2026 Festival of Faith and Writing: Full Schedule

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9:00am EDT

Forms of Joy and Witness: Poetry and Prose in Conversation

Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT

In this conversation, Ross Gay and Patrick Rosal reflect on what they have learned from one another about play, collaboration, and attentiveness, both on and off the page.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby 
(Please note: Ross Gay requests no photos, videos, or audio recordings at any time throughout his participation in the Festival.This includes before, during, and after sessions, at book signings, and in between events. Thank you for honoring this request.) 

Speakers

Ross Gay

Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding, winner of the PEN America Literary Jean Stein Award; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry A... Read More →

Patrick Rosal

Patrick Rosal is the author of The Last Thing and has been published in The New York Times, The Nation, Best American Poetry and elsewhere. A Guggenheim and NEA Fellow, he is a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers-Camden. His mother and father immigrated from the Philippines and met in the U.S., while his father was still a Catholic priest and theologian in the Thomist tradition... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Conversation

10:30am EDT

A Conversation with Barbara Brown Taylor

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

A conversation with Barbara Brown Taylor, interviewed by Calvin University Pastor Rev. Mary S. Hulst.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Barbara Brown Taylor

Barbara Brown Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World, Learning to Walk in the Dark, and Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others.

In 2024, she was elected to the Georgia Writer’s Hall of Fame at the University of Georgia, and her new bo... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Interview

11:45am EDT

A Conversation with Neal Shusterman

Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

A Conversation with Neal Shusterman, interviewed by Dean Nelson.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award, Courage to Dream, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, Scythe, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, the... Read More →

Dean Nelson

Dean Nelson is the founder and director of the journalism program at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, and the founder and host of the annual Writer's Symposium By The Sea, where he has interviewed great writers for more than 30 years. His most recent books are Talking... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Interview

2:30pm EDT

Families We Know, Families We Imagine: Writing Identity for Young Readers

Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Karina Yan Glaser and Jonathan Todd explore how stories for children can honor the richness of family and identity. In this conversation, they'll discuss crafting characters kids can see themselves in, portraying complex home lives with honesty and warmth, and creating narratives that help young readers feel recognized, included, and deeply at home.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Karina Yan Glaser

Karina Yan Glaser is the New York Times bestselling author of the Vanderbeeker series, the standalone middle grade novel A Duet for Home, the chapter book Poppy Song Bakes A Way (part of the multi-author series The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class), and the Newbery Honor-winning historical... Read More →

Jonathan Todd

Jonathan Todd is the author and illustrator of the semi-autobiographical graphic novel Timid (Scholastic/Graphix), which was inspired by his struggle to overcome shyness as a tween following his family's move from Miami to a Boston suburb in the 1980s. He is a recipient of a 2024 New England Book Award. For more information about Jonathan, including his author visits, visit... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Conversation

4:00pm EDT

Rethinking Dystopia

Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

In this session, novelist Neal Shusterman explores how to use dystopian literature to break down, dissect, and rebuild the current world through the lens of writing. How can writers not only stir up the space, but give readers something to aspire to rather than fear? 

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Neal Shusterman

Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

9:00am EDT

10:30am EDT

11:45am EDT

2:30pm EDT

4:00pm EDT

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