Born from a dream and a need, the Lost Keys Literary Festival is dedicated to celebrating regional literature and promoting literacy in the community in Macon, GA. Named in honor of local poet Seaborn Jones' third collection, Lost Keys, we are connected to the heart of the literary community in Macon and want to share it.

The festival’s lineup includes local writers such as Kevin Cantwell and Robert Perry Ivey, as well as an art exhibit and free reading by children’s author Charmain Z. Brackett—an impressive event which lack of funding could prevent.  
“The problems isn’t that people aren’t aware of it, but that that this awareness does not equal monetary support,” Danielle Quesenberry, MGA graduate and Lost Keys Festival founder, said. “Without funding, we will not be able to produce the festival I envisioned, or quite honestly, a festival at all.”  There is no lack of sponsorship—Lost Keys has the support of many local businesses downtown; however, this support is through services and supplies, both of which are needed, but to bring about the full extent of Quesenberry’s vision, monetary support is required as well.

“It’s wonderful that all of these local businesses are willing to support us by providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for our speakers and guests—but in order to bring the extent of our vision for Lost Keys to the public, we need money to pay our writers, who very much to deserve the support as artists,” says Co-Chair Ashley Williams. “It’s obvious that we have the community’s support—what we need is for that support to be driven by dollar signs so that the ‘little fest that could’ can be the ‘little fest that came, saw, and conquered!’” she adds, beaming excitedly.  

To tackle this issue, the festival has begun crowdfunding campaigns that include a Kickstarter as well as a yard sale and a dating auction. The Kickstarter has raised $865 of its targeted $2500, which is ultimately only half of the Lost Keys’ projected budget. “If we do not raise the full $2,500 from the Kickstarter, then we get nothing from it. Kickstarter is all or nothing crowdfunding,” states Williams. “That is a challenge we choose to accept—we believed at the inception of Lost Keys that the community would support our endeavors and donate to our festival because we are dedicated to giving back to the community.” However, with just 13 days left in the Kickstarter, Lost Keys is behind in its community support enterprise.

 “No amount is too small,” Quesenberry states. “We have incentives for pledges as low as $10. Every little bit counts.”  

Sponsorship is another way to provide financial support, with levels ranging from $250 to $1500. Each sponsor will receive incentives for their support, all dependent upon which “key” they choose to become.  

A yard sale is planned for August 19, 2015 across the street from Tatnall Square Market as well as several events at other local markets.  

A secondary event will be held September 4th to raise funds as well. A more nontraditional approach to fundraising, this event will be a dating auction, in which members of the Lost Keys board, as well as some of their friends, will be available to be bid on as a donation to the festival. The whole group will participate in a dinner provided by Kudzu Seafood Company at a later date.  

At the core, the board wishes to celebrate an art form that has been quiet since the inception of the art community in Macon. We believe that approaching regional literature will give the younger generation a firm foundation in a love for literary arts and hopefully increase literacy through this love and respect.