2025 Program

November 7–9, 2025

This year’s program brings together 9 panel discussions, 4 workshops, 3 VIP talks, and 6 readings across three days. From heritage and memory to noir fiction and graphic storytelling, the festival explores how stories are rooted in place, shaped by history, and transformed through craft. Whether on the page or on the screen, the desert remains a constant source of inspiration.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7

9:30 AM – Choosing the Right Self-Publishing Strategy | Workshop

A practical session offering guidance on platforms, pricing, design, and promotion for authors navigating the world of independent publishing.

11:00 AM – Where the Hell is 29 Palms? | Panel Discussion

Our opening session explores the landmark stories and literary legacies that define Twentynine Palms through journalism, oral history, and preservation.

12:30 PM –How Graphic Nonfiction Brings the Past to Life | Panel Discussion

Discover how graphic nonfiction merges words and art to animate history, memoir, and complex ideas, transforming the reading experience.

2:00 PM – Jazz as Storytelling | Panel Discussion

Musicians, writers, and historians discuss jazz as a living narrative tradition rooted in improvisation, identity, and heritage.

3:00 PM – Stories That Endure | Readings

Indigenous poets and authors present work grounded in ancestral knowledge, cultural survival, and the enduring power of memory.

5:00 PM – Conversation with Gerard Gibbons | Talk

The author of Fight for Glory shares how family history became the foundation for crafting historical fiction.

7:00 PM – Voices of the Desert (Off-site at The Palms) | Readings

An outdoor evening of readings spotlighting writers whose work is shaped by the desert’s landscapes, histories, and eccentricities.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8

10:00 AM – Never Underestimate the Desert | Panel Discussion

Authors and environmental advocates discuss preservation, desert land policy, and storytelling’s role in raising awareness.

11:30 AM – Is the Desert Inspirational for Comedy Writing? | Panel Discussion

Writers and comedians explore how the desert’s landscapes, extremes, and eccentric communities provide unexpected inspiration for humor writing. From the absurdity of isolation to the quirks of desert life, this session examines how the environment shapes comedic tone, characters, and storytelling.

12:30 PM – California Desert Artists | Panel Discussion

This session explores the aesthetic, cultural, and historical impact of California’s desert art communities.

2:00 PM – Conversation with Josh Jackson | Talk

Environmental writer and photographer Josh Jackson reflects on the role of narrative in protecting public lands and overlooked places.

1:00–4:00 PM – Happy Poetry Hour (Off-site at 29 Palms Inn) | Readings

An informal, rotating poetry reading hosted at one of the desert’s most beloved gathering spots.

3:30 PM – Becoming Film Noir: From Page to Screen | Workshop

A hands-on workshop about adapting crime fiction for film and TV, with a focus on the desert noir aesthetic and screenwriting craft.

5:00 PM – Mojave Noir | Readings

A curated reading of crime fiction that leans into grit, atmosphere, and the enduring lure of the Mojave.

7:00 PM – Noir in the Boneyard (Off-site at 29 Palms Public Cemetery) | Readings

An atmospheric evening of pulp noir and crime writing under the desert sky, among the gravestones.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9

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

Writers, educators, and parents discuss how to inspire a lifelong love of reading in children through access, curiosity, and example.

11:30 AM – Publishing Literary Magazines | Panel Discussion

Editors and publishers discuss the role of literary magazines today: how they nurture new voices, cultivate communities, and build careers.

12:30 PM – Conversation with TBA | Talk

A featured guest (to be announced) on writing for children and the enduring importance of stories for younger readers.

1:30 PM to Late Afternoon — Workshops for Young Writers

An afternoon dedicated to young writers with three engaging, genre-focused workshops designed to inspire creativity, encourage self-expression, and introduce new ways of looking at the world through writing.

• 1:30 PM – Stargazing Stories | Workshop

  A creative writing session where young participants use the night sky, constellations, and cosmic wonders as inspiration to craft their own imaginative stories.

• 2:30 PM – Poetry Playground | Workshop

  An interactive poetry workshop for kids that blends writing exercises, playful prompts, and self-expression through language.

• 3:30 PM – Comedy Playground | Workshop

  A laughter-filled session where young participants explore the basics of humor writing and comedic performance.