The Best of the 41st Key West Literary Seminar
Florida: The State We’re In.
Welcome to the swamp, I mean, Florida. The state I live in, and the topic of this year’s 41st Key West Literary Seminar, which I had the pleasure of attending.
“Key West isn’t really part of America; it’s an extension chord.”
- Erin, an Appalachian-born Key West ad exec I met at the seminar’s opening party
The Key West Literary Seminar is for readers, book lovers, and writers alike, and this year’s theme focused specifically on Florida writers and on Florida’s environmental and book-banning concerns, which applies to many since Florida is like a microcosm of the temperate and tropical world, the coastal world, the umm… extra political world, and the flooding world.
Today, I’m sharing my favorite takeaways from the seminar and the great lines I heard from the many authors who extolled their wisdom on the plant-filled, windy, hot, sunny, humid, and occasionally rain-stricken stage, which, according to Jeff VanderMeer, the keynote speaker, was also home to spiders and ants.
And we wouldn’t have it any other way here in Florida.
Side Note: My Writers’ Support Group, which I co-host with bestselling author Lainey Cameron, is back in session! If you’re an author and you’d like to join, it’s free and we meet every Thursday at 8 pm on Zoom to connect, share tips, and help each other along on our writer journeys. Learn more here.
While attending an outdoor festival in Key West posed some wardrobe challenges, it worked so perfectly with the theme that I had to give the crazy weather a pass.
The seminar had two parts: a week of writing workshops and a 4-day seminar of literary speakers geared more towards readers. I attended the seminar portion, but I hope to do the workshops in the future. The workshops are cheaper than the seminar, but they fill up fast. By the time I learned of their existence, they were full.
Speakers and teachers (in no particular order) included:
Lauren Groff
Judy Blume
Jeff VanderMeer
Karen Russell
Jack E. Davis
Matt Bell
Jonathan Escoffery
Dave Barry
Carl Hiaasen
Gilbert King
Diane Roberts
Billy Collins
Joy Castro
Patricia Engle
Tananarive Due
And more. A complete list is here.
*This transmission covers authors Jeff VanderMeer, Dave Barry, Carl Hiaasen, and Jack E. Davis. Part two, for my Viper subscribers, covers Lauren Groff, Billy Collins, Patricia Engle, Gilbert King, Diane Roberts, and Lily Brooks-Dalton.
The Price Tag
The Key West Literary Seminar price tag was hefty, more expensive than TIFF or Coachella, just to compare, but there are scholarships available that include the conference fee, lodging, and even plane tickets, a tremendous value because Key West is probably one of the MOST expensive places in America. I was sticker-shocked over and over again. Key West is even more expensive than Miami. Every hotel in Key West is double the price it should be.
Likewise, I was stunned by how many “Patrons” attended. Holy cow, it seemed like half the audience was a patron, which came with an additional cost, including a class donating over $10k. Patrons also attended a fancy dinner with the authors mid-way through the seminar.
If you needed to fundraise for a literary project, like author Lauren Groff is doing in her current Indiegogo campaign, this seminar would be the perfect place to schmooze. Think of it as the Sundance of books, or a literary mini-Cannes, but instead of movie stars and movie premiers, it was all about superstar authors and their latest works.
The Party Part
But it wasn’t just the Patron class who were treated to a great time. The weekend for regular attendees also kicked off with a fancy reception, a bluegrass band, paella stations, unlimited cocktails, wine, couture nachos, salads, and a solo speech from cli-fi/weird fiction, Florida-based writer and raccoon rescuer, Jeff VanderMeer, author of Annihilation, Borne, and many other novels and non-fiction works.
I shared a clip of his opening speech on my X.
VanderMeer is one of my favorite living authors and I signed up for the conference solely to see him. Though, unfortunately for me, he spoke only twice. One of my only complaints about the weekend is that I wish they’d scheduled him for more segments.
We did get a photo though! And chatted about the misunderstood nature of the raccoon. He was SUPER nice and friendly! Follow him for footage of his rewilding home project and raccoon neighbors in Tallahassee, Florida.
Or read my favorite book of his: Annihilation, which I used as a comparative title for my novel, Acid Christmas, as they feature similar antagonists and both contain freakish climate disruptions. Our writing styles are very different, and my book is more light-hearted, and his is BETTER, lol, but Nature (with a capital N) is a significant character in both stories.
