Florida Keys Gear Up for Hemingway Festival

Acclaimed author Lorian Hemingway is the granddaughter of the great writer. She’s also the director of Hemingway Days, a five-day-long festival that celebrates the life and work of the beloved American author.

The 33rd annual Hemingway Days Festival runs from July 16 to 21 in Key West and is comprised of events intended to celebrate Ernest Hemingway as well as the work of contemporary authors of the region.

Highlights of the Festival include the announcement of the winners of the  Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, which will take place on the evening of the 19th. The competition annually awards $2500 to emerging writers of short fiction.

During the festival, attendees of Sloppy Joe’s Bar on Duval Street, a one-time Hemingway hangout, will be treated to a Papa Hemingway lookalike contest. More than 120 stocky, white-bearded men are expected to travel from all over the United States for the chance of being called “Ernest.” Many of the competitors come dressed appropriately in the safari garb or wool fisherman’s sweaters most reminiscent of Hemingway’s classic attire.

And though Hemingway was best known for his novels and short stories, Papa wrote poetry as well. The Key West Poetry Guild will stage a reading and celebration of the author’s poems at the Blue Heaven, the landmark restaurant that stands on the site of a boxing ring where Hemingway once refereed neighborhood matches. Admission to the event is free.

See more information on these and other events here.