Readers & Writers
Welcome, readers and writers! Wanting to find inspiration and writing tips? Searching for your next great read? Look no further!
Writers' Practices 📝
In her 1977 diary, Susan Sontag, critical essayist, novelist and writer of "On Photography," reveals her private resolutions that helped her stick to her daily writing habits.
"Starting tomorrow — if not today:
- I will get up every morning no later than eight. (Can break this rule once a week.)
- I will have lunch only with Roger [Straus]. (‘No, I don’t go out for lunch.’ Can break this rule once every two weeks.)
- I will write in the Notebook every day. (Model: Lichtenberg’s Waste Books.)
- I will tell people not to call in the morning, or not answer the phone.
- I will try to confine my reading to the evening. (I read too much — as an escape from writing.)
- I will answer letters once a week. (Friday? — I have to go to the hospital anyway.)"
Check out the articles below to learn more about other writers' routines, techniques, and personal resolutions. You might find some ideas to become your best writer self!
Writers' Habitats 🛋️
Looking to revamp your writing aesthetic? Explore the habitats and writing spaces of some famous writers and get inspired to maximize your own writing environment.
From Tennessee Williams Himself
Learn about Tennessee from Tennessee! Check out these interviews and articles about our festival's prolific namesake where he shares details on his writing process, creating characters, building scenes, and his unique writing life.
Reading Lists 📚
2026 TWFest Reading Lists
Read your way through our 2026 Festival! Choose from our lineup of incredible authors as you fill in the sentence: "I want to read a..."
Poetry Collection
Ralph Adamo — All Fall Down
Jack Bedell — Ghost Forest
Olivia Clare Friedman — An Arm Fixed to a Wing
Skye Jackson — Libre
Benjamin Morris — The Singing River
Mona Lisa Saloy — Black Creole Chronicles
Short Story Collection
P.M. Raymond — Things Are As They Should Be And Other Words To Die For
Marguerite Sheffer — The Man in the Banana Trees
Miles Harvey — Registry of Forgotten Objects
Tom Mitchell/Thomas Keith — Early Stories by Tennessee Williams
Book by an Award-Winning Author
Robert Olen Butler — Twice Around a Marriage
Addie Citchens — Dominion
Skye Jackson — Libre
Delaney Nolan — Happy Bad
P.M. Raymond — Things Are As They Should Be And Other Words To Die For
Marguerite Sheffer — The Man in the Banana Trees
Justin Torres — Blackouts
Memoir
Jonathan Alexander — Dear Queer Self
Martin Sherman — On the Boardwalk
Rodney Rhoda Taylor — A Life in Letters, A Story of Resilience, Sequence, and Hope
Book by a POC Writer
Addie Citchens — Dominion
Skye Jackson — Libre
P.M. Raymond — Things Are As They Should Be And Other Words To Die For
Justin Torres — Blackouts
Christine Ma-Kellams — The Band
Mona Lisa Saloy — Black Creole Chronicles
Book by a New Orleans Writer
Ralph Adamo — All Fall Down
Jess Armstrong — The Devil in Oxford
Morgan Babst — The Floating World
Benjamin Morris — The Singing River
Skye Jackson — Libre
P.M. Raymond — Things Are As They Should Be And Other Words To Die For
Marguerite Sheffer — The Man in the Banana Trees
Joshua Wheeler — The High Heaven
Charles D. Chamberlain — New Orleans: A Concise History of an Exceptional City
Mona Lisa Saloy — Black Creole Chronicles
Book by an LGBTQ+ Writer
Gaar Adams — Guest Privileges: Queer Lives and Finding Home in the Middle East
Christopher Castellani — Last Seen
Matthew Clark Davison — The Lab: Experiments in Writing Across Genre
Margot Douaihy — Divine Ruin
Thomas Mallon — THE VERY HEART OF IT: NEW YORK DIARIES, 1983-1994
Timothy Schaffert — The Titanic Survivors Book Club
Book Set in the South
Tom Andes — Wait There Till You Hear From Me
Jordan Lahaye Fontenot — Home of the Happy
Margot Douaihy — Divine Ruin
Delaney Nolan — Happy Bad
P.M. Raymond — Things Are As They Should Be And Other Words To Die For
Book by a Debut Writer
Adriadne Blayde — Ash Tuesday
Jordan Lahaye Fontenot — Home of the Happy
Laura Venita Green — Sister Creatures
Marguerite Sheffer — The Man in the Banana Trees
Book with a POC Main Character
Addie Citchens — Dominion
Christine Ma-Kellams — The Band
Justin Torres — Blackouts
Addie Citchens — Dominion
Book with an LGBTQ+ Main Character
Justin Torres — Blackouts
Timothy Schaffert — The Titanic Survivors Book Club
Christopher Castellani — Last Seen
Nonfiction Book
Gaar Adams — Guest Privileges: Queer Lives and Finding Home in the Middle East
Ethan Brown — Murder in the Bayou:Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?
