Convention Workshops
The 2026 Convention will include an exciting series of workshops designed to inspire, challenge, and support attendees at every stage of their literary and professional journeys. This year’s program brings together award-winning authors, editors, librarians, educators, and cultural leaders who will share their expertise through engaging talks, interactive sessions, and mentoring opportunities.
Highlights include workshops focusing on explorations of New Orleans’ vibrant cultural traditions, guidance on career pathways for English graduates, and celebrations of the freedom to read. Attendees will also have the chance to join the New Orleans Writing Marathon, connecting personal creativity with the city’s unique literary heritage.
Featured Speakers
Janine Utell—Sunday, March 29, 4:00 p.m.
Janine Utell, award-winning writer, editor, and professor emerita of English and Creative Writing at Widener University, is the author of four books and editor of major scholarly volumes on modernism, life writing, and comics. She has led professional organizations, edited key journals in her field, and currently works for the Modern Language Association. At the convention, Utell will speak on career opportunities for English graduates and provide one-to-one mentoring sessions to support students’ professional development.
Kim Vaz-Deville—Monday, March 30, 8:30 a.m.
Kim Vaz-Deville, Chief of Staff at Dillard University, is the author of The ‘Baby Dolls’: Breaking the Race and Gender Barriers of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Tradition and editor of Walking Raddy: The Baby Dolls of New Orleans. She collaborates with the Golden Feather Hunter Warrior Nation on Black masking suits and served as associate curator for “The Black Indians of New Orleans” exhibition in Paris (2022–23). Her workshop takes a look at New Orleans’ cultural traditions.
Soline Holmes—Monday, March 30, 6:00 p.m.
Soline Holmes, librarian and Information Services Chair at Academy of the Sacred Heart, is president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians and active in national library committees, including ALSC and USBBY. An award-winning advocate for intellectual freedom and children’s literature, she has published widely and presented at national conferences. Holmes received the Judith F. Krug Banned Books Week grant and participated in ALSC’s Bill Morris seminar and IMLS’s Online Ready program. Soline will be speaking about how best to celebrate the freedom to read in schools and libraries.
L. D. Lewis—Tuesday, March 31, 8:30 a.m.
L. D. Lewis, Shirley Jackson Award–nominated writer, editor, and publisher, is the author of A Ruin of Shadows, The Dead Withheld duology, and the forthcoming novel Year of the Mer. Her work appears in anthologies including Jordan Peele’s Out There Screaming. A literary nonprofit administrator and co-creator of the award-winning FIYAH Literary Magazine, she was also a researcher for the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. L. D.’s workshop will focus on nonprofit opportunities for English graduates.
Richard Louth / New Orleans Writing Marathon—Tuesday, March 31, 3:00 p.m. & Wednesday, April 1, 8:00 a.m.
Richard Louth, Professor Emeritus of English at Southeastern Louisiana University and creator of the New Orleans Writing Marathon, will offer two opportunities for convention attendees to explore the literary heritage of the city of New Orleans and engage in creative writing through these marathons. Founder of the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project, he has published widely on writing pedagogy and creative nonfiction and is the recipient of multiple teaching awards and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities “Light up for Literacy” Award.
Fatima Shaik—Wednesday, April 1, 9:30 a.m.
Acclaimed author of seven Louisiana-based books, Fatima Shaik is best known for Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood, winner of the American Book Award and LEH Book of the Year 2022. Her career spans fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature. A PEN America trustee, she also founded Saint Peter’s University’s Communication Department and is a member of Writers Room NYC. Fatima will be leading a workshop on nonfiction writing.