Join us for the 10th Annual The Literary Festival!!

Amherst College will host the 10th annual LitFest, a literary festival celebrating fiction, nonfiction, poetry, spoken-word performance, and the College's extraordinary literary life. Guest speakers include award-winning author Teju Cole; Pulitzer Prize winner Brandon Som; Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic; and a special panel on the making of American Fiction with writer and director Cord Jefferson, lead actor Jeffrey Wright '87, and Percival Everett, author of Erasure, the novel upon which the film is based.

Schedule of Events:

February 27, 2025

8:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Spoken Word Slam for Amherst Students         

Host: Daniel Gallant
Eighmy Powerhouse

February 28, 2025

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Film Screening: American Fiction - Keefe Campus Center
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm: The Making of American Fiction: Jeffrey Wright '87, Percival Everett, and Cord Jefferson in Conversation with President Michael A. Elliott

Remarks by Jennifer Acker '00
In partnership with the Jones Library

March 1, 2025

1:00 pm: Craft Talks for Students: Percival Everett, Teju Cole, Paisley Rekdal, Brandon Som

Converse, various classrooms

Debut Stories: Brief Readings and Mingle with Amherst Alumni Authors and The Common Student Interns      
Introductions and remarks: Sam Spratford '24, Literary Editorial Fellow at The Common
Amherst Alumni Authors: Diane Exavier '09, Lola Milholland '07, Sarah Sawyer '97, JinJin Xu '17
The Common Student Interns: Alma Clark '25, Aidan Cooper '26, Sophie Durbin '25, Kei Lim '25, Sarah Wu '25  

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm: Friendly Reading Room, Frost Library
5:00 pm: Presidential Scholar Teju Cole in Conversation with Jennifer Acker '00

March 2, 2025

Noon: On Call: Dr. Anthony Fauci in Conversation with Cullen Murphy '74 H'19
Johnson Chapel

2:00 pm: Phosphorescence Special Edition: Paisley Rekdal and Brandon Som in Conversation with Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation  

Introductions: Jane Wald, the Jane and Robert Keiter Family Executive Director of the Emily Dickinson Museum
In partnership with the National Book Foundation and Emily Dickinson Museum

Friendly Reading Room, Frost Library

7:00 pm: Amherst Student Publications Mingle

Eighmy Powerhouse

Amherst College is committed to making all of its programs, services and activities accessible for all. Contact the Office of Conferences and Special Events with questions and special requests. Our campus map notes the location of all venues and accessible parking spaces. For directions, parking, transportation and local lodging options, see Visiting Amherst.

Date: February 27 - March 2, 2025

Location: Various Venues in Amherst, MA 01002

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