I also like the movie version of Annihilation with Natalie Portman, though I think the novel is far superior. I deeply related to the main character in the book, personality-wise, but didn’t relate to the movie’s portrayal of her.
Favorite Quotes and Phrases from Jeff VanderMeer’s Talks:
“The world is a projection of imagination applied to reality.”
“Time runs on time.”
“Engaging with the Florida man puts you at risk of becoming the Florida man.”
When describing his writing style, he said, it’s “80% mundane with eruptions of strangeness.”
“We shouldn’t write the book we shouldn’t just to address an issue.” (relating to feeling the urge to write trendy-topic or agenda books.)
“The Neverglades”
“Rancid absurdity”
Side Notes:
*I didn’t audio record these segments, I wrote them down as I heard them, so if my brain translated anything incorrectly, my apologies. I do my best to be accurate, but… sometimes I’m not.
** I skipped all the early morning sessions in favor of sleeping in and leisurely drinking coffee and for whatever reason ALL the speakers of color were scheduled in the mornings, so I missed all of them without intending this omission, which I only realized later.
The Florida Voice
All the writers at the Key West Seminar were based in Florida, from Florida, or writing about Florida, and the best part of the seminar was discovering the new Florida writers I’d never heard of before, like Karen Russell, Gilbert King, Diane Roberts, Patricia Engle, and Jack E. Davis.
Davis writes about American history, landscapes, heroes, and animals, and Gilbert King focuses on investigating police corruption and uncovering hidden truths in “true crime.”
Favorite Jack E. Davis Quotes and Words from the Seminar
“Stop watering your goddamn St. Augustine grass and rewild your yard.”
“There is no source of fresh water in the Florida keys or in Key West.”
“50% of Florida water ends up sprinkling grass.”
“Avoid being regional.” (advice on getting published and spinning your book as “American” vs local or regional.)
“Here is the $20 book test: put a $20 bill in your book in the library. Come back and check on it ten years later. If the $20 is still there, you’ve got an academic book.”
“I decided to write for the NPR Audience.” — This is the audience a writer of non-fiction should strive to target vs an academic audience.
“I learn new words from my neighbor, Lauren Groff. She put ‘gambol’ in her book and I sent it to my writing partner, Cynthia Barnett, and said, will you look at this? I gotta put ‘gambol’ in my book, and I did.”
“We are in the oppressive era. People don’t realize how oppressive this era is.”
Davis also generously gave me a bunch of helpful advice on rewilding my yard that I hope to implement this year, including a list of native plants to try planting.
More to Discover
Both Jack E. Davis and Gilbert King are Pulitzer Prize-winning non-fiction writers, but they were both funny, friendly, and open and made a great duo, despite meeting at the seminar for the first time.
Like Davis, Gilbert King also rocked the stage. He also seems to be doing better police work than the police…
Read more from Gilbert King here. He’s a gripping speaker and his work has helped free innocent people from prison.
The Greatest Florida Works of All Time
Several authors, including Davis, speculated on the “Greatest Florida Written Works of All Time,” which I’ll note, were all written by deceased Florida women.
Greatest Florida Novel: Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neal Hurston, 1937
Greatest Florida Non-Fiction Book: The Everglades River of Grass, by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, 1974
Greatest Florida Poem: Florida, by Elizabeth Bishop, 1946
Humor
To break up the segments about depressing environmental conditions, the seminar threw in plenty of humor. Dave Barry, a figure from my GenX youth (my dad was a big fan), was freaking hilarious. He essentially gave a masterclass on public speaking, presenting twice, once solo and once with his friend, Carl Hiaasen, an author born and raised where I live now, in Broward County. Though at present, they both live in Miami.
Dave Barry is also running for President of the United States.
In this clip, he zips through some of the best Florida man headlines, then Carl Hiaasen ends with a zinger.
The pair also gave a talk for schoolchildren and expected only 50-100 kids to come, but over 1,000 turned up to see them!
Favorite Dave Barry Quotes from the Show:
“Voting for president in the U.S. is like choosing between a suppository and a laxative.”
“Hi, I’m Dave Berry. If you don’t know me, I’m a famous author.”
“Cedar Key used to be controlled by an island dictator with a thug left-hand man town marshall who assaulted customs officials.”
“Raccoon Key was covered in monkeys and if you have a hurricane, you’re gonna blow those monkeys all over the keys.”
