Tahoe Literary Festival
Join us in the mountains for the third annual
I October 9-10, 2026
The Tahoe Literary Festival is for aspiring writers, published authors and for those who simply love the literary arts.
Sharpen your craft, build community and make lasting connections as you listen, learn, and gain insight from acclaimed authors and industry leaders.
Attend generative workshops designed to strengthen your writing.
Learn from the process and approach of award-winning writers and poets.
Discover publishing trends, practical guidance, and actionable steps for building your own literary path.
“Coming to this festival was about me stepping out of my box and reaching for a dream. The literary community came- and proved- it is possible.”
— Mary Tolbert
Sacramento, CA
“Tahoe Literary Festival was like a big, warm hug for the creative arts. The breakouts were galvanizing, the readings inspiring and the Tahoe literary community welcoming.”
— Martha O'Sullivan
Tampa, FL
©Tahoe Literary Festival video and images courtesy Court Leve
Past Authors and Presenters
Jesse James Ziegler
FIVE
Jesse James Ziegler is currently serving as Poet Laureate for the City of Reno. He is the creator and manager of Monday Night Poetry and vice president for Spoken Views Collective. He is a member of the Sierra Literary Cooperative and the Spoken Word/Poetry contributor to Reno Arts News. He runs a twice monthly all ages poetry group/open mic True Colors in collaboration with Our Center. He was the first ever Poet in Residence for the Bruka Theatre and held that position for three consecutive seasons. His first collection of poetry, FIVE (2019), was published and brought to life through their annual new Works Festival.
Karen Terrey
Bite and Blood
Karen Terrey currently serves as the Poet Laureate of Nevada County. She is a poet, editor, writing coach, and the founder of Tangled Roots Writing. An alumna of the Community of Writers and a member of the Sierra Arts Foundation, her work has appeared in various journals. Her poetry chapbook, Bite and Blood, is available at local bookstores.
Brooke Warner
She Writes Press
Brooke Warner is publisher of She Writes Press, an imprint of The Stable Book Group. She is a memoir coach and author of Write On, Sisters!, Green-light Your Book, What's Your Book?, and three books on memoir. She’s also a TEDx speaker, weekly podcaster (of “Memoir Nation” with co-host Grant Faulkner), and publishes a weekly newsletter, Writerly Things, on Substack
Steve Wasserman
HeyDay | Since 1974
Steve Wasserman is the publisher of Heyday, an independent nonprofit press founded in 1974. With a storied career in publishing, he has worked in nearly every facet of the industry, serving as an editor, literary agent, publisher and author. He is the author of Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It's a Lie.
Lisa Michelle
True Nature: Hidden in the High Sierra
Lisa Michelle is an award-winning screenwriter, bestselling author, filmmaker, and lover of snow storms. Her debut thriller, Calaveras, became an Amazon instant bestseller and encouraged her to write prequels Blue Mountain and Forest Creek. After thirty years of adventuring her most recent book is True Nature: Hidden in the High Sierra published in the summer of 2025 along with the PenCraft Best Book Award.
Julia Drake
Wildbound Book PR and Marketing
Julia Drake is a co-founder of Wildbound PR, a boutique literary PR and marketing firm for authors, and owner of IndieReader, a trusted platform for indie book reviews and publishing resources. She has led successful campaigns for high-profile and indie authors alike, partnering with Big 4 publishers, indie presses, and literary organizations such as the Bay Area Book Festival, the Kirkus Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Awards.
Michael Branch
Rants from the Hill
An award-winning humorist and writer of creative nonfiction, Michael Branch is University Foundation Professor, Emeritus at the University of Nevada, Reno. Mike’s published work includes more than 300 essays, which have appeared in venues such as CNN, the San Francisco Chronicle, Slate, Outside, Orion, Ecotone, Pacific Standard, National Parks, The Scientist, High Country News, Terrain.org, and the Sierra Nevada Ally. He has published ten books, including Raising Wild, Rants from the Hill, How to Cuss in Western, and On the Trail of the Jackalope. In 2024, Mike was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.
Ben Rogers
The Daughters
Ben Rogers is the author of the novels The Flamer, The Heavy Side, and the short story collection The Mayfly. Scheduled for release in November 2025 his latest novel, The Daughters, is a kaleidoscopic meditation on family, memory, and the invisible forces that bind us. Spanning from Amarillo, Texas, in 1997 to La Jolla, California, in 2012 The Daughters interweaves small-town rodeos with amateur radios, teen angst with parental love and pieces together a story of a fractured family struggling to reassemble itself.
Bridey Thelen-Heidel
Bright Eyes
Bridey Thelen-Heidel’s debut memoir Bright Eyes, published in the Fall of 2024, captures the indomitable spirit of a young girl forced to be brave, required to be resilient, and conditioned to be optimistic, and how she ultimately uses the same traits that helped her to survive her mother's chaos to create her own happily-ever-after
She’s given a TEDx Talk, performed in Listen to Your Mother NYC, published in MUTHA Magazine, and is a frequent podcast guest. Bridey lives with her husband and daughter in South Lake Tahoe, California where she teaches high school English.
Priya Hutner
Chasing Nirvana: A Seeker’s Story of Love, Loss, and Liberation
Priya Hutner is the co-founder of the Tahoe Literary Festival and the Truckee Literary Crawl, and a passionate advocate for the arts. She is the author of Chasing Nirvana: A Seeker’s Story of Love, Loss, and Liberation, she chronicles her epic adventure to attain enlightenment and her quest to break free from the cult-like community she was raised in. Priya writes for several publications, including Tahoe Guide, where she serves as the arts and culture editor, Moonshine Ink, Muse Magazine, and Tahoe.com.
Tahoe Literary Festival details, including call for author submissions, is coming soon—be sure to join our newsletter to stay in the loop.