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In the last 26 years, the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival has grown beyond a literary gathering into a juggernaut of original theatre productions, literary lions, gourmet meals, music seminars, walking tours and galas. The life of the party is still the wit to be found in Tennessee Williams' body of writing, much of it inspired by his years in New Orleans.

The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival is a five-day festival dedicated to the Pulitzer-prize winning American playwright, who spent many years living and writing in the French Quarter. Although several of the festival's main events are devoted to honoring Williams' works, the festival also features writing workshops and contests, panel discussions, readings, a book fair and other events centered on American literature. The festival's Master Classes are sessions with authors, agents and editors who share literary techniques and current industry trends, including discussions on e-publishing and social media.

Highlights of the festival include the Stella/Stanley Shouting Contest, in which competitors stand in Jackson Square and bellow the famous name-calling scene from A Streetcar Named Desire. "Ignatius on Stage," adapted from John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "A Confederacy of Dunces," stars WWL Radio's John "Spud" McConnell as Ignatius Reilly. The Historic New Orleans Collection hosts many of the Master Classes, and Muriel's Jackson Square is also the home of many of the breakout sessions with agents, editors and top authors. Le Petit Theatre is the home of many of the festival's theater productions, as well as the site of Tea with Tennessee, where attendees mingle with authors on the last day of the festival.

What's happening in 2012:

In 2012, the conference moves to the newly renovated Hotel Monteleone, a fitting home given the Monteleone's designation as a literary landmark.

Celebrities holding court in 2012 include Oscar nominee Piper Laurie, who played Laura Wingfield in the 1965 Broadway revival of Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" and is the author of the memoir, "Learning to Live Out Loud."

The Drummer and Smoke Series at the Palm Court Jazz Cafe includes an intriguing "Between the Lionels," discussion and musical performance with jazz musicians Uncle Lionel Batiste of the Treme Brass Band and 100-year-old Lionel Ferbos, who is still gigging in New Orleans.

The festival will screen Win Riley's documentary on legendary author Walker Percy, and the People Say Project will present a multimedia tribute to Lafcadio Hearn, the 19th Century author and journalist.

Other notable authors slated for the 2012 lineup include Jesmyn Ward, whose "Salvage the Bones" won the 2011 National Book Award for fiction; John Guare, 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his play "A Free Man of Color"; and Victor Navasky, publisher emeritus of "The Nation" who wrote "Naming Names" on the infamous Hollywood blacklist.

Williams-related theatre programs include Southern Rep Theatre's full production of "A Streetcar Named Desire," complemented by "Me and My Delicate Moth," inimitable playwright/actor Jeremy Lawrence's tribute to Blanche DuBois. "Hiding in Plain Sight" is a special event focusing on Williams' lesser-known works, with excerpts from some of the playwright's unsung masterpieces.

Food and wine connoisseur, author and columnist John Mariani offers restaurant scoop to accompany wine, wit and hors d'oeuvres. Chef John Besh will share stories and recipe tastings from his new book, "My Family Table."

Guests can shake things up with "Cocktails and Cinema," a celebrity bartender competition of Williams-inspired cocktails at the Clock Bar followed by a Chateau Bourbon Hotel rooftop courtyard screening of one of Williams' classic movies. The cocktail contest is free and open to the public, with movie screening for $5.