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 USD 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 USD per presentation · $450 USD 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)

Moderator, Dr. Cécile Accilien, University of Maryland, College Park, Professor of French & Francophone Studies, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures; Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Center for Global Migration Studies In her 2010 essay/memoir: Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work award winning Haitian American writer Edwidge Danticat writes: “Create dangerously, for people who […]

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

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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. To […]

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

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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

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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. With honesty, humor, […]

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

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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

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Literary Spotlight

Rafael Córdova

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

Some of the most powerful literature emerges from spaces of cultural crossing, spiritual questioning, and identity transformation. This interactive Pleasures of Reading session explores Nepantla — the liminal “in-between” space articulated by Gloria Anzaldúa — as a lens for experiencing borderlands literature. Designed specifically for readers and writers, this session invites participants to actively engage […]

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

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Literary Spotlight

Panel

AI and Literature (English)

There’s no question that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the literary landscape. Writers are using AI to brainstorm, research, and sometimes even write for them. Editors and publishers use AI to evaluate manuscripts, copyedit, find market trends, and market their books. For some, AI is a tool that helps generate new work with greater efficiency. […]

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

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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. Yet all three of the political entities that presently occupy the place we call North America are distinctly different cultures with their own individual literatures. To demonstrate, Merilyn Simonds examines […]

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

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Literary Spotlight

Jamie Hemken

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

Every writer has an origin story. So does every reader. At some point — often quietly, sometimes abruptly — we become aware of our racial and cultural identities. A moment in childhood. A classroom experience. A story that reflected us — or one that didn’t. These early realizations shape not only how we move through […]

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

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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, mass deportations, and the detention of thousands of migrants, 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 indentifying what is […]

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

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