Lit Fest scheduled

Fayetteville’s Literary Festival will be held from Oct. 22 to 29. The festival, now in its fifth year, features author talks, writing workshops, pitch sessions and more. This year’s festival welcomes two keynote speakers: young adult author James Dashner and children’s author Jennifer Holm.

Both Dashner and Holm will participate in a public talk at Fayetteville Public Library at 7 p.m.

Oct. 25. The talk will be moderated by KUAF Ozarks at Large host Kyle Kellams. In addition to the public talk, Holm will address both fourth- and sixth-graders in Fayetteville Public Schools as part of the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation’s Young Author Series. Dashner will address ninth graders at Fayetteville High School as part of the foundation’s Blair Author and Lecture Series.

Additionally, the Arkansas International 2017 Featured Reader Kaveh Akbar will speak at the library at 2 p.m. Oct. 22. Akbar, an Iranian-American poet, has work published in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, PBS Newshour and Poetry, among others.

The Walton Arts Center will host Grammy-winning kids’ hip hop artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo during the festival. Skidoo will perform in a public concert at the Walton Arts Center’s Starr Theatre at 7 p.m. Oct. 27. Tickets are available at the Walton Arts Center’s website. In addition to his performance at the Starr Theatre, Skidoo will host a variety of free rhyme writing workshops for kids and educators at Fayetteville Public Library Oct. 27 and 28.

Fayetteville Public Library will host a day for local writers to hone their craft and meet with industry professionals Oct. 28. Throughout the day, writers will have the chance to interact directly with book and magazine publishers. There will also be a panel discussion featuring writers and publishers discussing the publishing experience. Participants can sign up for pitch sessions the morning of the event. A complete list of guidelines is available at truelitfest.com/publishers.

In conjunction with the festival, Altrusa International of Fayetteville is hosting a writing contest for sixth graders in Fayetteville. Complete details about the contest can be found at the festival’s website.

There are a number of other events at the festival. Tony Wappel and J.B. Hogan will discuss their illustrated history of the Fayetteville square, while author Matthew Pitt will discuss his short story collection “These Are Our Demands.” A variety of workshops are being held, including a number of adult writing workshops and theatre workshops for kids and teens. The library will host a special showcase of authors and illustrators for kids and teens at 10 a.m. Oct. 28.

Information: truelitfest. com.