2026 Festival of Faith and Writing: Full Schedule

12:30pm EDT

Opening Plenary Session - Speaking the Hard Truths

Thursday April 16, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT

Laurie Halse Anderson explores how historical fiction invites honest conversation about the past and helps us approach hard truths with courage and care.

Book signing follows in the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Lobby

Speakers

Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson is a New York Times bestselling author whose writing spans young readers, teens, and adults. Combined, her books have sold more than 8 million copies.

Two of her novels, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists, and Chains was short-listed for the... Read More →

Thursday April 16, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Van Noord Arena

Plenary Session

5:30pm EDT

Evening Plenary Session - The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

Thursday April 16, 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT

Van Noord Arena

Robin Wall Kimmerer reflects on the ethic of reciprocity at the heart of Indigenous wisdom, using the serviceberry as a guide. She invites us to rethink value beyond scarcity and competition, imagining a way of living rooted in gratitude, interconnectedness, and mutual care.

Book signing follows in the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Lobby

Speakers

Robin Wall Kimmerer

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants; Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of ... Read More →

Thursday April 16, 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Van Noord Arena

Plenary Session

5:30pm EDT

Evening Plenary Session - The Garden Has Faith in You

Friday April 17, 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT

Van Noord Arena

Ross Gay examines joy, grief, faith, and coexisting with the garden. 

Book signing follows in the Spoelhof Fieldhouse 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 →

Friday April 17, 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Van Noord Arena

Plenary Session

5:30pm EDT

Closing Plenary Session - Coming Down to Earth: The Embodied Word

Saturday April 18, 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT

Van Noord Arena

Has the language of faith ever been so stressed? Words that once carried weight have been underfed, sidelined, and meanly used amid an overload of competing voices. No wonder it’s hard to win a hearing from people who are careful of their hearts. In this closing plenary talk, Barbara Brown Taylor considers how to bring the words that matter down to earth.

Book signing follows in the Spoelhof Fieldhouse 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 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Van Noord Arena

Plenary Session

2026 Festival of Faith and Writing

12:30pm EDT

Laurie Halse Anderson

5:30pm EDT

Robin Wall Kimmerer

5:30pm EDT

Ross Gay

5:30pm EDT

Barbara Brown Taylor

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