The class will meet from 2 to 5pm on Thursday, October 23, and reconvene from 2 to 5 pm on Friday, October 24. The two-day format will allow participants to work on their material overnight.

Back by popular demand! George Emlen and Noel Paul Stookey (best known as “Paul” of the multi-platinum-selling group Peter, Paul & Mary) will offer songwriting techniques in a group setting to aspiring songwriters of all levels and genres. If you only have a melody, we'll help you find a lyric. If you only have a lyric, we'll help you find a melody. Class size is limited, so sign up early.

Pre-registration required

Join us for the launch of Word 2024 with the annual Word.Art exhibit of visual art that includes or relates to the written word. Featured work is by Kristie Billings, Marechal Brown, Katy Helman, Annaliese Jakimides, Stu Kestenbaum & Susan Webster, Cynthia McGuirl, Jan Owen, Elaine Sexton, and Sandy Weisman. Poets Arisa White and Annaliese Jakimides will read at 6pm. The gallery will be open daily 2-4pm, throughout the festival. Work will be for sale with a portion of the sales price supporting Word.

Free event

Kick off the weekend of literary festivities, meet and mingle with festival authors, and support Word’s future. Join us for wine, beer, and delicious hors d’oeuvres/light supper from our favorite local chefs before the Friday keynote with Paul Doiron and Elizabeth Hand.

Ticketed event, purchase here

A read-aloud and draw-along with Phuc Tran, author of the best-selling picture-book series about an unhappy crane truck on a construction site. Phuc will talk about the series, read aloud from his latest, Cranky Makes a Friend, and lead the audience in a draw-along activity to unleash their inner Cranky. Geared to ages 5 to 8, but older kids are welcome. Sponsored by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust.

Free event

Literary agent Ann Rittenberg will meet individually with a small number of local authors to hear their “pitch” (description of their book project) and offer advice that will both refine the pitch for future submission to literary agencies and help writers improve their books. Participants will receive light reading beforehand.

Pre-registration required

The Poetry Society of New York defines a poetopia as: “a blueprint for possibility, a practice of reimagining a more inclusive, equitable world[…] a living force that can shape the future.” In this workshop, we will explore speculative poems that transform the world—and its malaises. Authors may include Ocean Vuong, Dianne Seuss, Charles Simic, Tracy K. Smith, David Bowie, and Eve Ewing. We will weave found structures, inspirations, and poetic devices to create, share, and strengthen our own poetopias. All levels are welcome!

“Keep the man on haunted ground, and he’ll haunt.” (Robert Bloch, author of Psycho) Most fiction of the dark fantastic relies heavily on setting and atmosphere to generate suspense, tension, and good old-fashioned terror. We will discuss how setting and landscape impact fiction, then dive into generative writing prompts and exercises. Be prepared to write (using tablet, laptop, or carbon-based media) and to read work aloud.

Pre-registration required

Are you a writer eager to build impact and audiences in the digital age and curious about emerging options like Substack, blogs, and social media? Join this brisk hands-on workshop with longtime online journalist and podcaster Andy Revkin to explore tools, tactics, and practices that can help anyone make the most of online writing and connectedness while blunting the downsides of some platforms.

Learn how to make a chapbook, pamphlet, or booklet from a single sheet of paper. Great for poetry, visual art, micro prose—anything you can fit on a page. Bring a poem or work with what’s supplied. Paper, glue and/or tape, and scissors will be provided but you’re welcome to bring your own.

Free event

While Maine often is depicted by writers and artists in broad brushstrokes, there is more than meets the eye in the rural corners of our state. This panel brings together three Maine writers working in fiction, poetry, and memoir to explore how living in Down East and inland Maine, and other remote communities, shapes the stories we tell. 

Free event

Join Anna from Healthy Peninsula’s Magic Food Bus to prepare a big pot of soup and celebrate the end of harvest season. Bring something for the pot or to go with the meal if you like! Enjoy a story on the lawn with Claire of the Blue Hill Public Library and share a bowl of soup together. 

Free event

Here poets read and explore downtown Blue Hill at the same time, with the return of Word’s poetry crawl. Hear one poet in each location: Blue Hill Books, the Shaw Institute, Juniper, Blue Hill Heritage Trust Murphy Trail (located behind Blue Hill Congregational Church), and the church sanctuary.

Enjoy a casual supper of fish and vegetarian chowder, Tinder Hearth bread, salad, and sweets between the Poetry Crawl finale and the conversation between Colin Woodard and Alicia Anstead, courtesy of the Simmering Pot crew.

Ticketed event, purchase here

Compact, emotionally immediate, and surprising, “flash” memoir is “the writer’s experience of the world made small and large at the same time.” Participants will explore techniques that give flash writings their intensity and focus, reading examples from across the genre and generating flashes from their own material. They will have the opportunity to share writings and receive revision tips for these miniaturized distillations of memory and life.

The first page is a writer’s best shot at engaging a reader. Literary agent Ann Rittenberg will begin by discussing some of the best first pages in English literature before a close read of first pages from participants’ works in progress. She will offer publishing insider insights on what editors look for when they sit down to read an unpublished novel. Participants will be asked to read the selected published first pages in advance and to bring their own first pages. 

Pre-registration required

Obsessed with Wordle? Curious about the other word games out there? Andrew Innes, inventor of the bestselling table-top game Anomia and its many offshoots, will talk about the surprising history of word games, then lead a fun and fast-paced Anomia session. Bring your word-game loving friends!

Join us for a screening of Georgia O’Keeffe: the Brightness of Light, a feature documentary about the life and art of an American icon, featuring the voice of Claire Dane. O’Keeffe is widely revered as the “Mother of American Modernism” and the greatest woman artist of the 20th century. The film will be followed by a question and answer session with Roxanna Robinson, author of the definitive biography of O’Keeffe, and a celebrated novelist in her own right.

Free event