Dark City LIT! Festival returns Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026, with a day

of free literary events, including a local author fair, three workshops and an evening conversation with Asheville author Nathan Ballingrud. Programs begin at 10 a.m. at Black Mountain Public Library, with additional events at Lakeview Center and Black Mountain Center for the Arts. All events are free and open to the public.

What began as the library’s Write Local, Read Local author fair is growing into a community

festival celebrating Western North Carolina’s literary talent. Readers can meet authors and

discover books, while writers and other creative participants can explore new ideas, audiobook production and zine making.

The festival concludes with “Into the Dark: Horror, Imagination & the Human Heart,” from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Black Mountain Center for the Arts. Ballingrud will join author and Palimpsest podcast host Jamieson Ridenhour for a reading and conversation about storytelling and the strange worlds of Ballingrud’s fiction, followed by audience questions. Malaprop’s Bookstore will offer books for purchase, with signing and conversation after the program. No purchase is required.