May 15-18, 2014, marks the 11th edition of the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans, where William Sterling Walker will be on two panels:

On Saturday, May 17 at 11:30 A.M.:
A KISS IN THE DARK: SURPRISING WITH SHORT FICTION
In the realm of fiction, the short story, as Stephen King once noted, is “a different thing altogether — a short story is like a kiss in the dark from a stranger.” Short stories require as much imagination and grasp of literary craft as a novel. Learn the tricks of creating narrative brevity and exactly how to leave King’s proverbial kiss from this panel’s writers, who’ve published in publications such as Penthouse, anthologies such as The New Penguin Book of Gay Short Stories, and whose short fiction has earned them critical and popular acclaim.

Panelists: Michael Carroll, Suzanne Hudson, Sally Bellerose, J.R. Greenwell, and William Sterling Walker. Moderator: Amie M. Evans.
Hotel Monteleone, Royal Salon C/D

On Sunday, May 18 at 2:30 P.M.:
WRITING ALONE, GROWING TOGETHER, CREATING YOUR OWN WRITING COMMUNITY
Facing and filling the blank page (or Word document) can be the loneliest of pursuits. Writers, editors, and readers are your allies in the solitary pursuit that is the writer’s life. Writing communities as well as writers groups, offer benefits that include encouragement, critique, networking opportunities, and perhaps most crucially, a resource to help maintain sanity in good and bad times! Join Jameson Currier, who has shaped a unique community as a writer and as publisher of Chelsea Station, for a conversation on how to find your compatriots, create online and offline literary groups, and maintain mutually beneficial connections. He is joined by contributors to the recent anthologies With: New Gay Fiction and Between: New Gay Poetry.

Panelists: Jeff Mann, Kelly McQuain, David Pratt, Shawn Syms, and William Sterling Walker. Moderator: Jameson Currier.
Hotel Monteleone, Royal Salon C/D