Since its launch in 2018, the Deep Water Literary Festival has drawn some of the most celebrated names in contemporary literature, and this year is no exception.
With a theme of Metamorphosis and Transformation, the 2025 festival welcomes authors like Douglas Stuart, Susan Choi, and Marlon James—alongside dancers, visual artists, and musicians—for a weekend of bold conversations and boundary-crossing performances.
Aaron Hicklin, co-founder and director of Deep Water, talks about this year’s highlights, the power of storytelling, and what it means to create a world-class literary event in a river town on the edge of New York and Pennsylvania.