Friday, May 15 to Sunday, May 17
Santa Fe Community Convention Center • 201 W Marcy Street • Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
2026 Festival Schedule
Pre-Festival Events
Wednesday, April 15
6:30 P.M.
Sky Cinemas Railyard, Santa Fe
Rooted in the fearless honesty of Judy Blume, the film captures the tender chaos of growing up while navigating friendship and identity
Wednesday, April 22
6:30 P.M.
Sky Cinemas Railyard, Santa Fe
Grounded in the work of Jason De León, Border South shifts the lens from politics to people—and the universal search for safety and belonging
Friday, April 24
3:00—5:00 P.M.
Special film screening to celebrate National Library Week 2026, followed by Q&A with film directors Mary Lance and Ben Daitz, along with Aspen Coriz-Romero and Shel Neymark of the New Mexico Rural Library Initiative.
Wednesday, April 29
6:30 P.M.
Sky Cinemas Railyard, Santa Fe
Featuring the actress DezBaa', Woman Walks Ahead depicts a determined artist who travels west and forms an unexpected connection with Lakota leader Sitting Bull
Wednesday, May 6
6:30 P.M.
Sky Cinemas Railyard, Santa Fe
The imaginative original story by Danny Rubin and screenplay he co-wrote with Harold Ramis uses humor to explore meaning, choice, and personal evolution
Wednesday, May 13
6:30 P.M.
Sky Cinemas Railyard, Santa Fe
Influenced by Alison Bechdel, No Straight Lines highlights how personal storytelling can expand visibility, identity, and cultural understanding
Thursday, May 14
5:00—7:00 P.M.
Dan Cooney Fine Art, Santa Fe
Meet the award-winning graphic novelist while touring Robert Giard’s exhibition Particular Voices: Portraits of LGBTQ+ Writers & Artists, 1985–2002
Thursday, May 14
6:00—7:00 P.M.
Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeehouse, Santa Fe
Meet the beloved host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday as he discusses his new release, Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known
Thursday, May 14
7:10—9:10 P.M.
with Hakim Bellamy and Logan Phillips
In partnership with the Santa Fe International Literary Festival, join us for the second annual Writing on the Rails on the evening of Thursday, May 14. Last year’s event was a sold-out hit, and this year promises to be just as amazing. This year’s mini writing retreat will be co-hosted by Albuquerque’s inaugural poet laureate, Hakim Bellamy, and Logan Phillips, a poet and cultural worker based in Tucson, Arizona, fresh off the release of his new book, Reckon.
Thursday, May 14
8:45 A.M.—4:00 P.M.
with Garrett Peck
This full-day excursion, led in conjunction with the Santa Fe International Literary Festival, explores the Lawrences’ time in Taos. Led by author, historian, and tour guide Garrett Peck, we visit the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, the D. H. Lawrence Ranch, and more. A picnic lunch is included.
Friday, May 15
5:00—6:00 P.M.
Opening Night Reception
Convention Center Courtyard
Please join us in the Convention Center courtyard for complimentary drinks at our pop-up bar hosted by Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery. There will also be live music by Santa Fe folk favorites John Francis and the Poor Clares. Free to all.
6:30—8:oo P.M.
Presentation and Conversation with Jonah Willihnganz – Main Stage
Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste, considered modern classics of narrative nonfiction
Saturday, May 16
7:30—8:30 A.M.
Morning Meditation and Author Talk
Zen master, poet, and award-winning author of the memoir One Blade of Grass
9:00—10:oo A.M.
in Conversation with Kathleen McCleery – Main Stage
Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of Fever Beach, Strip Tease, Bad Monkey, and other savagely funny novels about people behaving badly
11:00 A.M.—12:oo P.M.
in Conversation with Mira Jacob – Main Stage
Cartoonist and author of the bestselling graphic memoir Fun Home and the comic, quasi-autobiographical novel Spent
12:00—1:oo P.M.