“Key West is an outdoor insane asylum, anyway; we just haven’t put up the walls.”
“Have you heard the one about the Chief of Police who was doing an outdoor press conference on fighting drug traffickers and got hit on the head by a 75lb bag of cocaine thrown out of a plane? Yeah, that happened in Homestead.” (Homestead is southwest of Miami.)
“When you’re 76, the floor is like North Korea. You just don’t go there on the spur of the moment.” (On playing with his grandkids.)
“Teachers are hot.”
Favorite Carl Hiaasen Quotes
“Usually the good guys run out of money before the bad guys do.”
“Snakes are the perfect pet for Norwegians because they give you unconditional indifference.”
“The Not in My Freezer crowd is why Florida won’t solve the invasive species problem.” (About how you’re supposed to kill invasive lizards in Florida by putting them in your freezer. The joke plays on the word NIMBY, not in my backyard.)
Wisdom
Overall, the seminar gave me a renewed appreciation for the older generation of writers amongst us, with the 60+ speakers giving the most interesting talks, aside from Lauren Groff, who proved a powerful, younger orator.
Dave Barry is 76. Carl Hiaasen is 70. Judy Blume is 85! (And she looked incredible for her age, like not a day over 59.) Billy Collins, 2x poet Laureate to the White House, is 82 years old! And he was CRUSHING his performances, dropping wisdom and making the crowd roar with laughter. I’d never heard of him before, but he was one of my absolute favorite speakers from the weekend, a hilarious man. I shared a video clip from his talk here.
It made me very grateful that I’ve fallen in love with a profession that isn’t age-dependent. Writers keep on being fruitful and brilliant until their deaths because writing involves mostly what is known as crystallized intelligence, not fluid intelligence. Crystalized intelligence uses knowledge that comes from past learning, aka wisdom.
Also, seeing Lauren Groff casually chatting with Judy Blume by the book signing table was surreal.
Design
Another thing that impressed me was the festival design, the graphic design, the organization, and the merch designs. Everything ran smoothly and on time. There were no snags, no confusion. It was far more cohesive and less chaotic than any other festival I’ve experienced. Everyone also received a cool book. I asked some of the writers to sign mine.
It was an incredible weekend, and I left loving Key West and inspired to host author talks and readings one day, maybe even via this Lagoon. We tend to think readings are boring, but this isn’t the case at all. I love hearing authors read aloud! Maybe I will start some kind of Lagoon Live show, like
does with her live Zoom Salons. I think it’s valuable for the authors and listeners.The Author in Residence
I also connected with fellow novelist and past Key West Writer in Residence, the award-winning writer Tammy Harrow, who lives in Key West and is also a member of my Thursday Writers’ Support Group that I co-host with Lainey Cameron. We met through the group! She was working the festival, but in her off moments we had a blast and she showed me her favorite local coffee spot and gave me an insider’s perspective of Key West.
By the end of our time together, I wanted to move to Key West too! Despite the high costs, if you can make it there, it’s a writers’ paradise.
Now You
Do you enjoy hearing authors speak or read from their books?
Does meeting authors in real life make you feel more connected to their work?
Which authors have you met IRL?
Which authors would you like to see in person?
🐍 For the Vipers 🐍
I host a paid Lagoon section for my extra supportive supporters, whom I call the Vipers. Join or update your subscription below to read more about the festival and to see clips and quotes from Lauren Groff, Billy Collins, Gilbert King, Diane Roberts, Karen Russell, Lily Brooks-Dalton, and others. Read it here:
Lauren Groff: Sage of the Florida Stage
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the 41st Key West Literary Seminar, with the theme of Florida, the State We’re In, and in this transmission, I’ll share insights from authors Lauren Groff, Billy Collins, Gilbert King, Lily Brooks-Dalton, and more who spoke at the event.
Groff stole the show in my opinion. I wasn’t a huge fan of her prior, but meeting her in real life, chatting with her, and seeing her speak impressed me so much that I’ll probably make a special trip to Gainesville to visit her new bookstore once it opens.
This looks soooo amazing!! I kinda wanna go next year!!
I so loved the Key West Literary Festival on Memoir that I attended in 2000, and I loved your review of this one. I recognized the same kinds of feelings I experienced then. Also, Hummingbird Salamander was a great book I read by Jeff VanderMeer.
I agree that Key West was an inspiring place to be a writer.