Indiana Humanities announces literary festival lineup

Indiana Humanities will celebrate the power of writing that grows in the Midwest during its first Proof: A Midwest Lit Fest on Saturday, Oct. 5, offering a full schedule for writers, readers, and lovers of all things literary.

Hosted in partnership with local poets Mitchell L.H. Douglas and Chantel Massey, the festival will take place at the Harrison Center in Indianapolis and will include: a book fair with local booksellers; conversations about the literary Midwest; local and regional author readings; opportunities to connect with publishers and literary magazines; workshops led by experienced writers; bookish activities for all ages; and food, drink, music, games, and prizes.

Proof is free and open to the public, though registration is encouraged. The event will be headlined by the return of Indy native, author, and longtime New York Review of Books contributor Darryl Pinckney, as well as the homecoming for Adrian Matejka, former Indiana Poet Laureate and current editor of Poetry Magazine.

“With this free festival, Indiana Humanities aims to create a space for all Hoosiers to experience great writing and maybe even draft some of their own,” said Megan Telligman, director of programs at Indiana Humanities. “From building relationships with other writers, to hearing published authors talk about their work, to picking up a few new books, we hope Proof welcomes everyone to become a bigger part of Indiana’s literary community.”

Event Lineup:

WRITING WORKSHOPS

• Thomas Kneeland – Anderson University assistant professor of English; founding editor-in-chief of The Elevation Review
• Rashida Greene – co-founder of Word As Bond, a nonprofit that offers creative writing programs to artists in the Indianapolis area
• Tamara Winfrey-Harris – co-founder of Black Women’s Writing Society; author of The Sisters Are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America and other books. This workshop is supported by hello + handshake.
• Lou Harry – playwright whose produced works include Rita from Across the Street and Midwestern Hemisphere

READINGS

• Author meet-and-greets at Loudmouth Books – authors will be hosted by Leah Johnson, award-winning YA author and owner of Loudmouth Books
• Rebecca McKanna, Brian Leung, Brando Skyhorse – 2024 Indiana Authors Awards honorees
• Ananda Lima – poet, fiction writer, translator, and author of Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil and Mother/land
• Doug Paul Case, Nancy Chen Long, Silas Hansen – contributors to A Flame Called Indiana: An Anthology of Contemporary Hoosier Writing
• Adrian Matejka – Former Indiana Poet Laureate and current editor of Poetry Magazine

CONVERSATIONS

• Anne Laker in the AM – poet, diarist, and WQRT radio show hostess in discussion with Enrique Saenz, Stephanie Flood, and Pernell from Pike
• The Business of Books – a behind-the-scenes look at the industry with booksellers, a publisher and an author, featuring Kristen Renee Miller, Danny Caine, Kathy Burnette, and Jake Budler
• Adrian Matejka with Mitchell L.H. Douglas – Matejka, a former Indiana Poet Laureate will be in conversation with Douglas, Proof curator, Indianapolis poet, and associate professor of English at Indiana University Indianapolis
• Too Black with Eric Saunders – Too Black, scholar, poet, organizer, filmmaker, and Black Myths Podcasthost, in conversation with Indianapolis poet Saunders on the importance of poetry and writing, creative practice, and publishing
• Manón Voice with Januarie York – Manón Voice, local poet, hip-hop emcee, speaker, and educator in conversation with York, a published author and poet who was named the Center for Black Literature and Culture’s first Poet Laureate, about the meaning of home and community, publishing, and creative practice
• Reflections on 38 Years as a Children’s Bookseller – Shirley Mullin, who has met over 150 authors and hosted more than 300 events in her tenure as a bookseller, in conversation with Suzanne Walker from the Indiana State Library
• Inviting the Muse: The Legacy of Marguerite Young – New York writer Andie Blaine and Indiana Authors Awards Lifetime Achievement winner Susan Neville discuss the intriguing career of writer Marguerite Young
• Midwest Futures with Phil Christman – a conversation about the book’s take on Midwestern identity and the future of the region with Christman and nonfiction book influencer Nathan Shuherk (@schizophrenicreads)
• You Can’t Go Home Again – A conversation between author and longtime contributor to The New York Review of Books Darryl Pinckney, Dream Palace Books & Coffee owner Taylor Lewandowski, and author Susan Neville
• Who Would Believe a Prisoner? – a talk with Michelle Daniel Jones and Elizabeth Nelson, co-editors of a book about the new history of Indiana’s carceral institutions for women, with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated colleagues

The festival will begin with a local authors morning mixer at 9:3oam and end with an open mic hosted by VOCAB and That Peace Open Mic from 6 to 8pm. The Proof Open Mic is open to all writers, readers, and lovers of literature and will be hosted by Corey Ewing, Januarie York, and Mariah Ivey with DJ Rusty Redenbacher.

There will be independent bookstores, local publications, and other literary organizations tabling throughout the event. For more information about the featured speakers and vendors, visit Indiana Humanities’ website. This schedule is subject to change.

Proof: A Midwest Lit Fest is supported by The National Bank of Indianapolis, the Penrod Society, and the Harrison Center for the Arts, with Tomorrow Bookstore, Dream Palace Books and Coffee, Loudmouth Books, the Indiana Young Readers Center at the Indiana State Library, and hello & handshake.