Six Sessions for ONE LOW PRICE. Available live or later for recorded viewing.

Once upon a time, a man inherited a field in which was an accumulation of old stone, part of which had been an old hall. He took some of the stones and built a tower. But his friends–without bothering to even climb the steps of the tower–became obsessed with the stones. So they pushed the tower over and began to root around in the rubble–forming various theories about the meaning of the stones. And in their search for meaning, they even forgot the stones altogether. Finally they concluded that the man was odd and silly and had built a nonsensical tower.

But they never discovered that from the top of the tower, the man could see the sea.

JRR Tolkien wrote the above (paraphrased) allegory to explain the errors of modern approaches to reading–and how to correct them.

Join us January 22 to 29, 2027, for the 9th Annual Literary Life Conference as we explore the concept of The Tower and the Ruin. We will examine everything from the Tower itself to the men who tore it all down and created the Ruin to what it means–and how to–reconstruct the Tower so that we might see the sea.

Keynote Speaker, Dr. Michael Drout, author of the bestselling and award-winning book, The Tower and the Ruin. Other speakers include Angelina Stanford, Thomas Banks, and more.

PLUS a panel of HHL students to discuss what it has meant to them to rebuild the Tower from the Ruins.

Individual Price: $45 (Non-Refundable)

Family Price for 3 or more students: $120 (Non-Refundable)

SCHEDULE

• Friday, January 22nd, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET - Dr. Michael Drout, Keynote Speaker
• Monday, January 25th, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET - Angelina Stanford
• Tuesday, January 26th, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET - Caitlin Beauchamp
• Wednesday, January 27th, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET - Thomas Banks
• Thursday, January 28th, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET - Heather Goodman
• Friday, January 29th, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET - HHL Student Panel (Grace Gerardot, Natalia Testa, Isaiah Snowden, George Shaw)
• Friday, January 29th, 2026 following HHL Student Panel - Closing Remarks from Angelina Stanford

How to access the conference: After completing your purchase, the conference page will be available in your HHL account under "My Courses." Conference content will be made available in January, 2027.