Lunch Break
Convention Center Courtyard
Bring your own lunch or visit three food trucks by the courtyard. Coffee and pastries are available from the Wolf & Mermaid pop-up at the entrance and the Odd Box Coffee cart in the courtyard. Live music by John Francis and the Poor Clares.
1:00—2:0o P.M.
in Conversation with Hakim Bellamy – Main Stage
National Book Award–winning author of Soldiers and Kings, about his time spent embedded with smugglers guiding migrants across the U.S.–Mexico border
with Kirk Ellis, DezBaa’, Craig Johnson, and Danny Rubin – Conversation Stage
Emmy Award–winning screenwriter Kirk Ellis (John Adams) explores the ups, downs, ins, and outs of adapting books from print to screen with DezBaa' (Dark Winds), Craig Johnson (Longmire), and Danny Rubin (Groundhog Day)
2:30—3:3o P.M.
in Conversation with Georgina Godwin – Main Stage
New York Times bestselling author of the beloved laugh-out-loud novels Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Today Will Be Different
in Conversation with Laura Paskus – Conversation Stage
Naturalist, filmmaker, and acclaimed author of Conversations with Birds and The Light Between Apple Trees
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
Walk to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, where the museum librarian will share insights into O’Keeffe’s many and varied literary interests, and take a self-guided tour of the collection
Sazón
Walk to nearby Sazón restaurant and join Chef Fernando Olea for an adventure into the spirits of Mexico with a flight of five mezcals, two sangrítas, and Olea’s famous moles
4:00—5:0o P.M.
in Conversation with Jake Skeets – Main Stage
Former U.S. poet laureate, National Book Critics Circle Award winner, and National Book Award finalist
in Conversation with Mira Jacob – Conversation Stage
Bestselling novelist, essayist, and author of the poignantly honest and frequently comical memoir Heavy
Kakawa Chocolate Immersion
Kakawa Chocolate House owner Bonnie Bennett will share Colonial American and Mexican chocolate history and recipes while you sample some of the many offerings
Willa Cather’s Santa Fe
Explore Willa Cather’s Santa Fe and the inspiration behind her book Death Comes for the Archbishop with author, tour guide, and historian Garrett Peck.
5:00—6:oo P.M.
Saturday Night Reception
Convention Center Courtyard
Please join us in the Convention Center courtyard for complimentary drinks at our pop-up bar hosted by Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery. There will also be live music by Santa Fe folk favorites John Francis and the Poor Clares. Free to all.
6:30—8:oo P.M.
in Conversation with Rebecca Solnit – Main Stage
National Book Award finalist and bestselling author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and The Emperor of Gladness
Sunday, May 17
7:30—8:30 A.M.
Morning Mediation and Author Talk – Lamy /Peralta Rooms
Buddhist teacher and social and environmental activist
9:00—10:15 A.M.
in Conversation with JJ Amaworo Wilson – Main Stage
National Book Award–winning author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, The Good Lord Bird, and the acclaimed memoir The Color of Water
10:30 A.M.—12:00 P.M.
Ensnaring the Moment: A Discussion with Leah Ollman, Rick Barot, and Ama Codjoe – Nambe Room
Acclaimed poets Rick Barot and Ama Codjoe join editor Leah Ollman to discuss the anthology Ensnaring the Moment, which features the work of more than one hundred legendary poets, from Elizabeth Bishop to W. S. Merwin
11:00 A.M.—12:00 P.M.
in Conversation with Scott Simon – Main Stage
Booker Prize finalist and bestselling author of Brooklyn, Nora Webster, Long Island, and other quietly exquisite novels
12:00—1:00 P.M.
Convention Center Courtyard
Bring your own lunch or visit three food trucks by the courtyard. Coffee and pastries are available from the Wolf & Mermaid pop-up at the entrance and the Odd Box Coffee cart in the courtyard. Live music by John Francis and the Poor Clares.
Lunch Break
1:00—2:00 P.M.
