2027 Featured Country · Haiti

Literary Spotlight Series

Ten presentations delving into literary topics — a standalone series and a compelling alternative to workshops.

10 Presentations

10 Distinguished Speakers

$50 Per Presentation

A Standalone Series — Not a Workshop

The Literary Spotlight is a curated series of 10 main-stage presentations — each 60 minutes — exploring a specific literary topic. Each presentation is unique, focused, and illuminating.

Choose the Literary Spotlight instead of a workshop session, or as a complement to your existing package. It runs concurrently with workshops so you never have to miss a keynote.

$50 per presentation · $450 for the full 10-lecture series

Spotlight Presenters

10 distinguished speakers in order of appearance

Literary Spotlight

Cécile Accilien

A Conversation with Contemporary Haitian Writers: The Politics of Language when Writing from Colonized Marginal Spaces (ENGLISH)

Haitian immigrant writers often feel the duty to create in spite of their often vulnerable and even fragile status. This panel of distinguished Haitian contemporary writers will address the politics of language among writers who must negotiate histories of colonialism and empire in order to tell their stories.

Wednesday, February 10 · 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM

Literary Spotlight

Danielle Trussoni

Reading (and Writing) as an Act of Resistance (ENGLISH)

When we think of political fiction, we often think of books that openly advance a cause or argue a position. But fiction does not have to be overtly political to be a political act. In this talk, I explore the idea that reading and writing fiction are, in themselves, wildly subversive acts of resistance.

Thursday, February 11 · 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Literary Spotlight

Nita Prose

The Truth about Fiction (ENGLISH)

Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author, reveals how there is more truth in fiction than we think. This surprising and funny lecture aims to demystify the creative process and to inspire audiences with the joy of writing.

Thursday, February 11 · 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM

Literary Spotlight

Sandra Cisneros

Writing in My Pajamas (ENGLISH)

Join acclaimed author Sandra Cisneros for Writing in My Pajamas, an inspiring Literary Spotlight drawn from more than 50 years of writing, publishing, and creative practice. In this session, Cisneros shares the wisdom, habits, and hard-earned lessons that shaped her life as one of the most influential literary voices of our time.

Thursday, February 11 · 3:30 – 4:30 PM

Literary Spotlight

Rafael Segovia

Malcolm Lowry in Cuernavaca - a geography of despair and the building of a novel (ENGLISH)

An itinerary through the life events and psychological meanders that Lowry exorcized in his most famous novel, UNDER THE VOLCANO. Topics include the geography of UNDER THE VOLCANO (Old Cuernavaca people and places), acquaintances, friends and threatening characters, alcoholic or literary inspiration, and the love story within the novel.

Friday, February 12 · 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Literary Spotlight

Rafael Córdova

Living in Nepantla: Reading and Writing the Architecture of the In-Between (ENGLISH)

Designed specifically for readers and writers, this session invites participants to actively engage selected passages that explore migration, hybridity, queerness, and spiritual awakening, inviting responsive writing. Together we will examine how authors construct moments of rupture and becoming — how narrative structure shapes our emotional and intellectual response as readers.

Friday, February 12 · 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM

Literary Spotlight

Panel

AI and Literature (ENGLISH)

This panel brings together experts from the literary world to discuss the many facets of AI and its place in literature. It will be a conversation about the ways in which AI has changed the literary world, where it’s going, and the repercussions of AI use for readers and writers.

Saturday, February 13 · 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Literary Spotlight

Merilyn Simonds

Reading the Continent (ENGLISH)

Mexico has always been seen as a separate culture, but without a distinctly separate language, the United States and Canada are often lumped together culturally. Merilyn Simonds examines a contemporary novel from each country and explores how these three novels reflect their distinct cultures.

Saturday, February 13 · 10:45 AM – 11:45 AM

Literary Spotlight

Jamie Hemken

The First Time I Realized: Exploring Racial and Cultural Identity Development Through Story (ENGLISH)

This experiential workshop invites participants to return to those formative identity moments and explore how they continue to shape voice, perspective, and expression. Grounded in research on racial and cultural identity development and informed by cultural competency frameworks that move from reflection to awareness to action, the session blends thoughtful context with meaningful engagement.

Sunday, February 14 · 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Literary Spotlight

Rey M. Rodriguez

Todos Somos Sagrados/All Are Sacred: An Exploration of Chicano and Indigenous Writers Whose Work Insists on Examining What Is Sacred in a Time of Fracture (ENGLISH)

In an era marked by rising authoritarianism and mass deportations, what can literature teach us about dignity, resistance, and the sacredness of every human life? “Todos Somos Sagrado / All Are Sacred” is an exploration of Chicano and Indigenous writers whose work insists on wholeness and identifying what is sacred in a time of fracture.

Sunday, February 14 · 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM

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