2025 Program

November 7–9, 2025

This year’s edition brings together 90+ authors and 17 live sessions over three days, celebrating the voices, stories, and landscapes that make the Mojave such fertile ground for creativity. All daytime sessions take place inside the Twentynine Palms Community Center by Freedom Plaza, with doors opening at 9:30 AM each day. Book signings will follow every session, and admission is free with Eventbrite registration. Evening events, including Poetry Happy Hour, Voices of the Desert, Noir in the Boneyard, and Red Light Lit, unfold across some of the town’s most iconic venues.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7

Twentynine Palms Community Center by Freedom Plaza

10:00 AM – Where the Hell is 29 Palms? | Panel Discussion.

Moderator: Kurt Schauppner | Panelists: Lt. Col. John J. McBrearty, Heidi Grunt, Jim Bagley, Ann Congdon.

11:00 AM - Los Angeles and the Rise of the American Indian Movement 

Host: Rebekah Meola | Guest Author: Antoinette Godin

NOON – Is the Desert Inspirational for Comedy Writing? | Panel Discussion.

Moderator: Vic Terry | Panelists: Rose Baldwin, J.D. O’Brien, Virginia Mekkelson, Sharianne Greer, Bruce Craven, Ryanna Hammond

2 PM – A Conversation on IsraeliJazz. 

Host: Steve Hochman | Guest Author: Raphael Perez

3:30 PM – Wimmen’s Comix: a VIP conversation.

Host: Susan Rukeyser | Guest Cartoonists: Terre Richards, Lee Marrs, Caryn Leschen, and Willy Mendes.

5 PM - P.O. BOX OUTER SPACE | Readings.

Readings Hosts: Jardine Libaire & Jennifer Prediger | Readers: Larry Fike, Nevada McPherson, Duncan Birmingham, Bruce Mason, AJ Vitello, Rachel Reid Wilkie, Mark Edward Hornish (and his dog), Kate Spencer

Friday - Offsite

7 PM – Mojave Noir (Old Schoolhouse Museum) / Readings.

Readings |  Presented by Mil-Tree and Hosted by Gabriel Hart | Featuring Ben Goulet, Kyle Seibel, Patrick Wallis, and Renee Asher-Pickup

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8

Twentynine Palms Community Center by Freedom Plaza

8:00 - 10:30 AM - Paths to Publishing | Networking + Panels for Authors

Moderator: Rebekah Meola | Panelists: Tracy Wise, Gina Frangello, Terria Smith, Jardine Libaire, Andreas Kossak, Catherine Auman, Chris Church, Julia Martel, Mike G. Vail

10:30 AM – California Desert Artists | Panel Discussion.

Moderator: Katie Nartonis Panelists: Ben Allanoff, Claudia Bucher, Sonja Krastman, Philip Miller, Eric Nash, Cybele Rowe, Svetlana Shigroff, Joanna Szachowska, Kelly Witmer, Larry White

11:30 AM – The Enduring Wild: A Conversation with Josh Jackson.

1:30 PM – Never Underestimate the Desert | Panel Discussion.

Moderator: Katie Nartonis | Panelists: Josh Jackson, Jennifer Brody, Eugene Rosow, Jamal Koussan-Price, Ruth Nolan, Ben Coil, Mike Stillman.

3:00 PM – Noir Lives On: The Enduring Power of Pulp Fiction | Panel Discussion.

Moderator: Nevada McPherson | Panelists: Brian Townsley, Nolan Knight, Domenic Stansberry

4:30 PM – Becoming a Film Noir: From Page to Screen | Panel Discussion.

Moderator: Patrick Zuchowicki | Panelists: Daniel Pyne, Deanne Stillman, Brian Townsley, Eugene Rosow.

saturday Offsite

1:00–4:00 PM – Poetry Happy Hour (29 Palms Inn) | Readings.

MC: Palo Xanto | Readers: Kate Spencer, Michael G. Vail, Nikki Rawnsley, Esinam Bediako, Damien Gossett, Kristina Ten, Cindy Rinne, Joel Tomfohr, Virginia Mekkelson, Phil Miller, Ryanna Hammond, Bruce Craven, Natalie Raymond, Anna Olivia Eve, Angelus

6:00 PM – Voices of the Desert (The Palms in Wonder Valley) | Readings.

MC: Vic Terry | Readers: Cindy Rinne, Ruth Nolan, Jennifer Germano, John Sierpinski, Carla Fernandez, Kent Wilson, Kristina Ten, Jay Jones, Derrick Davis, Megan Haugh, Nico Slate, Michael G. Vail, Francis Moss, George Bixley, Abigail Stewart, Damien Gosset

7:00 PM – Noir in the Boneyard (29 Palms Public Cemetery) | Readings. Presented by Starlite Pulp | Curated by Brian Townsley | Readers: Nolan Knight, Nevada McPherson, Bruce Craven, Rob Roberge, Dennis Tafoya, JD O’Brien, Daniel Pyne, Domenic Stansberry, Brian Townsley

8:00 PM - Red Light Lit featuring Los Ponchos Tones (The Out There Bar) | Readings + Music / Cover charge $10  | Curated by Jennifer Lewis | Performers: Orenda Fink, Laurie Kaye, Susan Rukeyser, Kristina Ten | Live music: Flying Mountains, Los Ponchos Tones

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9

Twentynine Palms Community Center by Freedom Plaza

10:00 AM – Books Don’t Need Chargers | Panel Discussion.

Moderator: Kimberly Lee | Panelists: Michael “Aibo” Juarez, Esinam Bediako, Yasmine Golchan, Susan Brennan, Erik PerezBrain, Stephanie Campisi

11:30 AM - Stories to Grow With: Indigenous Tales for Young Readers | Readings.

Conversation Host: Ruth Nolan | Guest Authors: Carolann Jane, Terria Smith and Desiree Wetz.

1 PM Memoir – Writers at Lunch: Finding Truth, Recasting Stories | Panel & Workshop.

Moderator: Gina Frangello | Panelists: Maggie Downs, Laurie Kaye, Emily Rapp Black, Rachel Resnick, Rob Roberge.

2:30 PM – Heritage Stories in the Ring: A Conversation with Gerard Gibbons and Todd Aaron Jensen.

4 PM – Beyond the Last Estate: Creative Reporting on Contemporary Literature | Readings.

Curator: Gabriel Hart Contributors: Omar King, Jardine Libaire, Michael Liska, Matt Pegas, Valerie Stivers, John Tottenham.