Mountain Words Literary Festival returns

Event to host 35 acclaimed authors and presenters

The Crested Butte Center for the Arts is hosting its third annual Mountain Words Literary Festival May 25-29, welcoming over 35 nationally and internationally acclaimed authors and presenters to the Gunnison Valley. 

The five-day celebration will open with an appearance from Cheryl Strayed, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir “Wild” and the New York Times bestsellers “Tiny Beautiful Things” and “Brave Enough.” As the event moves into the weekend, writers and readers can immerse themselves in countless workshops in fiction, research, investigative reporting, playwriting, poetry, flash fiction and more. From hands-on workshops to live theater, trivia and film screenings, the multi-genre festival offers something for everyone. 

“We are enormously excited to present some of the most stimulating and thought-provoking writers and thinkers from across the state and nation and offer a rare opportunity to experience multiple genres through a deeply diverse array of topics,” said Festival Director Brooke MacMillan. “Access is paramount to the festival mission, and we offer student discounts and scholarships as needed.”

Along with Strayed, other presenters include Iranian American scholar and Pushcart award-winning writer Kaveh Akbar; investigative reporter for the New Yorker, and author of the meta-true crime non-fiction best-seller “Savage Appetites”, Rachel Monroe; author of “Billionaire Wilderness” and professor at Yale University, Justin Farrell; writer and 2021 Whiting Award winner, Steven Dunn (who will offer a workshop on learning world-building from rappers); writer, director, and filmmaker, Manuel Aragon; award-winning artist and educator, Suzi Q. Smith; 2022 Whiting Award fiction winner, and climate literary fiction author, Claire Boyles; investigative reporter, climate change essayist, and This American Life contributor, Mario Alejandro Ariza; S Kirk Walsh, author of the national bestselling novel, “The Elephant of Belfast;” award-winning and New York Times best-selling biographer, James McGrath Morris, and local writers Shelley Read, Molly Murfee, Nick Bowlin, Anna Fenerty, Leath Tonino, and many others.  

The festival will also include readings from the 2022 Mountain Words Writers in Residence cohort which alongside Kaveh Akbar includes prison reform activist and author Dominque Conway, poet and artist Bernardo Wade, India-based fiction writer Megha Nayar, and writer and audio journalist Stephanie Maltarich.

Festival panel discussions will cover a wide range of topics including writing about climate, displacement, wealth and remaking the American West and publishing.  

“The panels are really interesting for everyone,” said Arvin Ram, festival host and local Townie Bookstore owner. “Incredible thinkers engaging in thoughtful discourse on topics that matter so much right now. If writing isn’t your thing, the panels will be.” 

For attendees looking for something new this year, the Saturday schedule will feature a Literary Death Match, an event MacMillan described as a “disruption of the reading model.”  The match up, designed like a game show, will challenge a mix of four established and emerging authors who will perform their most brilliant work before a live audience and a panel of three all-star judges. 

“The Literary Death match is one to not miss,” MacMillan said. 

The festival also has plenty for kids to enjoy, including Farcical Fairytales — an engaging, silly, interactive performance starring Crested Butte’s talented improv troupe. Parents are welcomed to join the fun or drop off the kids. Costumes are encouraged. Trailhead Children’s Museum will also present “Stories, Art, and Play” sessions that bring various books to life. Kids will have the chance to create their own scenes, express their interpretation of literary works through art, and explore books through play. 

For a full schedule, passes, scholarship and student pricing and lodging info visit www.gvlf.org.

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