Move over Brooklyn: Queens is getting its own literary festival.
The inaugural Queens Lit Fest will be held Saturday, August 1-Sunday August 2 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days at LIC Bar in Long Island City.
Mike Geffner and The Inspired Word are throwing the grassroots literary festival that will feature writers (including Queens Poet Laureate Maria Lisella and former Queens Poet Laureate Paolo Javier), Queens-based reading series and groups and an open mic. The event is funded by the in part by Poets & Writers with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, according to its Facebook page.
The response for the event has been “overwhelming,” so far said Mike Geffner. Geffner said they have received close to 300 RSVPs.
There will be an open mic for poetry, prose and the spoken word, which will not only feature the two most recent Queens Poet Laureates but also audience members. “That way it could level the playing field,” Geffner says. There should be enough time for about 40 people to perform on the open mic.
There will be two other areas of the bar devoted to the event: music from Queens-based musicians at the main bar and then socializing in the outdoor garden.
Guests are asked to voluntarily donate to help pay for the costs and paying the artists. There will be eight vendor tables and at least five businesses are sponsoring the event. For more information, go their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1573412996279466/
