The Betsy Hotel Celebrates a Decade of Literary Excellence with Escribe Aquí/Write Here Festival
The Betsy Hotel, located within the South Beach Art Deco District and celebrated for its innovative arts and culture initiatives, is delighted to announce the 10th Annual Escribe Aquí/Write Here Festival. Running from August 3-29, 2024, this year's festival offers a dynamic blend of literary events and artist residencies that reflect Miami's rich cultural diversity.
The festival began on August 3 with a lively opening event, drawing an enthusiastic crowd eager to engage with celebrated poets Caridad Moro-Gronlier, Miami-Dade County’s poet laureate and Kai Coggin, poet laureate of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The public opening set the tone for the month-long celebration of literature and culture.
The Betsy’s Escribe Aquí/Write Here honors artists who ‘do their creative work’ at the intersection of arts, culture and identity and gives a special nod to those working in Miami, where over 70% of residents live in multilingual, culturally diverse, homes. Escribe Aquí was created in 2015 at The Betsy with support from The Knight Foundation by Cuban-American writer Pablo Cartaya (pablocartaya.com) and Pedro Medina Leon (PedroMedinaLeon.com), Peruvian writer/founder of SoFla publisher, Suburbano Ediciones. New programming partners for 2024 are the FIU-Wolfsonian Humanities Lab and the Iris Photo Collective and the new lead funding partner is the Perez CreATE program.
Throughout August, eight distinguished writers will reside in The Betsy's historic Writer’s Room, a working studio space reminiscent of pre-war hotel writing rooms, where guests penned their memories and stayed connected to home. The festival includes "Cafecito" coffee conversations that provide an intimate setting for attendees to engage with the writers and discuss their work.
The festival will conclude on August 29 at 7 p.m. with a virtual closing event hosted by Caridad Moro-Gronlier. This free public event, held on Zoom, offers a global platform for celebrating local literary talent and marks the culmination of a month filled with creative exchanges and community engagement.
Guests are encouraged to RSVP to the Closing Event on Eventbrite. Join The Betsy in celebrating ten years of literary excellence and community involvement right in the heart of South Beach.