2026 Maine Lit Fest Schedule

Please check back for the most up-to-date information.

Wednesday, September 30

7:00 PM SONGS OF NO PROVENANCE: An Evening of Literary Conversation and Live Music with Lydi Conklin & Special Guests

Portland - Maine Irish Heritage Center

Fiction writer, Lydia Conklin, will read from and discuss their novel, Songs of No Provenance, alongside live music from Kafari, Little Busy, Hannah Matthews, and more.

Thursday, October 1

6:00 PM I Possess One Compass: A Reading in Community with Ladan Osman and Maine Poets

Lewiston - TBD

Award-winning poet and filmmaker, Ladan Osman, author of Exiles of Eden, will read from her work alongside Guest Maine Poets. A community dinner will kick-off the night.

Friday, October 2

5:00 PM An Evening with Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Waterville - Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts (Studio 1)

In celebration of the third Maine Lit Fest, award-winning poet and scholar Alexis Pauline Gumbs reads from and discusses her newest book, Primary: After and With Alma Thomas, about the twentieth-century modern artist best known for her bright, mosaic-like abstract paintings

Saturday, October 3

All Day Responding to the moment - A day of Free workshops & Readings

Waterville - Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts

Visiting author Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Maine-based writers and artists, including Nick Fuller Googins, Zahir Janmohamed, Alex Nelson, and Emerson Whitney, offer a day of free workshops and readings focused on “Responding to the Moment.”

Saturday, October 3

10:00 am kids lit book fair at the maine lit fest

Portland - Portland Public Library (Downtown Branch)

The Kids Lit Book Fair at the Maine Lit Fest is an opportunity for kids and families to celebrate the diversity of children’s, middle grade, and young adult books coming out of Maine and New England. Family-friendly and featuring 18+ Children's Authors and Illustrators. Plus Storytime, Illustrator Draw-Offs, Crafts, and BOOKS galore!!

Saturday, October 3

6:00 PM in the news: ADRIENNE MAREE BROWN ON MOVEMENTS, POWER, AND POLITICAL POSSIBILITY

Waterville - Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts (Performance Hall)

Moderated by Assistant Professor Onnesha Roychoudhuri of Creative Writing, this special In the News conversation with adrienne maree brown will explore the challenge of translating radical imagination into collective power and enduring movements.

Saturday, October 3

7:00 PM an evening with min jin lee

Portland - First Parish Church

Acclaimed author and National Book Award finalist Min Jin Lee will read from and discuss her highly anticipated new novel, American Hagwon, with Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Under the Falls. General admission tickets are $10. A $45 ticket includes a copy of American Hagwon.

Sunday, October 4

3:00 PM Hyperlocality: Embracing local narratives in nature and climate writing

Scarborough - Frith Farm

A conversation between writers Kate Olson and Megan Mayhew Bergman, held under the grapevines at Frith Farm, will include short readings by each author followed by a conversation on the topic of hyperlocality, the themes and stories, species and phenomena happening within our own area codes that deserve our attention. Kea Krause, Maine Lit Fest Fellow, will facilitate.

Sunday, October 4

5:30 PM Food & Land: Writing from Rural Places

Farmington - Grange Hall

Through readings and conversation, the writers Maria Pinto, Rylan Hynes, and Audrey Gidman will talk about writing rural places and how food and the natural world are woven into our stories.

Tuesday, October 6

5:00 PM Book Bans: A Conversation with Jennifer Finney Boylan

Rockport - Barnswallow Books

Please join Barnswallow Books, the MWPA, and the Maine ACLU for a conversation during Banned Books Week about the importance of free speech in writing and publishing. Bestselling and award-winning writer Jennifer Finney Boylan will join the Maine ACLU and others with experience working on free speech in Maine in conversation.

Wednesday, October 7

5:00 PM a reading by and conversation with patrick dewitt

Brunswick - Massachusetts Hall, Faculty Room, Bowdoin College

Patrick deWitt, author The Sisters Brothers, French Exit, Under Majordomo Minor, and Ablutions, will read from and speak about his latest novel, Dodge City.

Wednesday, October 7

5:30 PM Reworks: A Collaborative literary Art project

Northeast Harbor - Northeast Harbor Library

A live reading, art viewing and panel discussion celebrating the ways creative ideas echo across mediums. Northeast Harbor Library commissioned three authors to write short pieces inspired by this year’s Maine Lit Fest theme - “responding to the moment” - then commissioned three artists to reinterpret their work visually, for publication in their very first reWorks zine!

Friday, October 9

7:00 PM Stories of Our Times: A Conversation with Justin Ellis and Virginia Eubanks

Portland - Mechanics’ Hall

Please join Longfellow Books, the MWPA, and Mechanics’ Hall for a conversation for these times with longform nonfiction writers Justin Ellis (author of The Cruelty of Nice Folks) and Virginia Eubanks (author of A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving).

Thursday, October 15

1:30 PM VOICES IN THE NORTH COUNTRY WRITERS SYMPOSIUM

Presque Isle - UMPI Campus Center Multi-Purpose Room

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will present its biennial writers symposium Voices in the North Country on Thursday, Oct. 15, 1:30-3:45 p.m. and 6 p.m., in the Campus Center’s Multi-Purpose Room, featuring Maine writers Morgan Talty, Julia Bouwsma, and Barry Wright, and several UMPI students.

The Maine Lit Fest was made possible by a long list of Community Partners and Sponsors. Huge thanks also to all of our Featured Authors & Speakers. And thanks also to the MWPA staff, Board of Directors, and Community Advisory Board, the Maine Lit Fest Fellows, and many other volunteers, collaborators, and supporters.