November 17, 2025
Inaugural fall literary festival is this week
The Crab Orchard Review literary magazine staff is hosting its inaugural fall literary festival, Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 19-20. All but one event will be in Morris Library’s John C. Guyon Auditorium.
The festival will recognize the legacy of previous celebrations sponsored by the Crab Orchard Review, with a new emphasis on honoring the magazine and the impact of the creative writing Master of Fine Arts program, said Allison Joseph, professor and creative writing MFA director.
All of the events are free and open to the public. The festival schedule is:
Nov. 19, Online
- 6 p.m. — SIU Carbondale MFA alumni poet Mary Ardery and young adult fiction writer Adrienne Rivera will read from their new books via Zoom, with meeting ID 316 945 1654.
Nov. 20, Morris Library, Guyon Auditorium
- 11-11:50 a.m. — Poetry reading and Q&A with poet and firefighter Jonathan Travelstead.
- Noon-1 p.m. — Lunch reception, library rotunda.
- 1:15-2:30 p.m. — Poetry reading and book signing with Allison Joseph.
- 3-4:30 p.m. — Fiction readings with new creative writing program faculty Renée Branum and Dustin M. Hoffman.