NOTE: THIS TRIP IS SOLD OUT -- The 80th-anniversary observance of D-Day is an all too vivid reminder of a time when the fate of Europe hung in the balance and the day was won by months of detailed planning, devotion to duty and bravery in battle by Allied forces in the largest amphibious landing...
Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference – Opening Keynote Lecture & Reception KWAME ALEXANDER is a poet, educator, producer and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 40 books, including This is the Honey, Why Fathers Cry at Night, An American Story, The Door of No Return, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound,...
Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Presents a Poetry Lab with Nikki Grimes Join award-winning writer, Nikki Grimes, in this Master Class taking students outside of their free-verse comfort zone by exploring tanka and golden shovel poetry. This Master Class will focus on narrative verse as a storytelling tool, an art applicable to crafting novels...
Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Presents the Picture Book Lab with Ann Marie Stephens Plotting Your Picture Book: From the first line to the last word, discover techniques for plotting out your picture book. We will discuss tips on how to leave room for the illustrator and find ways to choose the most irresistible...
Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Presents a Memoir Lab with Will Schwalbe New York Times bestselling author and editor Will Schwalbe shares advice on structure, narrative strategies (including how to create suspense), and the often-thorny topic of writing about family and friends. The talk includes stories from his own work and books he's edited--and...
Everything Happens, Live: An Evening with Safiya Sinclair and Kate Bowler A Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Featured Speaker Event SAFIYA SINCLAIR was born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She is the author of the memoir How to Say Babylon, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Kirkus Prize,...
Meet the 2024 Young Artists at Lenna Hall! Join us and hear their voices here first, before the start of the season!
Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Presents a Memoir Lab with Kwame Alexander Study the craft of writing memoir (and spilling your tea) with Kwame Alexander. In this interactive session, Kwame will share techniques for getting to the heart of your story, including what makes a life memoir-worthy, where to begin and end, different formats...
Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Presents a Poetry Lab with Jillian Hanesworth Join Buffalo Poet Laureate, Jillian Hanesworth, to learn how to write for social change, build a community narrative and challenge listeners to think honestly and critically about the changes we need to create a just society. JILLIAN HANESWORTH is an EMMY nominated...
Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Presents a Fiction for Children Lab with Kekla Magoon and Cynthia Leitich Smith Join bestselling authors Kekla Magoon and Cynthia Leitich Smith for a deep dive into character creation and story structure. Stories have the most meaning when readers care about the people at the heart of the narrative....
A Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Special Event featuring Cynthia Leitich Smith in conversation with Stephine Hunt Author Study: Indigenous Representation in Children’s Literature CYNTHIA LEITICH SMITH (Muscogee citizen) is an acclaimed NYTimes bestselling author, the 2024 Southern Mississippi Medallion Winner, an American Indian Youth Literature Award winner, and the 2021 NSK Neustadt Laureate....
A Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Special Event Pitchapalooza is American Idol for books (only kinder and gentler). Twenty writers will be selected at random to pitch their book. Each writer gets one minute—and only one minute! Dozens of writers have gone from talented amateurs to professionally-published authors as a result of participating in...
Kwame Alexander Writers' Lab & Conference Closing Keynote Lecture with Kate Bowler In the face of AI, we have never felt more necessary and more useless as writers. But our authenticity is the lifeblood of creativity. In this lecture, historian Kate Bowler reflects on the contested modern history of what it means to be authentic....
The 2024 Chautauqua Lake Conference will provide an update on important research on Chautauqua Lake. SUNY Fredonia and The Jefferson Project will return this year to share some of their research results and plans for the upcoming summer. We will hear from SUNY Oneonta and North Carolina State University regarding their research on lake vegetation....
During the season stop by Bestor Plaza to try something new! We won't have the Food Festival during Week Nine this year, but we have food trucks and tents throughout the season. Kosher Food Tent (bagels, lox, knishes, blintzes and more): 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays, weekly Yakisoba’s (noodles, dumplings and more): Thursdays &...
Multiple Grammy® nominee Martina McBride has sold over 23 million albums and will open the 150th Anniversary season at Chautauqua on June 22! With 15 major music awards, 14 Gold Records and nine Platinum honors, Martina McBride has captured the hearts of audiences around the world for more than 25 years. The four-time CMA Female...