s Craft Session
LAYERING IN THE PAST: USING DIALOGUE TO REVEAL
BACKSTORY
Conventional wisdom dictates that we shouldn’t use dialogue to
spoon-feed readers, but we can learn from Tennessee Williams’ plays to
write strong, believable dialogue that reveals character and backstory.
In a medium consisting almost entirely of dialogue, Williams created
flesh and blood characters who are burdened, if not haunted, by their
pasts. In fiction, however, a character can slip into a reverie for only so
long before the momentum is broken. We explore how to reveal the
past through conversation, where it can be hinted at, fought over, and
revealed in bits and pieces, and we discuss strategies for introducing
backstory without breaking a scene’s rhythm. Bring pen and paper to
work through a short scene-building exercise. Led by authors Allison
Alsup, Tom Andes, and Jessica Kinnison from the New Orleans
Writer’s Workshop.
The Historic New Orleans Collection, $25, Combo Pass, or VIP
Pass
10:30 – 11:45 AM—Writer’s Craft Session
HOMECOMING/HOMEGOING: CONNECTING
CHARACTER AND SETTING
Tennessee Williams’ vivid settings are inextricable from his
characters—Southerners, through and through—and often defined
by their relationships to “home” and all this tricky word entails. A
clear sense of place is central to character-driven writing, yet setting
is often treated as mere window dressing. This workshop asks writers
to imagine their characters as inextricable from time and place as
we examine strategies for revealing character by tunneling into that
fraught word, “home.” Bring pen and paper as we’ll finish with a short
writing exercise. Led by authors Allison Alsup, Tom Andes, and
Jessica Kinnison from the New Orleans Writer’s Workshop.
The Historic New Orleans Collection, $25, Combo Pass, or VIP
Pass
10 TENNESSEE WILLIAMS & NEW ORLEANS LITERARY FESTIVAL
11 AM - 12:15 PM—Master Class
HOW TO WORK WITH
ACTORS: A MASTERCLASS
FOR WRITERS WITH
KATHLEEN TURNER
Legendary actress of stage and
screen Kathleen Turner shares her
experiences with screenwriters
and film directors and how they
collaborate with actors. Turner
will focus on how an actor's job
as storytelling aligns with and
complements the writer's work.
Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom, $25 or VIP Pass
1 – 2:15 PM—Writer’s Craft Session
ERICA SPINDLER: MASTERING THE ART OF ADDICTIVE
SUSPENSE
Would you like to write a novel that readers just can’t put down?
Do you wonder what elements elevate a ho-hum read to an edge-of-
your-seat, roller coaster ride? New York Times-bestselling author Erica
Spindler, dubbed the Master of Addictive Suspense and Queen of
the Romantic Thriller, will share her secrets for writing addictive page
turners. Tips will cover character (hero and villain), plot, pacing, story
structure, and more.
The Historic New Orleans Collection, $25, Combo Pass, or VIP
Pass
2:30 – 3:45 PM—Writer’s Craft Session
FACT AND FICTION WITH COLM TÓIBÍN
This session delves into how history, biography, journalism, an
overheard remark, a story half told, or an experience can make their
way into fiction, and how life can be completed using fictional
methods. We’ll pay special attention to Henry James’ The Turn of the
Screw and Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, as we have evidence (from
James’ Notebooks and Katia Mann’s memoirs) about the origin of
these stories. We’ll learn how the authors made use of facts to create
their fiction, and how their imagination was nourished by fact, by
anecdote, and by experiences that were then transformed as the work
progressed.
The Historic New Orleans Collection, $25, Combo Pass, or VIP
Pass
6:30 – 9 PM—Special Event
TRIBUTE READING: THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
This year we feature a delightful
and often moving selection of
excerpts from Williams’ poems,
plays, one-acts, essays, stories, and
screenplays that are interconnected.
Williams never let go of a good
idea, and this, combined with his
strong and resilient work ethic, led
to a constellation of fascinating
connections that can be found in
his shorter works and later in longer