About
Deep Water Literary Festival was founded by Aaron Hicklin in 2018, as a weekend of ideas, performance and community engagement held in the town of Narrowsburg, on the Delaware River NY. Combining author conversations, readings, and educational outreach, with multi disciplinary arts programming, Deep Water goes beyond the standard model of a writers festival and invites the audience to engage in the world of books beyond the page.
We are dedicated to promoting the literary arts in Narrowsburg, NY and the surrounding area, with a view to building community by fostering engagement with story-telling in all its forms. Hand-in-hand is a passion to promote and support this region as a showcase for compelling arts programming, attracting internationally acclaimed authors and artists, while simultaneously creating a platform to celebrate the artists and writers who live and work in our midst. Deep Water is committed to the development, expression and promotion of literature and art that reflects the voices and concerns of underrepresented and diverse communities.
Visiting writers have included Alexander Chee, Masha Gessen, Marlon James, Sloane Crosley, Leila Taylor, Joyce Carol Oates, Jubi Arriola Headley, Hafizah Augustus Geter, Sandra Lim, Lucy Sante, Emily Wilson, Joyce Maynard, Courtney Maum, Diana Goetsch, Maud Newton and William Wegman, joining local authors like Nancy Princenthal, Darcey Steinke, and Nina Burleigh. We have collaborated with a diverse roster of international and local artists and performers such as Mark Ruffalo, Jordan Nasser, Tilda Swinton, Jake Shears, Kristin Worrall, La Fête Arts, Penny Arcade and Morgan Puett.
Founder & Director
- Aaron Hicklin
Director
- Lucy Taylor
Technical staff
- Brendan Regimbal
- Michael Lloyd
Operations
- Baxter Ellard
- Josh Kessler
- Elizabeth Lepro
- Peter Madden
Presenting Partners 2023
Media Partners 2023
Frankenstein
This year, we focused on a novel written by a teen runaway and unmarried mother that has had an unparalleled influence on popular culture since its publication in 1818. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley has gripped the collective consciousness for over 200 years. Two years into a global pandemic where the adage “science is real” has become a yard sign, this book interrogates what it means to be human at the precipice of the transhuman age.
- Festival Launch
- Cocktails with Melissa Gilbert
- American Gothic: Marlon James and Leila Taylor
- Festival Cabaret featuring The Basic Bitches
- Monsters Inc.
- William Wegman in conversation with Andrew Lampert
- Frankenstein Rising
- The Bells of Mont Blanc
- The Equus Effect: Courtney Maum and Halimah Marcus
- Frankisstein: A.M.Homes and Andrew Ondrejcak
- Of Monsters, Mothers, and Fathers
- Frankenstein in Art
- Olaf and His Girlfriend: A dance theater world premiere
- 2022 Festival Party
- Bloody Mary Shelley Brunch
- Frankenstein Falling
- Joyce Carol Oates in conversation with A.M.Homes
- The Art of Memoir
- Joyce Maynard: Turning Life into Fiction
- A War Vocabulary
Fairytales
Fairy Tales are the stuff of childhood dreams and nightmares, stretching across cultures and centuries. Join us to learn why these tales have endured and what they say about our deepest fears and desires.
The Odyssey
Featuring performances by Mark Ruffalo, Emily Wilson, Penny Arcade and Masha Gessen.