A Conversation with Caroline Fraser, Mariah Blake, and Laura Paskus – Conversation Stage
The authors of Murderland and They Poisoned the World join environmental reporter Laura Paskus to examine how industrial pollution has harmed our health and the natural world and may have shaped the minds of notorious serial killers.
2:30—3:30 P.M.
in Conversation with Marin Sardy – Main Stage
National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Fates and Furies, Matrix, The Vaster Wilds, and the new story collection Brawler
in Conversation with Jon Ghahate – Conversation Stage
Bestselling author of historical narratives about the settling of America, including Astoria, Young Washington, Gallop Toward the Sun, and The Lost Cities of El Norte
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
Walk to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, where the museum librarian will share insights into O’Keeffe’s many and varied literary interests and take a self-guided tour of the collection.
Downtown Santa Fe Wonder Walk
Wander through Santa Fe’s storied cityscape with Barbara Groth of the Nomadic School of Wonder and experience the art of sensory noticing—using the natural world as a creative muse.
4:00—5:00 P.M.
Main Stage
Writer, activist, and bestselling author of Orwell’s Roses, Men Explain Things to Me, and the memoir Recollections of My Nonexistence
in Conversation with Deborah Jackson Taffa – Conversation Stage
National Book Award finalist and author of the novels Where the Dead Sit Talking, The Removed, and The Devil Is a Southpaw
Willa Cather’s Santa Fe
Explore Willa Cather’s Santa Fe and the inspiration behind her book Death Comes for the Archbishop with author, tour guide, and historian Garrett Peck.
Los Poblanos Farm Shop Norte and Author Talk
Raise a glass of botanical spirits with food expert and four-time James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Cheryl Alters Jamison at Los Poblanos Farm Shop Norte. Enjoy specialty gin tastings and small bites.
5:00—6:00 P.M.
Farewell Reception
Convention Center Courtyard
Please join us in the Convention Center courtyard for complimentary drinks at our pop-up bar hosted by Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery. There will also be live music by Santa Fe folk favorites John Francis and the Poor Clares. Free to all.
6:30—8:00 P.M.
in Conversation with Scott Simon– Main Stage
Legendary author of Forever, Tiger Eyes, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, and other books that got us through young adulthood
Post-Festival Events
Monday, May 18
9:30 A.M.—1:00 P.M.
at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
Commonweal Conservancy is hosting an intimate gathering of Santa Fe Literary Festival participants with the goal of strengthening and deepening our individual and collective appreciation of northern New Mexico’s unique high-desert environment. During our wonder walk with Rebecca, we’ll take time to slow down, breathe deeply, and immerse ourselves in the beauty and spirit of one of Santa Fe’s most scenic, historic, and beloved wildland resources.
Monday, May 18
10:00 A.M.—12:30 P.M.
with Priyanka Kumar
In collaboration with the Santa Fe International Literary Festival, join us for an exclusive experience at Santa Fe Botanical Garden with nationally acclaimed author and naturalist Priyanka Kumar. We will bring together literature, nature, and conversation in one of Santa Fe’s most beautiful settings.
Monday, May 18
10:00 A.M.—2:00 P.M.
[or]
12:00—4:00 P.M.
School for Advanced Research 660 Garcia St., Santa Fe
In collaboration with the Santa Fe International Literary Festival, SAR presents two literary days. Walk where writers once walked and hear their words on a guided literary tour. Listen to readings by emerging writers from the Institute of American Indian Arts Creative Writing program.
Tuesday, June 16
5:00—8:00 P.M.
featuring Andrew Sean Greer
Join us for A Word with Writers, featuring Andrew Sean Greer, fresh off the release of his new book, Villa Coco, on Tuesday, June 16, at the South Broadway Cultural Center, Albuquerque. Doors open at 5:00 p.m., and the talk will begin at 6:00 p.m., followed by a book signing. Presented in partnership with Bookworks and the Albuquerque Public Library Foundation, in collaboration with AMP Concerts.