Spring Writes

TheCommunity Arts Partnership of Tompkins County is proud to announce our 18th annual Spring Writes Literary Festival, a lively, free celebration of the literary arts, with over 40 events in downtown Ithaca and on Zoom.

Spring Writes showcases the incredible talent and diversity of over 110 writers in Tompkins County and beyond, with programming for everyone—from seasoned authors to the literary loving public.

Don’t miss this chance to connect, create, and celebrate the power of words – together!

Twenty-Five Live Events in May 
The Festival kicks off with one long weekend from May 7 – May 10 packed with multiple group readings of poetry, prose, and memoir; panels on writings, genre, and timely topics; creative writing workshops for all ages and experience levels; performances by a local theatre troupe and senior storytellers; a reading and an open mic with local teens; creative writing as a family activity, evening performances, and a Survivor-style literary showdown. There’s also a May 16 evening performance and a May 31 Book & Zine Fair.

Locations: Events are at the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center, Buffalo Street Books, the Tompkins County Public Library, Lot 10 and Liquid State Brewery and the Cherry Arts.

Eight  Zoom Events in May
From May 14 – May 28, eight Zoom events are perfect for literary lovers tuning in from afar, along with a  Zoom June 14th reading.

Eight More Events from July to September
Find six more workshops, a panel and a group reading – all at Buffalo Street Books.

On this site you’ll see the full schedules, and participating artist bios.

Registration for all of the May live events is just one form. You’ll see separate registrations for each Zoom event and the Live July to September events.

Help Support the Community Arts Partnership! When you register. you’ll see an option to donate to the Community Arts Partnership. Visit our website (ArtsPartner.org) to see all that we do for Tompkins County artists and audiences (events, program, artist support, State and local grant programs, and more.) Programs like the Spring Writes Literary Festival cost about $20,000 to produce which includes payment to over 100 artists. We can’t do what we do without support. Please partner with us and consider a donation in any amount that feels comfortable from $10 to (the sky’s the limit.)

This support underscores our organization’s role in enriching our community’s cultural landscape and the importance of the arts in connecting us all. THANK YOU!

We thank our business sponsors: Ithaca College, Beginnings Credit Union, M&T Bank, the Odyssey Bookstore, Wegmans, and the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center.  Media sponsors are WSKG radio, The Route WITH radio, Cinemapolis and What’s Hot Magazine. Additional support is provided by the Tompkins County Tourism Program, Poets & Writers, and A Fair Game grant.

Past Event Recordings
Find 2023 to 2025  recorded events (and more) at youtube.com/@CommunityArtsPartnership

Visit the Community Arts Partnership website at ArtsPartner.org to learn all about our annual events, programs, grants and initiatives. Find us on Instagram and Facebook.

Questions anytime!
Email Robin Schwartz, Program & Grant Director, Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County. Programs@artspartner.org

Images: Left to Right: (Panel) / (Books) / Winniebell Xinyu Zong / (Audience) / Valerie Sykes /  Cory Brown / Sorayya Khan / nicole v. basta / Janie E. Bibbie / Erica Steinhagen