Rickey Laurentiis to headline the New Orleans New Writers 2016 LitFest March 12 and give a reading at NOCCA March 10

Poet Rickey Laurentiis will give the keynote reading for the 9th annual New Orleans New Writers Literary Festival at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts’ (2800 Chartres St.). Laurentiis is the recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a 2012 Ruth Lilly Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. His collection Boy with Thorn was selected by Terrance Hayes for the 2014 Cave Canem Poetry Prize.

The New Orleans New Writers Literary Festival is an annual gathering of more than 100 young writers, grades 9 – 12. The event takes place on March 10 and Saturday, March 12.

Saturday at LitFest features a day-long schedule of master classes and seminars for New Orleans high school students taught by acclaimed writers. Scheduled events include a master class with Laurentiis; screenwriting with Henry Griffin; Spoken Word with Slam Team NOLA; Story Games with Mischa Krilov; Fiction with Anya Groner; Poetry with Laura Mullen; Documentary Writing with Phil Bertelsen; and Text and Movement with Nicole Boyd-Buckels.  The day’s events will take place at from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at Lusher Charter High School (5624 Freret St.).

You can support the constructive hobbies of your favorite high schooler by registering on the event’s website.