Lesbian Literary Festival at Smith College 2026

The annual Lesbian Literary Festival at Smith College brings queer women writers, poets, and readers to Northampton for a weekend. Expect readings, panels, book signings, and conversations.

It’s a mix of Smith College’s scholarly bent — it’s one of America's oldest women's colleges — and the literary scene in Northampton's LGBTQ+ community. This town has one of the highest concentrations of queer women in the country. That, plus an academic setting and a program that treats lesbian and queer female writing as serious intellectual practice, gives the festival a character you won't find at more commercial literary events.

Writers you've heard of, from here and abroad, show up alongside new voices from the Pioneer Valley and New England.