The Literary Festival returns to Marblehead July 2-6 with a mix of longtime favorites and new additions, including a Moth Radio Hour-inspired storytelling event and a literary walking tour.
Margo Steiner, who chairs the Literary Festival as part of the Marblehead Festival of Arts, has spent months crafting a program she hopes will attract writers at all levels while introducing fresh perspectives on the craft. After stepping away from the role for two years, Steiner returned with renewed energy and a clear vision for the event’s future.
“The aim of the Literary Festival is to bring together those who admire good writing, those who aspire to write,” Steiner said. The festival consistently draws participants ranging from published authors to curious beginners, creating what organizers describe as an inclusive literary community.
Steiner said this year’s standout — and experimental — addition is a Moth-inspired storytelling program that invites participants to share personal true stories live, unscripted and in five minutes or less. The format draws from “The Moth Radio Hour,” the beloved public radio program that has championed personal narrative since 1997.
“We’re not going to have people sign up ahead of time, but we’ll have the audience,” Steiner explained. Names will be drawn from a hat, and selected storytellers will take the microphone to make listeners laugh, cry or simply reflect. The event takes place Friday, July 4, at 4 p.m. in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead sanctuary.
Another new offering explores erasure poetry, sometimes called blackout poetry, in a workshop led by poet and visual artist M.P. Carver. The technique involves removing or obscuring words from existing text to create something entirely new.
The festival maintains its commitment to accessibility while introducing a modest fee structure for select workshops. Most events remain free, but some specialized sessions now require $20 pre-registration to help offset costs. Walk-ins are welcome as space allows.
“I want people to get used to it, what they’re getting is worth something,” Steiner said. “And it gives legitimacy and value to the Literary Festival.”
The decision reflects practical realities facing the volunteer-run organization. With minimal budget and no institutional backing for design and printing costs, organizers turned to community volunteers.
“I decided to put out a call on Facebook and was flabbergasted — and absolutely delighted — by the number of people who stepped up and volunteered to help us out,” Steiner said.
Among those volunteers, Theresa Milewski of All Computers Great and Small, produced the program brochure, while Heidi Chase developed promotional posters on short notice. Organizers also expressed gratitude to Abbot Public Library and Claire Keyes for their generous donations supporting this year’s festival. Their efforts coincided with record-breaking contest submissions.
“It’s been another banner year for writing submissions. We had 100 this year,” Steiner noted. The festival received an especially impressive number of student entries, a trend that gives her hope for literature’s future.
“It gives me great encouragement to see all these young people entering, because it gives me encouragement for a future where writing and reading are valued,” she said.
The program balances serious craft instruction with more playful offerings. Resident Susan Butterworth leads literary walking tours that explore Marblehead through the eyes of fictional characters from novels set in the town. The 2-mile tours, limited to 10 participants each, visit locations from “The Hearth and Eagle” by Anja Seton and the Azor books by Maude Crowley.
Multi-award-winning author Eric Jay Dolin will discuss research techniques for historical nonfiction, while Rich Rubino examines political discourse evolution in a program called, “When words count: Discourse in a changing world.”
“Rich is very involved in politics,” Steiner said. “This year he’s going to talk about how the evolution of debate, communication and insults is particularly relevant right now.”
The festival addresses writing across life’s spectrum, from Marblehead resident Julianna Thibodeaux’s workshop on navigating transitions through creative expression to Steiner’s own abbreviated obituary-writing session.
“There’s nothing depressing about it,” Steiner insisted. “Everybody needs a will. And I tell them every year, on Dec. 31, pull out your obituary and update it, because you may have done something new.”
Betty Breuhaus, a Marblehead author who began writing fiction in 2017, shares insights from her journey in the program “I’ve written a book — and you can, too!” For younger participants, Marblehead resident Laurie Stolarz offers creative writing guidance for tweens and teens.
The festival opens Wednesday, July 2, with a silent book reading party at King Hooper Mansion — an atmospheric start that emphasizes reading as the foundation of good writing. Contest winners will read their work Friday, July 4, at 1 p.m., offering audiences a chance to hear original writing in the authors’ own voices.
“There’s nothing like hearing a person who wrote something, not professional, and who put themselves out there in a contest and they won, and they get to read what they wrote,” Steiner said.
Most events take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead, 28 Mugford St., with pre-registration available online. For information about specific workshops or the Moth-inspired storytelling hour, contact Steiner at margo.steiner@verizon.net.
For the Arts Festival’s complete schedule, go to Pages x-x or visit marbleheadfestival.org/literaryfestival.
