On June 7 and 8, ACW hosted our second biennial Kickass Writers Festival at venues across Saranac Lake. Featuring writers, poets, comedians, and other kickass creatives from across the country, the festival is a celebration of how writing and storytelling — in all of their forms — are essential to art, entertainment and social change. Hundreds of people participated in readings, workshops, publishing programs, a book fair, special performances, and more! Scroll down to read what attendees had to say about their experiences and view photos by Mark Kurtz and ACW staff.
Friday Evening – Kickoff Reading with Patricia Spears Jones + Denice Frohman
in the Harrietstown Town Hall. Photo: Mark Kurtz
The festival kicked off with an electrifying reading by two proud New Yorkers dedicated to building community through poetry: Patricia Spears Jones, the 2024 NY State Poet Laureate, and Denice Frohman, a former Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion.
“ACW pays respect to its regional, rural roots while also recognizing that local talent benefits from the endorsement and expertise that typically reside in the metropolis. That we could hear from people like Denice Frohman, Patricia Spears Jones, and John Glusman, and that we could receive workshops and consultations from expert writers and agents, all while staying in the place that inspires us to write, is a reminder that writers can – and should always strive to – balance their solitude with the benefits of community.”
– Catherine Dorian
Saturday Morning – Attendee “Speed Dating” at the Town Hall, Writing Workshops with visiting faculty, and the Kickass Bookfair
The morning started with a quick, fun, non-romantic round of “speed dating” where writers got to know one another through fun prompts and short conversations.
I really value the speed dating event – it’s fun to meet other writers this way, and good practice to talk about yourself as a writer.
– Eudora W.
Attendees then participated in a 90-min generative writing workshop with members of our visiting faculty – Poetry with Frohman, Fiction with Nethercott, Nonfiction with Mayhew Bergman, and Stand-up with Hartswick. Participants walked away with new writing, new friends, and new inspiration to pursue their writing projects from a fresh perspective.
“My favorite event was the poetry workshop. My writing is usually non-fiction/self-help and this workshop was like a breath of fresh air. It was so much fun to write poetry and to hear others share their writing. I came home approaching my work in a new way.”
– Lisa Woititz
The Kickass Bookfair featured books from small presses, independent authors, and regional literary organizations from across New York State. The fair included Cornell University Press, Illuminated Press, Clash Books, Stone Canoe, Publishing Genius, and many individual authors such as Adam Nestor, Aurora Pfaff, and Lorraine Duvall.
“The bookfair gave me an opportunity to meet and interact with many other writers and readers.”
– Caperton Tissot
Saturday Afternoon – Ra Press Memorial Reading + Open Mic, Manuscript Consultations, State of Publishing Panel, Color Foraging Workshop, and the Regional Author Showcase
Photo: Mark Kurtz
Ra Press authors and founder Dave Donohue shared readings to honor the press’s over two decades of independent North Country publishing. The mic was also open for festival attendees to share a short reading or poem.
Hard-cover and Rare Book level attendees participated in one-on-one meetings with agents and editors to discuss their work and get professional advice on the next steps toward publication.
“I tried to manage my expectations in regards to the manuscript consult and actually got better feedback than I had expected, and I’ll remember that forever.”
– Ryan Murphy
Vice President and Executive Editor of W.W. Norton, John Glusman and former editorial director of Publishers Weekly, Michael Coffey discussed the opportunities and challenges of the contemporary publishing landscape at the State of Publishing Panel.
“I learned some very helpful tips on publishing, especially about travel memoirs, during the publishing panel.”
– Emily C.
Amy Robinson offered a drop-in “Color Foraging” workshop at ADK ArtRise intended to help writers expand their color lexicon in poetry and prose.
“To my delight, I got a story idea from the Color Foraging workshop that has nothing to do with the purpose of the workshop. Inspiration is everywhere if you’re in the right frame of mind, and the Festival definitely fostered it.”
– Sue Searing
The Regional Author Showcase included a line-up of emerging and established authors from across the North Country – Christopher Shaw, Kelsey Francis, Amy Godine, Alice P. Green, Betsy Kepes, Roger Mitchell, Curt Stager, Annie Stoltie, and more.
Saturday Evening – Kickass Keynote with GennaRose Nethercott + Megan Mayhew Bergman
Saturday evening at The Hotel Saranac featured two kickass authors with a deep fascination and respect for the natural world – GennaRose Nethercott and Megan Mayhew Bergman.
Nethercott gave a delightful and whimsical reading of an excerpt from her novel, Thistlefoot, and Mayhew Bergman moved the audience with a reading from her forthcoming biography on the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
“The Saturday night keynotes, both GennaRose and Megan were captivating in their content and of high quality.”
– Susan J.
“The two readings were stimulating and inspiring. Made me want to go write.”
– Ellen Santasiero
Saturday Night – Stand-up with Greg Edwards
The festival concluded with a night of stand-up at the Waterhole featuring two hilarious comedians, Tracy Dolan and Greg Edwards.
“I deeply enjoyed meeting Greg Edwards at the opening cocktail party, and getting to know him personally before hearing/seeing his stand-up routine. It deepened my appreciation of the commentary behind his humor and, if it’s even possible, made me laugh louder during the show.”
– Rhonda R.
The festival was excellent! I met like
Minded writers and got inspired to get back to my fiction.