Prominent Writers to Appear at 27th Annual Literary Arts Festival

English Professor Adam Deutsch is among the writers appearing in the Grossmont College Literary Arts Festival.

 

The 27th annual Grossmont College Literary Arts Festival returns April 25 for a week of virtual events featuring acclaimed authors and poets from around the nation who will read their work, teach their craft, and discuss sources of their inspiration. 

 

All events are open and free to the public. Biographies of the writers, as well as workshop descriptions, bibliographies and registration links are available on the Literary Arts Festival website.

 

Following is the festival’s lineup of events: 

 

Monday, April 24, 2 to 3:15 p.m. 

Why Literature Matters 

A panel of Grossmont College students, faculty, and administrators share personal accounts of the role literature has played in their journeys, advocating the relevance of literature and its potential to inspire change. 

 

Monday, April 24, 7 to 8:15 p.m. 

Sonia Gutierrez 

Local San Diego poet, fiction writer, professor, and translator, Sonia Gutiérrez is the author of Spider Woman / La Mujer Araña (Olmeca Press, 2013) and Dreaming with Mariposas (Flowersong Press, 2020), winner of the Tomás Rivera Book Award 2021 and honorable mention for the Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Fiction Award.  

 

 

Tuesday, April 25, 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. 

‘Zine making workshop with Margarat Nee 

The do-it-yourself literary journal, or “zine,” is the vanguard to revolution, promoting visual and cultural literacy, and creating avenues for resistance, advocacy, and change. Don’t miss Margarat Nee of San Diego’s own Grrrl Zines A-Go-Go for this engaging and important workshop and discussion on zines!  

 

Tuesday, April 25, 7 to 8:15 p.m. 

New Voices 

In this consistently crowd-pleasing semesterly event, standout students from this semester’s Creative Writing Program courses and workshops take the mic to perform their original works of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, drama, and hybrid forms. 

 

Wednesday, April 26, 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. 

Adam Deutsch 

Born in Long Island, New York, now local poet Adam Deutsch is the author of the debut full-length collection, Every Transmission (Fernwood Press, 2023) and a chapbook, Carry On: Elegies. His work appears in Poetry International, Thrush, Juked, AMP Magazine, Ping Pong, Typo, Barn Owl Review, Crannog, Pank, and many others.  

 

Wednesday April 26, 2 to 3:15 p.m. 

Shipli Somaya Gowda 

Shilpi Somaya Gowda is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Secret Daughter (Harper Collins 2010), The Golden Son (Harper Collins 2016), and, more recently, The Shape of Family (Custom House 2020). Translated into over thirty languages, Gowda's novels have ranked as #1 international bestsellers in several countries. 

 

Wednesday, April 26, 7 to 8:15 p.m. 

Tara Stillions Whitehead 

A native Southern Californian filmmaker and writer Tara Stillions Whitehead is the author of three books, including a hybrid chapbook, Blood Histories (Galileo Press 2021), and two full-length story collections, including her debut collection, The Year of the Monster (Unsolicited Press 2022), and the soon-to-be-released They More Than Burned (forthcoming from ELJ Editions in 2023  

 

Thursday, April 27, 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. 

Moni Barrette  

Librarian, graphic literature aficionado, and "passionate nerd," Moni Barrette, is the co-founder and VP of Creators Assemble (CA!), and international network of independent comic book creators and educators and librarians, to put comics into the hands of readers and comics/pop culture learning outcomes into schools and libraries. 

 

Thursday, April 27, 7 to 8:15 p.m. 

Raymond Luczak 

The finale event of the 27th Annual Literary Arts Festival is proud to present Deaf and queer poet, writer, playwright, and filmmaker, Raymond Luczak. Over his thirty-five-year career, Luczak has authored and edited over thirty books, including his recent poetry collections, Once Upon a Twin: Poems (Gallaudet U Press 2021) and Chlorophyll (Modern History Press, 2022). His recent nonfiction book releases include A Quiet Foghorn, a follow-up to is critically acclaimed Assembly Required: Notes from a Deaf Gay Life (RID Press 2009). His new novel, Widower, 48, Seeks Husband, is just released this year from Rattling Good Yarns Press.