Maureen Corrigan — So We Read On: How the Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures
Matthew Clark Davison — The Lab: Experiments in Writing Across Genre
Jordan Lahaye Fontenot — Home of the Happy
Rodger Kamenetz — Seeing into the Life of Things:Imagination and the Sacred Encounter
Thomas Mallon — THE VERY HEART OF IT: NEW YORK DIARIES, 1983-1994
Charles D. Chamberlain — New Orleans: A Concise History of an Exceptional City
Doug MacCash — Louisiana True: Mardi Gras Beads
Mystery/Thriller
Tom Andes — Wait There Till You Hear From Me
Jess Armstrong — The Devil in Oxford
Christopher Castellani — Last Seen
Literary Novel
Morgan Babst — The Floating World
Delaney Nolan — Happy Bad
Addie Citchens — Dominion
Justin Torres — Blackouts
Joshua Wheeler — The High Heaven
Historical Novel
Molly Mitchell — Jane's Freedom: Self-Liberation in Antebellum New Orleans
Timothy Schaffert — The Titanic Survivors Book Club
Justin Torres — Blackouts
2025 TWFest Reading List
Read your way through our 2025 Festival! Choose from our continuously updated lineup of incredible authors as you fill in the sentence: "I want to read a..."
Poetry Collection
Stacey Balkun - Sweetbitter
Jack Bedell - Ghost Forest: Poems
Peter Cooley - Accounting for the Dark
Benjamin Morris - The Singing River
M.A. Nicholson - Around the Gate
Andy Young - Museum of the Soon to Depart
Book with an LGBTQ+ main character
Michael Cunningham - Day
Margot Douaihy - Scorched Grace; Blessed Water
Alex Jennings - The Ballad of Perilous Graves
Ery Shin - Spring on the Peninsula
E.M. Tran - Daughters of the New Year
Short Story Collection
Miles Harvey - The Registry of Forgotten Objects
Kate Segriff - Animals in Captivity
Julia Ridley Smith - Sex Romp Gone Wrong
Thomas Keith & Tom Mitchell - Early Stories by Tennessee Williams
Book set in the South
Margot Douaihy - Scorched Grace; Blessed Water
Yuri Herrera - Season of the Swamp
C.H. Hooks - Can’t Shake the Dust
Alex Jennings - The Ballad of Perilous Graves
M.A. Nicholson - Around the Gate
Kalamu ya Salaam - Walkin’ Blues
E.M. Tran - Daughters of the New Year
Michael Allen Zell - The Last Shadow
Book by an award-winning writer
Megan Abbott - Beware the Woman
Christine Carbo - A Sharp Solitude
Michael Cunningham - Day
Gwen Florio - Best Be Prepared
Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn - Sharp Objects
Adrianne Harun - A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain
Angie Kim - Happiness Falls
Laura Lippman - My Life as a Villainess
Bernice L. McFadden - Firstborn Girls
M.A. Nicholson - Around the Gate
Marcie R. Rendon - Broken Fields
Kate Segriff - Animals in Captivity
Boyce Upholt - The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi
Book by a New Orleans writer
Allison Alsup - Foreign Seed
Larry Bagneris Jr. - Call Me Larry
Stacey Balkun - Sweetbitter
Eric Cook - Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine
Peter Cooley - Accounting for the Dark
Chris Granger - Painting the Town: The Importance of Color in Historic New Orleans Architecture
C.S. Harris - Who Will Remember
Yuri Herrera - Season of the Swamp
Alex Jennings - The Ballad of Perilous Graves
Chin-Sun Lee - Upcountry
Bernice L. McFadden - Firstborn Girls
Benjamin Morris - The Singing River
Justin Maxwell - The Playwright's Toolbox: Exercises from 56 Contemporary Dramatists on Designing, Building, and Refurbishing Your Plays
M.A. Nicholson - Around the Gate
Ylva Mara Radziszewski - A Practical Guide for Witches
Kirsten Reneau - Sensitive Creatures
Desiree Richter - The Presence of Absence
Kalamu ya Salaam - Walkin’ Blues
Paulina Stevens & Jezmina Von Thiele - Secrets of Romani Fortune-Telling
E.M. Tran - Daughters of the New Year
