About
Word was started in 2017 by a group of community members to celebrate the rich literary culture of the Blue Hill Peninsula. Not only is Blue Hill home to many fine writers in all genres, it is a community of passionate readers who support the creative work of authors, poets, artists, musicians, and craftspeople. It is the perfect setting to share one’s work and one’s love of literature. In addition to author readings, events include a poetry crawl, writing workshops, panel discussions, and spoken word programs. The festival takes place in October when the Maine coast is wearing its autumn colors.
To extend the scope of the festival, Word occasionally hosts Early Word events throughout the year when an exciting literary opportunity presents itself.
Word events take place throughout Blue Hill, partnering with the Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill Books, the Congregational Church, the Blue Hill Inn, area schools, and local businesses that provide venues, services, and sponsorship. As a media sponsor, local radio station WERU-FM has recorded and broadcast Word events, expanding the reach of the festival. Word is a non-profit organization with fiscal sponsorship from the Blue Hill Community Development. Word has been funded in part by the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation and the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Contact Us:
Interested in being a part of Word? There are many ways to get involved. Are you a writer who wants to share your work or teach a workshop? Are you a local business that would like to partner with the festival through sponsorship, in-kind donations, or event tie-ins? Would you like to volunteer? We want to hear from you! Let us know what you’re thinking. word.bluehill@gmail.com
Past festivals:
Explore Word festivals past
2021 Word festival programming
2020 Word festival programming
2019 Word festival programming
2018 Word festival programming
2017 Word festival programming
Stay in Touch:
Follow us on Facebook and we'll keep you in the loop on festival developments, plus any other area literary events that come to our attention. Drop an email to word.bluehill@gmail.com and ask to be added to our mailing list.
2023 Word Planning Committee:
Ellen Booraem, Sandy Collier, Marie Epply, Samantha Haskell, Lee Lehto, Laura Miller, Tim Parson, Sarah Pebworth, and Marisol Trowbridge
2022 Word Planning Committee: Ellen Booraem, Marie Epply, Samantha Haskell, Lee Lehto, Laura Miller, Tim Parson, Sarah Pebworth, and Catherine Weiss
2021 Word Planning Committee: Caroline Bicks, Ellen Booraem, Martin Conte, Marie Epply, Samantha Haskell, Lee Lehto, Laura Miller, Tim Parson, Sarah Pebworth, and Catherine Weiss
2020 Word Planning Committee: Caroline Bicks, Ellen Booraem, Martin Conte, Marie Epply, Samantha Haskell, Lee Lehto, Laura Miller, Catherine Nevin, Tim Parson, and Sarah Pebworth
2019 Word Planning Committee: Ellen Booraem, Martin Conte, Marie Epply, Samantha Haskell, Lee Lehto, Laura Miller, Catherine Nevin, Tim Parson, and Sarah Pebworth
2018 Word Planning Committee: Ellen Booraem, Marie Epply, Samantha Haskell, Shelley Latham, Lee Lehto, Laura Miller, Catherine Nevin, Sarah Pebworth, and Matt Shaw
2017 Inaugural Planning Committee: Ellen Booraem, Hannah Cyrus, Marie Epply, Samantha Haskell, Lee Lehto, and Sarah Pebworth