Celebrating Tumbling at 25: Diane McKinney-Whetstone in conversation with James Rahn
While 2021 may have been our 20th anniversary, it also marked the 25th anniversary of a beloved classic set in Philadelphia: Tumbling. To kick off the festival, we were proud to present a reading and conversation with Diane McKinney-Whetstone, author of Tumbling, and James Rahn, founder of the Rittenhouse Writer’s Group, one of America’s longest-running and most prestigious independent fiction writing workshops.
Click here to watch other events from the
20th Anniversary 215 Festival held May 10-15, 2021.
Philadelphia is home to a thriving literary community. The city boasts dozens of independent bookstores. Professional authors and amateur writers commingle at dozens of monthly reading series hosted in bars and bookstores around the city. Numerous renowned MFA programs call the greater Philadelphia area home. We have a vibrant spoken word poetry scene, dozens of independent publishers, literary magazines, and open mics.
The 215 Festival is proud to be a founding sponsor of LiteraryPhilly.org, a community-based calendar compiling the countless literary events happening around the city. LitPhilly also maintains a database of literary resources in the city so you can easily see what Philly has to offer to readers and writers alike.
"The 215 festival, part urban rave, part pub crawl, part literary fest, part movable dance party…"
Claire Sasko, Philadelphia Inquirer
“Literature should be
in the people’s hands.”
Jess Bergman, Literary Hub
“The night began in true Philadelphia fashion, which is to say with a citywide. For the uninitiated, that’s a shot and a beer, usually whiskey, and usually $5-or-less—though Ortlieb’s Lounge, the site of this year’s 215 Fest opening festivities, does offer a tequila option…”