Boyce Upholt - The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi
Andy Young - Museum of the Soon to Depart
Michael Allen Zell - The Last Shadow
Book by an LGBTQ+ writer
Larry Bagneris Jr. - Call Me Larry
KB Brookins - Pretty
Michael Cunningham - Day
Margot Douaihy - Scorched Grace; Blessed Water
Ylva Mara Radziszewski - A Practical Guide for Witches
Kirsten Reneau - Sensitive Creatures
Paulina Stevens & Jezmina Von Thiele - Secrets of Romani Fortune-Telling
Literary Novel
Michael Cunningham - Day
Adrianne Harun - On the Way to the End of the World
Yuri Herrera - Season of the Swamp
Chin-Sun Lee - Upcountry
Angie Kim - Happiness Falls
Ery Shin - Spring on the Peninsula
Memoir
Larry Bagneris Jr. - Call Me Larry
J.T. Blatty - Snapshots Sent Home: From Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine – A Memoir
KB Brookins - Pretty
Laura Lippman - My Life as a Villainess
Bernice L. McFadden - Firstborn Girls
Kirsten Reneau - Sensitive Creatures
Desiree Richter - The Presence of Absence
Book by a debut writer
Allison Alsup - Foreign Seed
Stacey Balkun - Sweetbitter
KB Brookins - Pretty
Eric Cook - Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine
Alex Jennings - The Ballad of Perilous Graves
Chin-Sun Lee - Upcountry
M.A. Nicholson - Around the Gate
Kirsten Reneau - Sensitive Creatures
Desiree Richter - The Presence of Absence
Kate Segriff - Animals in Captivity
Ery Shin - Spring on the Peninsula
E.M. Tran - Daughters of the New Year
Mystery/Crime/Thriller
Megan Abbott - Beware the Woman
Trudy Nan Boyce - The Policeman’s Daughter
Alafair Burke - The Note
Christine Carbo - A Sharp Solitude
Margot Douaihy - Scorched Grace; Blessed Water
Gwen Florio - Best Be Prepared
Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn - Sharp Objects
Adrianne Harun - A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain
Marcie R. Rendon - Broken Fields
Angie Kim - Happiness Falls
C.S. Harris - Who Will Remember
Michael Allen Zell - The Last Shadow
Book by a POC writer
Larry Bagneris Jr. - Call Me Larry
KB Brookins - Pretty
Alafair Burke - The Note
Yuri Herrera - Season of the Swamp
Chin-Sun Lee - Upcountry
Alex Jennings - The Ballad of Perilous Graves
Angie Kim - Happiness Falls
Bernice L. McFadden - Firstborn Girls
Marcie R. Rendon - Broken Fields
Kalamu ya Salaam - Walkin’ Blues
Ery Shin - Spring on the Peninsula
E.M. Tran - Daughters of the New Year
Book with a POC main character
Yuri Herrera - Season of the Swamp
Marcie R. Rendon - Broken Fields
Angie Kim - Happiness Falls
Kalamu ya Salaam - Walkin’ Blues
Ery Shin - Spring on the Peninsula
E.M. Tran - Daughters of the New Year
Michael Allen Zell - The Last Shadow
Historical Novel
Allison Alsup - Foreign Seed
Yuri Herrera - Season of the Swamp
Marcie R. Rendon - Broken Fields
C.S. Harris - Who Will Remember
Kalamu ya Salaam - Walkin’ Blues
E.M. Tran - Daughters of the New Year
Book related to Tennessee Williams
Thomas Keith & Tom Mitchell - Early Stories by Tennessee Williams
David Kaplan - Tennessee Williams in Provincetown; Tenn Years; Tenn at One Hundred
Nonfiction Book
Eric Cook - Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine
Chris Granger - Painting the Town: The Importance of Color in Historic New Orleans Architecture
Justin Maxwell - The Playwright's Toolbox: Exercises from 56 Contemporary Dramatists on Designing, Building, and Refurbishing Your Plays
Ylva Mara Radziszewski - A Practical Guide for Witches
Gary Richards - Lovers and Beloveds: Sexual Otherness in Southern Fiction, 1936 - 1961
Bess Rowen - Lines Between the Lines: How Stage Directions Affect Embodiment
Paulina Stevens & Jezmina Von Thiele - Secrets of Romani Fortune-Telling
Boyce Upholt - The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi
