Key West Festival Returns to Celebrate Hemingway's Legacy

From July 21 to 26, Key West will transform into a living tribute to Ernest Hemingway, marking the 127th anniversary of the author's birth. The annual festival blends the writer’s literary achievements with his storied, exuberant lifestyle, drawing crowds to the island city he once called home during the 1930s.

The festivities launch at Williams Hall with the announcement of the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition winner, a literary contest directed by the author's granddaughter that awards $2,500 to emerging writers. The evening continues with a screening of The Beard Also Rises and a preview of a documentary tracking the humanitarian efforts of the festival's famous look-alikes. Fans of the author's cinematic adaptations can also catch the 1958 classic The Old Man and the Sea starring Spencer Tracy.

Beyond the film screenings, the program explores the author's lesser-known passions. Curator Cori Convertito will host a session on Hemingway’s dedication to fisheries conservation, while the Papa's Tales Storytelling Competition invites participants to perform original three-minute spoken-word pieces at the Hemingway Social Club. Visitors seeking a deeper look at his personal life can visit the Key West Museum of Art and History at the Custom House, which is opening its collection of rare artifacts and Guy Harvey’s illustrations to the public throughout the week. The celebration culminates at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, the site of the iconic Look-Alike Contest that remains the festival's signature event.