There is a HEAVY line up for this years International Literary Festival, yes on of (my) our childhood writers is going to be here….Judy Blume is coming to Santa Fe, along with some other AMAZING storytellers!
Here’s a look at who’s coming and when:
Fri, May 15, 2026
05:00 PM
Opening Night Reception
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.
06:30 PM
Isabel Wilkerson in Conversation with Jonah Willihnganz
Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste, considered modern classics of narrative nonfiction
Sat, May 16, 2026
07:30 AM
Henry Shukman – Morning Meditation and Author Talk
Zen master, poet, and award-winning author of the memoir One Blade of Grass
09:00 AM
Carl Hiaasen in Conversation with Kathleen McCleery
Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of Fever Beach, Strip Tease, Bad Monkey, and other savagely funny novels about people behaving badly
10:30 AM
Sarah Weinman in Conversation with Kate Ferlic
A conversation with author Sarah Weinman and lawyer Kate Ferlic examining the landmark Greta Rideout case and its enduring implications for women’s bodily autonomy and legal rights
11:00 AM
Alison Bechdel Presentation Followed by Q&A with Mira Jacob
Cartoonist and author of the bestselling graphic memoir Fun Home and the comic, quasi-autobiographical novel Spent
12:00 PM
Lunch Break
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.
01:00 PM
One Story, Many Takes: How Do Books Get Adapted?
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).
01:00 PM
Jason De León in Conversation with Hakim Bellamy
National Book Award–winning author of Soldiers and Kings, about his time spent embedded with smugglers guiding migrants across the U.S.–Mexico border
02:30 PM
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum – Walk & Talk
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.
02:30 PM
Spirits Tasting at 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.
02:30 PM
Priyanka Kumar in Conversation with Laura Paskus
Naturalist, filmmaker, and acclaimed author of Conversations with Birds and The Light Between Apple Trees
02:30 PM
Maria Semple in Conversation with Georgina Godwin
New York Times bestselling author of the beloved laugh-out-loud novelsWhere’d You Go, Bernadette and Today Will Be Different
04:00 PM
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.
04:00 PM
Willa Cather Tour – Walk & Talk
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.
04:00 PM
Kiese Laymon in Conversation with Mira Jacob
Bestselling novelist, essayist, and author of the poignantly honest and frequently comical memoir Heavy
Category: Art, Concurrent Session, Essays, Memoir and Identity, New Mexico Author, Nonfiction, Weekend Bundle, Young Adult and Middle Grade
04:00 PM
Ada Limón and Jake Skeets Reading and Conversation
Former U.S. poet laureate, National Book Critics Circle Award winner, and National Book Award finalist
Category: Concurrent Session, Environment and Place, Indigenous Culture, New Mexico Author, Poetry, Regional Culture, Weekend Bundle
05:00 PM
Saturday Night Reception
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.
06:30 PM
Arthur Sze Reading • Ocean Vuong in Conversation with Rebecca Solnit
National Book Award finalist and bestselling author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and The Emperor of Gladness
Saturday May, 16th, 2026
07:30 AM
Roshi Joan Halifax – Morning Meditation and Author Talk
Buddhist teacher and social and environmental activist
Category: New Mexico Author, Spirituality
Lamy / Peralta Rooms
09:00 AM
James McBride in Conversation with JJ Amaworo Wilson
National Book Award–winning author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, The Good Lord Bird, and the acclaimed memoir The Color of Water
Category: Book Club Favorites, Fiction, New Mexico Author, Regional Culture, Screenwriting, Weekend Bundle
10:30 AM
Ensnaring the Moment: Free Community Poetry Reading and Discussion
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
Category: Free, Journalism, Poetry
11:00 AM
Colm Tóibín in Conversation with Scott Simon
Booker Prize finalist and bestselling author of Brooklyn, Nora Webster, Long Island, and other quietly exquisite novels
Category: Book Club Favorites, Environment and Place, Fiction, Nonfiction, Weekend Bundle
At Capacity
12:00 PM
Lunch Break
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.
