Key West Literary Seminar Kicks off Nine Days of Events

Many Free and Open to the Public

Key West, Florida — Key West Literary Seminar (KWLS) launches nine days of events beginning Thursday, January 9. Programs include the 38th annual Seminar, “Reading Between the Lines: Sports and Literature” (January 9–12); the Writers’ Workshop Program (January 13—17); and a series of free-and-open-to-the-public events that bring writers to audiences throughout the community.

“Many people in Key West have heard about the annual Seminar,” remarks KWLS Executive Director Arlo Haskell of the annual four-day program that has become known as one of the country’s leading literary events. “But because it’s so high-profile and typically sells out a year in advance, people may not realize the amount of free programming that’s available after the seminar itself ends.”

The free series begins on Sunday, January 12, and continues through Wednesday, January 15, and will feature Pulitzer Prize-winners Buzz Bissinger (Friday Night Lights) and Gregory Pardlo (Digest); New York Times bestselling authors Daniel James Brown (The Boys in the Boat), Claire Messud (The Emperor’s Children), Lauren Groff (Florida), and Francine Prose (Reading Like a Writer); New Yorker poetry editor Kevin Young; and other leading American authors.

As in the past, the public is invited to attend the final session of the 38th annual Seminar on Sunday, January 12, from 2-5:15 pm at the San Carlos Institute, 516 Duval Street. Presenters Sunday afternoon will include Buzz Bissinger, Daniel James Brown, two-time United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins, National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Leanne Shapton, and Kevin Young.

On Monday, January 13, KWLS and Friends of the Key West Library welcome acclaimed poet, translator, and sportswriter Rowan Ricardo Phillips to the season opener of the Friends of the Library Lecture Series. The event begins at 6 p.m. at the Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton Street.

On Tuesday, January 14, from 6–8:30 pm, KWLS features “Writers on Writing,” an evening of conversations and readings by the faculty of its Writers’ Workshop Program, to be held at the Helmerich Theater at The Studios of Key West, 533 Eaton Street. The event includes presentations by former Guggenheim Fellow Lauren Groff, whose novel Florida was a finalist for the National Book Award; Luis Alberto Urrea, a member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame; and a discussion with Billy Collins and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gregory Pardlo about “A Life in Poetry.”

On Wednesday, January 15, “Writers on Writing II” begins at 6:30 pm with a conversion between novelist and cultural critic Fernanda Eberstadt, Harvard University creative writing instructor Claire Messud, and Dayton Literary Peace Prize winner Francine Prose; and concludes with a talk about the relationship between Frank Merlo and Tennessee Williams by acclaimed novelist Christopher Castellani.

Additional events include an appearance at Key West High School by Amy Bass, the Emmy Award-winning author of One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together.

A complete schedule can be found at kwls.org/2020-free-programs. All listed events are first-come, first-seated and free of charge.

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