The Watershed Reading Series is Madison's longest-running monthly curated reading series. Our readings bring together poets and writers who are doing more than promoting their latest book. They are gathered to present works in progress, new work, and to engage listeners in a conversation around literature, issues, and ideas. As poet Sean Bishop noted, "Look into the audience at an ALL event and you will see students from East High School sitting beside local retirees, Wisconsin Poets Laureate, graduate and undergraduate students from Edgewood, MATC, and UW, and authors with books currently on the New York Times Best-seller list."
Watershed Readings are generally held on the third Saturday of each month and begin at 7:00pm. In addition to the Watershed Reading Series, ALL frequently hosts readings organized by other community groups, such as the Winter Festival of Poets, Monsters of Poetry and Oscar Presents. Check our calendar for more information.
You can watch recordings of our past readings on our YouTube channel (and while you're there be sure to subscribe to see concerts, artist talks, and more).
Reading Queries
We will re-open for queries on March 1, 2024. What you'll need: A sample of your work (1-2 pages), a brief bio, and a cover letter to ritamae@artlitlab.org. Each reading is in person in Madison, Wisconsin and features three writers; each writer gets approximately 15 minutes to read. If you are unavailable for any of these dates, please note that in your cover letter. Please do not schedule another in-person reading in Madison 3 weeks before or after the Watershed reading. Readings outside of Madison during that period are fine.