01:00 PM
Killing Us Slowly: A Conversation with Caroline Fraser, Mariah Blake, and Laura Paskus
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
Category: Concurrent Session, Environment and Place, Essays, Journalism, New Mexico Author, Nonfiction, Regional Culture, Weekend Bundle
01:00 PM
George Saunders in Conversation with Jonah Willihnganz
Booker Prize winner, National Book Award finalist, and author of Lincoln in the Bardo, Tenth of December, and the forthcoming novel Vigil
Category: Book Club Favorites, Concurrent Session, Essays, Fiction, Journalism, Screenwriting, Weekend Bundle
02:30 PM
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum – Walk & Talk
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.
Category: Art, Concurrent Session, History, Regional Culture, Walking Tours
Convention Center Community Gallery
02:30 PM
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
Category: Concurrent Session, Regional Culture, Walking Tours
02:30 PM
Lauren Groff in Conversation with Marin Sardy
National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Fates and Furies, Matrix, The Vaster Wilds, and the forthcoming story collection Brawler
Category: Book Club Favorites, Concurrent Session, Environment and Place, Essays, Fiction, Memoir and Identity, New Mexico Author, Nonfiction, Weekend Bundle
At Capacity
02:30 PM
Peter Stark in Conversation with Jon Ghahate
Bestselling author of historical narratives about the settling of America, including Astoria, Young Washington, and Gallop Toward the Sun
Category: Concurrent Session, Environment and Place, Indigenous Culture, Nonfiction, Regional Culture, Weekend Bundle
04:00 PM
Willa Cather Tour – Walk & Talk
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.
Category: Concurrent Session, History, New Mexico Author, Regional Culture, Walking Tours
04:00 PM
Spirits Tasting at the Los Poblanos Farm Shop Norte and Author Talk with Cheryl Alters Jamison
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.
Category: Concurrent Session, Food and Drink, New Mexico Author, Regional Culture, Walking Tours
At Capacity
04:00 PM
Brandon Hobson in Conversation with Deborah Jackson Taffa
National Book Award finalist and author of the novels Where the Dead Sit Talking, The Removed, and The Devil Is a Southpaw
Category: Book Club Favorites, Concurrent Session, Fiction, History, Indigenous Culture, Memoir and Identity, New Mexico Author, Regional Culture, Weekend Bundle
04:00 PM
Rebecca Solnit
Writer, activist, and bestselling author of Orwell’s Roses, Men Explain Things to Me, and the memoir Recollections of My Nonexistence (60 minutes)
Category: Book Club Favorites, Concurrent Session, Environment and Place, Essays, Journalism, Nonfiction, Weekend Bundle
VENUE
Main Stage
05:00 PM
Farewell Reception
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.
VENUE
Courtyard
06:30 PM
Judy Blume in Conversation with Scott Simon
Legendary author of Forever, Tiger Eyes, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, and other books that got us through young adulthood
Category: Book Club Favorites, Fiction, Nonfiction, Weekend Bundle, Young Adult and Middle Grade
At Capacity
VENUE
Main Stage
History: The Santa Fe International Literary Festival was co-founded by Clare Hertel, Mark Bryant, and Carmella Padilla. The idea for the international festival sprang partially from a 2022 weekend event of a similar name, the Santa Fe Literary Festival, which Hertel and Julia Leonard co-founded with the help of Bryant and Padilla. Thousands of people attended talks and conversations by world-class authors from near and far, setting the stage for the Festival’s future. SFILF is now an annual event that represents our desire to reflect the vast diversity of the world’s literary community as we strive to build an extraordinary local/global gathering of writers, readers, and thinkers.
The Santa Fe International Literary Festival is a grassroots organization rooted in a love of literature and a commitment to community. The Festival’s co-founders live in Santa Fe and have all worked for decades in the literary field.