A conversation between short-story masters Ben Shattuck (“The History of Sound”) and Kelly Link (“The Book of Love”) leads off the 10th annual edition of Word, the Blue Hill literary arts festival, Friday, October 23, 7 p.m. at The Bay School, Blue Hill.

The festival continues through Sunday, October 25, featuring writing workshops, poetry, conversations, art, and kids' events including "How to Be a Dungeon Master" workshop for teens.

Shattuck wrote the screenplay for the popular 2025 movie based on his collection’s title story, as well as the memoir collection “Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau.” Link, a 2018 MacArthur Fellow, is the author of the novel "The Book of Love" as well as five story collections beloved by fantasy fans, most recently the Kirkus Prize finalist “White Cat, Black Dog.”

Other than adult workshops and suppers, all Word events are free. Information/workshop registration: wordfestival.org.

Word’s fiscal sponsor is Blue Hill Community Development. Its media partner is WERU-FM