Flair Symposium: "Literature and Change"

Free and open to the public. Registration is required. Registration will open Aug 1.

This Flair Symposium on "Literature and Change" brings together writers and readers to discuss and affirm the enduring value of reading and writing. It will feature keynote addresses by novelist Colm Tóibín and novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar, former president of PEN America. Lisa Lucas, most recently of Knopf Doubleday, will also address her experiences about the current state of the traditional publishing industry and what may lie ahead.

Sessions will examine the history of literature instruction, the role of literature in civic engagement, the unique access literature offers to the inner lives of others, and the enduring appeal of that experience within reading communities. Finally, symposium participants will consider the vital role of stories in defining and binding together families and communities and the ways we all benefit, as individuals and a society, from literature.

Keynotes that require additional registration:

Since 1994, the Ransom Center's Flair Symposium has continued the work of editor, writer and artist Fleur Cowles and her landmark Flair magazine by convening interdisciplinary conversations unlikely to happen elsewhere.

Open to scholars, enthusiasts, readers, and writers alike.

For more information, visit: https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/flair-symposium

Please have your reservation confirmation ready upon entering. Each session is available on a first come, first serve basis. A reservation does not guarantee a seat, but we will have an overflow room available.

Sales by Book People and refreshments available throughout the Symposium.

First 50 attendees will receive Flair merch.

No food or beverages are allowed inside our theater or gallery space.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Harry Ransom Center, 300 West 21st Street, Austin, United States