Lit Fest 2026, an event for high school students hosted by the Arkansas Tech University Department of English and World Languages, is planned for Thursday, March 19, on the ATU campus in Russellville.
The second annual Lit Fest will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 2 p.m. Registration is limited to the first 200 individuals and is available at https://admissions.atu.edu/register/litfest2026.
Deadline to register is Sunday, Feb. 1.
Participants will hear from guest speakers Greg Brownderville, poet and director of the creative writing program at Southern Methodist University, and Ayana Grey, an Arkansas-based New York Times bestselling author.
Eli Cranor, award-winning author of four novels, will give a presentation and moderate the day’s events. Cranor is in his third academic year as writer in residence and instructor in the ATU College of Arts and Humanities and the ATU Department of English and World Languages.
Lunch and a T-shirt will be provided to each Lit Fest attendee.
Lit Fest 2026 participants are encouraged to write and submit a fictional short story based in Arkansas’ past, present or future.
First prize will be $500 and the runner-up will be awarded $250.
Submissions should be no more than 10 pages (approx. 2,000 words), double-spaced and 12-point Times New Roman. The submissions should be sent as PDF or Microsoft Word document attachments to engl@atu.edu. Google Docs submissions will not be considered. Students should include their name, school, mailing address and e-mail address at the top of the first page and put “LIT FEST WRITING CONTEST” in the subject line of the e-mail.
Submission deadline for the writing contest is Friday, Feb. 13.
Learn more about Lit Fest 2026 and the accompanying writing contest at www.atu.edu/humanities/worldlanguages/LITfest.php.
