Desert Noir

A showcase of noir fiction and nonfiction books with strong potential for film adaptation in the Mojave Desert. As part of the Twentynine Palms Book Festival, November 13–15, the festival creates Hollywood Meets the Desert a meeting point between books and film, presented in collaboration with the Joshua Tree Film Festival and filmmaker Ondi Timoner. Friday, November 13 | 3:30 PM Twentynine Palms Community Center by Freedom Plaza | Downtown Twentynine Palms Four distinctive noir stories with strong potential for feature-film adaptation will be introduced as part of the Festival's new Book-to-Screen initiative: Twentynine Palms by Daniel Pyne, Zig Zag by J.D. O'Brien, Desert Reckoning by Deanne Stillman, and Under a Black Flag by Brian Townsley. Following short readings, acclaimed filmmaker Ondi Timoner will lead a conversation with the authors about their stories, their cinematic possibilities, and opportunities for screen adaptation and international co-production. Joshua Tree-based filmmaker Christian Camargo will bring a hands-on production perspective to the conversation. The conversation continues the following day with an intimate Networking Lunch bringing together entertainment professionals and authors participating in the festival. The idea is simply to create an informal environment where authors, producers, filmmakers and other entertainment professionals can meet, exchange ideas and discover stories that can be shot in and around Twentynine Palms. Saturday, November 14 | 12:30 PM Kitchen in the Desert | Twentynine Palms Seating is limited and advance registration is required. Twentynine Palms Book Festival | November 13–15, 2026 29PBF.com | @29PBF Producers and filmmakers may contact [email protected] for additional information.