Where is the festival located? Where should I stay?

The New Orleans Poetry Festival (NOPF) is in the Marigny/Bywater neighborhood. The primary venue is the New Orleans Healing Center, which includes Café Istanbul. Additional venues include St. Roch Tavern, Siberia, and Saturn Bar.

We recommend you stay close to the New Orleans Healing Center in the Marigny/Bywater neighborhood for convenience and walkability. Here are some nearby options with walking times to the Healing Center:

Bywater

  • Bywater Suite Hotel (20 min walk)
  • Holy Angels Bywater Hotel and Residencies (19 min walk)

Marigny

  • Hotel Peter and Paul (6 min walk)
  • The Frenchmen New Orleans by Kasa (16 min walk)
  • Royal Frenchmen Hotel and Bar (12 min walk)
  • Hotel de la Monnaie (16 min walk)
  • Hampton Inn New Orleans French Quarter Market Area (13 min walk)
  • Lamothe House (16 min walk)

French Quarter

  • Le Richelieu (18 min walk)
  • Hotel Provincial (21 min walk)
  • Chateau Hotel (22 min walk)

Central Business District (CBD)

  • The Eliza Jane (Unbound Collection by Hyatt) (39-minute walk)

Affordable & Safe Hostels

HI New Orleans Hostel, 1028 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70112 (30-minute walk or a 12-minute bus ride)
India House Hostel,  124 S Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119 (30-minute bus ride)

Do I need to register or pay a fee if I just want to attend?

Nope. The New Orleans Poetry Festival is free and open to the public - no name-tags, badges, fees, or memberships required. 

When should I plan to arrive and depart?

 To attend all NOPF events, arrive by Thursday afternoon and depart on Monday after the festival.

If my press isn't at the Small Press Fair, how can I sell my books?

Book Banter Books is partnering with NOPF to ensure all participants' books are available for sale at this year’s festival. If your publisher will have your books on-site at a small press fair table, no action is needed. If your publisher won’t have your books for sale, email Rayna Nielsen [email forthcoming] by March 20, 2026 to allow time for your books to arrive. She’ll work with you to ensure your books are available at the Book Banter Books table during the festival.

If I have an accepted proposal, where/when will that take place?

Accepted event proposals will be scheduled on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the festival. For an easy overview of when and where events will occur, check out the NOPF 2026 Programming Cubes (the cubes will be back up soon). (Blank white spaces indicate locations for readings, roundtables, and workshops.) See the full programming overview below:

Program Schedule, 11th Annual New Orleans Poetry Festival:

Thursday, April 16th 2026:

    • Opening Night: Last Splice (7:00 PM – 10:00 PM): Venue: Saturn Bar, 3067 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.

Friday, April 17th 2026:

    • Small Press Fair (10:00 AM – 5:00 PM): Discover and purchase works from independent publishers in the Grand Hall of the New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Readings, Roundtables, & Workshops (10:00 AM – 3:30 PM). These events occur throughout several rooms in the New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Small Press Fair Happy Hour (4:00 – 5:00 PM): Dedicated time to purchase books and connect with publishers and poets over drinks in the Grand Hall of the New Orleans Healing Center,  2372 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Open Mic Session (1:00 PM – 3:30 PM): An open platform for poets of all levels to share their work. Venue: Siberia, 2227 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • Open Mic (1:00 PM – 3:30 PM). Venue: Siberia, 2227 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 3:30 PM): Venue: St. Roch Tavern, 1200 St Roch Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 3:30 PM): Venue: The AllWays Lounge & Cabaret, 2240 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 3:30 PM): Venue: Kajun's Karaoke Bar, 2256 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • International Night (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM): A bilingual performance featuring poets & translators from Mexico. Venue: Café Istanbul, 2372 St Claude Ave Room 252, New Orleans, LA 70117.

Saturday, April 18th 2026:

    • Small Press Fair (10:00 AM – 5:00 PM): Discover and purchase works from independent publishers in the Grand Hall of the New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Readings, Roundtables, & Workshops (10:00 AM – 5:00 PM). These events occur throughout several rooms in the New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Louisiana Spotlight (11:00 AM – 12:00 PM): All readings, roundtables, and workshops in this hour will feature Louisiana poets celebrating the voices and poetics of our local literary community.
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM): Venue: St. Roch Tavern, 1200 St Roch Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM). Venue: Siberia, 2227 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM): Venue: The AllWays Lounge & Cabaret, 2240 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM): Venue: Kajun's Karaoke Bar, 2256 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • Jazz Funeral for the Death of Democracy (7:30 PM – 8:00 PM): On Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 7:30 pm NOPF will stage a public second line in the form of a jazz funeral mourning the death of democracy. The second line will begin on the St. Claude Avenue neutral ground in front of the New Orleans Healing Center (2372 St. Claude Ave.) and proceed on the neutral ground toward Siberia (2227 St. Claude Ave.), where the festival’s Saturday Night Feature Event will take place at 8pm.
    • Main Event (8:00 PM – 9:30 PM). Venue: Café Istanbul, 2372 St Claude Ave Room 252, New Orleans, LA 70117.

Sunday, April 19th 2026:

    • Small Press Fair (10:00 AM – 3:30 PM): Discover and purchase works from independent publishers. Venue: New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Roundtables, Panels, Readings, & Workshops (10:00 AM – 3:30 PM): Roundtable and panel topics range from the craft of poetry to cultural and ecological issues. Readings feature a diverse lineup of poets. Workshops are free and open to the public. Venue: New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 3:30 PM): Venue: St. Roch Tavern, 1200 St Roch Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117.
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 3:30 PM). Venue: Siberia, 2227 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 3:30 PM): Venue: The AllWays Lounge & Cabaret, 2240 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • Afternoon Readings (1:00 PM – 3:30 PM): Venue: Kajun's Karaoke Bar, 2256 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117
    • Closing Pool Party (4:00 PM – 10:00 PM): A board member, Rodrigo Toscano, hosts the closing pool party at his home in Mid-City, which is catered and offers a chill way to continue dialogues and decompress. BYOB.