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UMass Amherst’s MFA for Poets and Writers will hold the Juniper Literary Festival 2025 on Friday, April 4, and Saturday, April 5, on the UMass Amherst campus. 

All events are free and open to the public.

Event speakers include:

• Desiree C. Bailey, assistant professor in the UMass MFA for Poets and Writers and author of “What Noise Against the Cane,” a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry
• Lauren Christensen, an editor at The New York Times Book Review and author of the memoir “Firstborn”
• Okey Ndibe, UMass MFA and doctoral alumnus and the author of two novels, “Foreign Gods, Inc.” and “Arrows of Rain,” as well as a memoir, “Never Look an American in the Eye”
• Gion Davis, UMass MFA Poetry alum and trans poet
• Jedediah Berry, author of “The Naming Song,” whose first novel, “The Manual of Detection,” was adapted for broadcast by BBC Radio 4

“The MFA’s Juniper Literary Festival brings the community together to celebrate our place in the world and our rich history,” says MFA Program Director Sabina Murray. “This year, we welcome Desiree C. Bailey and Gabriel Bump to the festival. Their award-winning poetry and prose is written for these unprecedented times. Saturday’s publishing panel will include advice from agents, authors, editors, and New York Times book reviewers. We’ll end the two-day event with a reading by MFA alums. We look forward to seeing members of the Amherst and UMass communities at the festival.” 

The MFA produces the Juniper Literary Festival with the Juniper Initiative for Literary Arts and Action. The festival is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the UMass Provost’s Office, the UMass English Department, the UMass Arts Council and individual contributors.

A complete schedule events, including bios of participating poets and writers, can be found on the festival’s website.