The Adirondack Center for Writing is set to host the 2024 Kickass Writers Festival, June 7-8 in Saranac Lake.

The Kickass Writers Festival is held biennially and features writers, poets, comedians and other creatives. It takes place across various locations all over Saranac Lake and includes readings, workshops, talks, publishing programs, special performances, a book fair, a stand-up show and more. The Kickass Writers Festival celebrates how writing and storytelling — in all of their forms — are essential to art, entertainment and social change.

“We’re bringing writers from all over the country together with the diverse Adirondack writing community that we’ve been fostering for 25 years,” said executive director Nathalie Thill. “Ask any of the hundreds of people who joined us for the Kickass Writers Festival in 2022, this weekend is a chance for everyone — from our special guests, to the local authors, to the writers-to-be just dipping their toes in for the first time — to grow and learn from one another. We’re always sure to choose guests and design events that will entertain, intrigue, inspire and underscore all the possibilities of writing. We’ve even got the poet laureate of New York State, Patricia Spears Jones, blessing us with her presence. It’s a powerful thing to be a part of, and we hope anyone who loves to write, read or laugh will join us for another kick-ass weekend here in Saranac Lake.”

The two-day event will kick-off Friday, June 7, with a happy hour with visiting faculty and a reading by two New Yorkers dedicated to building community through poetry: Patricia Spears-Jones (2024 NY State Poet Laureate) and Denice Frohman (Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion).

On Saturday, June 8, the day will start with a Morning Forage with Michelle Dowd, author of Forager. Events throughout the day include Attendee “Speed Dating,” a quick, fun and non-romantic way for fellow writers to meet one another, as well as writing workshops with guest faculty, a book fair, open mic, manuscript consultations, a panel discussion, “Color Foraging” workshop and the Regional Author Showcase.

Saturday evening’s events will include keynote talks and brief readings by Michelle Dowd, author of Forager, and GennaRose Nethercott, author of Thistlefoot, two authors whose work makes the natural world both practical and magical. The festival will conclude at The Waterhole with a stand-up show by Moshe Kasher, who’s Netflix specials include: Moshe Kasher: Live in Oakland and The Honeymoon Stand Up Special.

Many festival events are free and open to the public at the First Draft registration level. Festival goers can register at the Paperback, Hardcover and Rare Book levels to gain access to additional events, programs and workshops. View the event schedule and learn more about registration levels at adirondackcenterforwriting.org/kickassregister. This page also includes links to register at each level and a full list of visiting faculty.

“With this year’s festival, we’re highlighting the unique ways that writing brings us closer to the natural world,” said Tyler Barton, ACW’s program manager. “Whether it’s Michelle Dowd foraging in the Californian forest to escape the cult she was born into; the long-dead thistle in GennaRose Nethercott’s novel symbolizing history as it tumbles across landscapes, scattering its seeds; Denice Frohman grappling with the Adirondacks as a ‘city kid thick in the woods of ferns & fungus’ as she listens to ‘the loons and coyotes exchanging hot verses over the lake’; or comedian Moshe Kasher depicting the Black Rock Desert in psychedelic detail as a dazed teen at Burning Man… our line-up is full of writers enchanted by and in conversation with flora, fauna and the land that connects us all.”

To date, 2024’s Kickass sponsors include Origin Coffee Co. and Publishing Genius Press. To become a sponsor of this year’s festival, visit adirondackcenterforwriting.org/kickass-sponsor.

The Adirondack Center for Writing has been bringing people and words together for 25 years through provocative events and meaningful programs. For more information about ACW, visit adirondackcenterforwriting.org or follow @adkctr4writing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.