Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival

Your donations will help us continue our mission of serving the community through educational, theatrical, literary, and musical programs; nurturing, supporting, and showcasing regional, national and international writers, actors, musicians, and other artists; and honoring the creative genius of Tennessee Williams, who considered New Orleans his spiritual home.

We are a five-day literary arts festival held every spring close to March 26, the birthday of our patron saint and inspiration, playwright Tennessee Williams. Unlike most book festivals, TWFest is perfect for readers, writers, theater lovers, and anyone who loves New Orleans culture.

Our Festival events include writing workshops by acclaimed writers, enlightening and entertaining literary panel discussions, theater events, a book fair, Tennessee Williams Tribute Reading, Tennessee Williams scholars conference, literary walking tours, writing marathons, interviews with legendary writers and actors, and a series of New Orleans music , culinary, cocktail, theatre, and cultural events called The Last Bohemia.

Our programming also includes Saints & Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival and community outreach events like Coffee and Craft writing workshops at Baldwin & Co.

Heading into our 41st year, TWFest annually brings together over 100 contemporary writers, scholars, actors, musicians, and other artists for five days of literary revelry in the lush Bohemian world of New Orleans. 2027 dates are March 17 - 21.

Testimonials

"The Tennessee Williams Festival is where writers of the best of contemporary American literature come together in this country's real cultural capital, New Orleans, Louisiana. I love going to the festival because I always learn something I couldn't have expected to learn." —Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown

"The New Orleans Tennessee Williams Festival is among the most soulful, enlivening, spirited, diverse, and generally fabulous literary events I could name. There's nothing else quite like it." —Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Cunningham

"People welcome and embrace you, and by the end of the 5 days, you leave as part of the Festival family."—Longtime festival attendee Helen Ingram