Lit Fest - Lighthouse Writers Workshop 2026

Panelists include: Kurestin Armada (Root Literary), Nicole Cunningham (Trellis Literary Management), and Julie Stevenson (Massie, McQuilkin & Altman Literary Agents).

The slush pile is real, the inbox is overwhelming, and the rules keep changing—especially now. Join Shana Kelly and several agents for a candid conversation about what the querying process actually looks like in 2026: how they find new writers, what makes them keep reading, and what makes them stop. Come with your burning questions. Leave with a real map.

Panelists include: Kurestin Armada (Root Literary), Nicole Cunningham (Trellis Literary Management), and Julie Stevenson (Massie, McQuilkin & Altman Literary Agents).

The slush pile is real, the inbox is overwhelming, and the rules keep changing—especially now. Join Shana Kelly and several agents for a candid conversation about what the querying process actually looks like in 2026: how they find new writers, what makes them keep reading, and what makes them stop. Come with your burning questions. Leave with a real map.

Fiction writers are conditioned to assume the climax of our novel/short story is simply the point of highest action. But this is a narrow, purely situational definition of climax. And for nonfiction writers, the necessity of a climax in our structure is mentioned as an afterthought if at all. This seminar will reconceptualize narrative climax as an alchemical transformation deeply connected to a work's motivating questions and utterly necessary to all prose works, regardless of genre. Writers will leave equipped with tools for plotting the climaxes of their own works and integrating these into their narrative structures.

Writers taking workshops with Steve Almond, Emily Rapp Black, Christopher Castellani, Andre Dubus III, Danielle Evans, Mat Johnson, Rebecca Makkai, Paul Muldoon, Eileen Myles, Beth Nguyen, Rachel Louise Snyder, and Brandon Johnson, join us on Sunday early evening for quick introductions to your instructor and fellow classmates and a tour of the Lit Fest campus. Stay for the Lit Fest Kickoff Party, complete with dinner and free to all advanced class participants!

The kickoff party brings together participants and instructors for a night of celebration. More details coming soon!

We will have a Sober Safe Space available on the second floor during this event. This is a welcoming, inclusive gathering place for people in all forms of recovery or anyone who wants to have a space to connect without alcohol during Lit Fest 2026. There will be snacks. NA beverages, writing prompts, and conversation starters available during this time. 

For more resources and recovery meetings close to Lighthouse, you can visit: https://www.yorkstreetclub.com/Schedule