By Kristin Taylor
The unusually cold wind whipping off the ocean may have rattled the canopies as the sun set, but it didn’t deter the audience from huddling under layered shirts and towels-turned-blankets to hear Jacqueline Woodson’s incandescent talk
…Read More

By Casey Petty
On a windy Saturday morning in Key West, from the stage of the Butler Coffee Amphitheater, the focus of the seminar shifted to discussing black voices in American History—a history that’s both triumphant and tragic,
…Read More

By Aaisha Haykal
On Saturday afternoon the attendees at the 2023 Key West Literary Seminar were treated to an engaging conversation on the role of horror, specifically Black horror, in society
…Read More

By Amanda Hawkins
The climate crisis is not easily a hopeful topic. Indeed, the tone at the beginning of Saturday afternoon’s discussion, “A Mighty Storm: Reading and Writing our Climate Future,” began as it should: serious, pointed, and clear.
…Read More

By Ali Banach
On this windy afternoon, Tananarive Due took to the Key West Literary Seminar stage to deliver a lecture about the genre of Afrofuturism and its role in books, cinema, and music. Toward the beginning of her talk, Due offered a working definition of Afrofuturism as “speculative work,” including science fiction, fantasy, and horror
…Read More

By Kathie Klarreich
It takes a special kind of person to move an audience from laughter to reflection in seconds, but for Ashley Ford, that ability seems as instinctual as her storytelling. During her nearly hour-long conversation with researcher, writer and community archivist Nadege Green, Ford gave insight and
…Read More

By Ali Banach
Rowan Ricardo Phillips opened his reading with a dedication to the Ambassador Chorale of Florida Memorial University, who had just departed the stage. He spoke to the moving nature of their performance, stating, “When I close my eyes, I hear the past, and when I open them, I see the future.”
…Read More

By Ariana McLean
Fresh from workshop and an afternoon soaking up the sun, I arrived at the Coffee Butler Amphitheater for the opening night of the 40th Key West Literary Seminar. After welcoming remarks from Executive Director Arlo Haskell and Program Chair Lori Reid,
…Read More