Stonington Literary Festival

STONINGTON LITERARY FESTIVAL

JAMES MERRILL CENTENNIAL

October 2–4, 2026 | Stonington, Connecticut

A three-day celebration of the life, work, and legacy of James Merrill featuring renowned writers, scholars, musicians, including many former Merrill Fellows. Next weekend, more than 300 attendees and 40+ presenters will gather in Stonington for 30 events across seven venues, including readings, conversations, workshops, literary tours, a concert, a pop-up bookstore, and more. It will be quite a weekend!

Can’t make it to Stonington? Join us online! Many events will be live streamed.

We will be livestreaming our La Grua Center events on the James Merrill House YouTube channel, including several events that are sold out in person. We encourage you to tune in from wherever you are and be part of the Centennial weekend.

This festival is made possible thanks to the Centennial Festival Committee Chairs: Cynthia Elliott, Jenny Dixon, and Joanna Scott; the Centennial Committee members: Owen Hughes, Sylvia (Sibby) Lynch, Laura Mathews, David Schulz, Willard Spiegelman, Tom Sullivan, and Mary Weatherup; and the James Merrill House Board Co-Chairs: Penny Duckham and John Groton; and the rest of the James Merrill House board members: Denise Easton, Bill Fowler, Meg Lyons.

We also extend our gratitude to the Centennial Committee Advisory Members: Rozina Ali, Antoinette Brim-Bell, Michael Collier, Ann Marie Houle, Jessie Kindig, Tochukwu Okafor, and Julie Rivkin. We also are grateful to Joel Minor and the team at Washington University in St. Louis.

And the festival would not be possible without our sponsors: CT Humanities, CT Center for the Book ,The Hounds, Cannonball Hospitality, Judi Caracausa, Penguin Random House, Long River Wealth Management, UBS; Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP, Valenti Toyota, Chelsea Groton Bank, Raveis Realty. Thank you also to our other funders, including Anonymous, the Wimpfheimer Foundation, and numerous smaller gifts. ​

free to $25

More info and tickets