Newburyport Literary Festival

A Celebration of Literature, Readers, and Writers • In-Person & Virtual Events • April 26–28, 2024

The 2024 Newburyport Literary Festival

Will be Held April 26-28 2024 • In-Person and Virtual Events

New Writing Classes Start Friday, March 8, 2024.
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2024 Honorees

The Newburyport Literary Festival celebrates its 19th year in 2024. To get the celebration started, we are honoring three of our own.

Local historians Bethany Groff Dorau, Dyke Hendrickson, and Ghlee Woodworth will be in conversation, moderated by former Newburyport Daily News editor, Richard Lodge. It will be an evening celebrating our wonderful community, including past and present perspectives, historical milestones, anecdotes, musings, and plenty of discussion.

Come to the Firehouse, be there and in your seat by six o’clock on April 26th, 2024!

Workshops for Writers — At All Levels!

New Writing Classes Start Friday, March 8, 2024.

Secrets to Lit Mag Publishing and Awards

Instructor: Becky Tuch, Founder of Lit Mag News, Founder of The Review Review and Fiction and nonfiction writer, creative writing instructor, consultant and editor
Moderator: Mary Barlow, Author of Home, My Story of House and Personal Restoration
Date and Time: Friday, March 8, 2024 | 12:00 – 1:30 pm EST
Location: Online – Zoom
(Link will be sent to students before session day of event)
Cost: $75.

Description: Discover how to increase your odds of getting published in literary magazines! Thousands of literary magazines across the US and elsewhere are looking for your most tantalizing stories, essays, and poems to share with their readers. But first they must discover you. In this session, Becky Tuch, a seasoned coach in lit mag publishing, will cover how the lit mag submissions process works, steps to ensure your submissions get read, and the kind of literature editors choose to accept. Participants explore what it takes to get their short stories, essays, and poetry published or honored with an award. You’ll leave the workshop with actionable considerations to take on the journey to sharing your work with readers who will be thrilled to enjoy it.

Questions? Please contact M.G. Barlow.

NOTES:

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2. if you do NOT want to Pay with a PayPal Account
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*½ of each tuition will be a tax-deductable donation to the Literary Association.

Founder of Lit Mag News
Founder of The Review Review
Fiction and nonfiction writer, creative writing instructor, consultant and editor

Becky’s writing has appeared in over a dozen literary magazines, several anthologies, and has been honored with a number of magazine awards as well as fellowships from The Somerville, MA Arts Council and The MacDowell Colony. For nearly 20 years, Becky has taught fiction writing to kids, teens and adults. She has presented on the lit mag submissions process in classrooms, conferences, and MFA programs throughout the country. Becky is the founder of Lit Mag News, a Substack newsletter that aims to demystify the world of lit mag publishing. | Learn more |

Which Publishing Path Is Best for Your Next Book?

Instructor: Jane Friedman, Book Publishing Industry Thought Leader and Consultant
Moderator: Mary Barlow, Author of Home, My Story of House and Personal Restoration
Date and Time: Saturday, March 16, 2024 | 10:00 – 11:30 am EST
Location: Online – Zoom
(Link will be sent to students before session day of event)
Cost: $75.

Description: In this class with publishing industry expert Jane Friedman, you’ll learn not just the foundational principles of getting a book published, but gain up-to-date insight into the changing landscape of the publishing industry, and how you can navigate your own path toward success. You’ll discover what it takes to capture the attention of a New York publisher or literary agent (whether you write fiction or nonfiction) and how to determine if self-publishing, hybrid publishing—or even social publishing!—is the most appropriate path for your next book.

Questions? Please contact M.G. Barlow.

NOTES:

1. After Clicking Pay Now Button (above)
2. if you do NOT want to Pay with a PayPal Account
3. SCROLL & CLICK Pay with Debit or Credit Card

*½ of each tuition will be a tax-deductable donation to the Literary Association.

Book Publishing Industry Thought Leader and Consultant Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2023. Her latest book is THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. She works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing. Learn more at JaneFriedman.com.
Writing Class

Writing class

The Newburyport Literary Association will co-sponsor a writing class for those who have thought about writing but haven’t gotten started for whatever reason.

  • It will be taught by Vicki Hendrickson, in her home. The class will run from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., for eight weeks from January 23 – March 12, 2024.
  • We will use various texts, complete exercises, and discuss the writing experience.
  • I will invite various authors to join us from time to time.

There is no quick and easy way to learn to write well. Like everything, it requires practice. And there is no ONE TRUTH. Except, possibly this, writing teaches you—about yourself, others, and imagination. An excellent return on investment!

Eight Weeks: January 23 – March 12, 2024,
3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Cost: $300*. Class limit: 8.

Questions?
Call (978.361.6008) or Email Vicki

NOTES: 1. After Clicking Pay Now Button (above) 2. if you do NOT want to Pay with a PayPal Account 3. SCROLL & CLICK Pay with Debit or Credit Card *½ of each tuition will be a tax-deductable donation to the Literary Association.

About the Festival

The Newburyport Literary Association, Inc. was founded in 2005.

Many individuals and organizations share the vision of the Newburyport Literary Festival. The NLF is especially grateful for the generous support of our founding sponsor, the Newburyport Bank Charitable Foundation and to all the other businesses and individuals who have made it possible for the festival to take root and flourish.

In case you missed any of our previous events…

Recordings of our past events are available via our YouTube Channel.

Please be sure to follow us on social media to hear about upcoming author interviews or panel discussions.

Founding Sponsors

Newburyport Bank
Institute for Savings

Special Thanks to

Yellow School Center for the Arts

Additional Funding & Support By