The Festival highlights other contemporary Southern artists, such as the New Orleans novelist John Kennedy Toole and other writers from New Orleans. Tennessee Williams remains the focus of the Festival. The Festival has published previously unpublished writings and produced premiere performances of newly discovered works. A scholars conference is held every year, and an academic journal, "The Tennessee Williams Annual Review", is associated with this conference. Since the first festival in 1986, events have included a guided walking tour to 722 Toulouse St. and other French Quarter residences where Williams once lived.