A conversation with Julia Alvarez – 2026 Lannan Literary Festival Schedule

Join us for an extraordinary week featuring three writers who have not only faced change head-on but invited countless others to do so through their transformative literature. 

– Julia Alvarez will make a rare public appearance to discuss her forthcoming collection of poems, Visitations, and a life of writing through girlhood, womanhood, dictatorship, family, and lovers.

– Rising star Travis Chi Wing Lau’s work breaks traditional silences around disability and mental health while celebrating the transformative power of remaining tender in an unforgiving world.

– In 2022, internationally acclaimed author Salman Rushdie survived a knife attack that left him partially blind. He shares his perspective on writing through change over the course of a lifetime and why he continues to champion freedom of expression.

Come and hear these three authors discuss how literature not only documents change but helps us confront change to discover meaning and hope for life.

2026 Lannan Literary Festival Schedule

DAY 1 – Tuesday, March 24th – Register Day 1

Location: Gaston Hall

6:30-7:00 PM  Performance by The GraceNotes

7:00-8:00 PM  A conversation with Julia Alvarez

8:00-8:30 PM  Book sale/reception

DAY 2 – Thursday, March 26th – Register Day 2

Location: Disability Cultural Center

6:00-6:30 PM  Performance by HIEROGLYPH

6:30-7:30 PM  A conversation with Travis Chi Wing Lau

7:30-8:00 PM  Performance by the GU Phantoms

8:00-8:30 PM  Book signing/reception

DAY 3 – Tuesday, March 31st – Register Day 3

Location: Gaston Hall

6:30-7:00 PM  Performance by the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics*

7:00-8:00 PM  A conversation with Salman Rushdie

8:00-8:30 PM  Book sale/reception 

*The Lab presents the first public performance of an original work-in-progress, The Use of Stories, conceived, adapted, and directed by Derek Goldman, from the work of Salman Rushdie