Reading is often thought of as a solitary activity. But get a bunch of readers together, add in a few authors, book stores, publishers, maybe music, some food and just like that you have a festival.
My first introduction to book festivals was the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, held every year in spring. It is two days of not just books but all things literary (and some that are not). There are bookish clothes, live poetry readings, cooking demonstrations, music, interviews with authors and more. But you don’t have to come all the way to Los Angeles to celebrate books. There are book festivals all over the country. Here is a list to help you find one near you.
Monthly
North Hollywood, CA: Book’d in Burbank
Dates: Monthly
Website: http://www.bookdevent.com/
February 2016
Amelia Island, FL: Amelia Island Book Festival
Dates: February 18-20, 2016
Website: http://www.ameliaislandbookfestival.org/
Columbia, SC: Deckle Edge Literary Festival
Dates: February 19-21, 2016
Website: http://www.DeckleEdgeSC.org
March 2016
Tucson, AZ: Tucson Festival of Books
Dates: March 12-13
Website: http://www.tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/
Charlottesville, VA: Virginia Festival of the Book
Dates: March 16-20
Website: http://www.vabook.org/index.html/
Los Angeles, CA: AWP Conference & Bookfair
Dates: March 30-April 2
Website: https://www.awpwriter.org/awp_conference/overview
New Orleans, LA: Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
Dates: March 30-April 3
Website: http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/
April 2016
Palm Beach, FL: Palm Beach Book Festival
Dates: April 1-2
Website: http://www.palmbeachbookfestival.com/
Los Angeles, CA: L.A. Times Festival of Books
Dates: April 9-10
Website: http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/
Las Vegas, NV: Romantic Times Booklovers Convention
Dates: April 12-17
Website: https://www.rtconvention.com/
Little Rock, AK: Arkansas Literary Festival
Dates: April 14-17
Website: http://www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org/
Bowling Green, KY: Southern Kentucky Book Fest
Dates: April 22-23
Website: http://sokybookfest.org/
Montgomery, AL: Alabama Book Festival
Date: April 23
Website: http://www.alabamabookfestival.org/welcome.html
Newburyport, MA: Newburyport Literary Festival
Dates: April 29-30
Website: http://newburyportliteraryfestival.org/
Chelsea, MI: Midwest Literary Walk
Date: April 30
Website: http://midwestliterarywalk.org/
May 2016
Hudson, NY: Hudson Children’s Book Festival
Date: May 7
Website: http://www.hudsonchildrensbookfestival.com/
Chicago, IL: Book Con
Date: May 11-13
Website: http://www.thebookcon.com (will be in NY 2017)
Chicago, IL: BEA (Book Expo America)
Date: May 11-13
Website: http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/ (will be in NY 2017)
Landover, MD: The Prince George’s Book Festival
Date: May 14
Website: www.springbookfestival.simplesite.com
Gaithersburg, MD: Gaithersburg Book Festival
Date: May 21
http://gaithersburgbookfestival.org/
Oakland, CA: Oakland Book Festival
Date: May 22
Website: http://www.oaklandbookfestival.org/
June 2016
Berkeley, CA: Bay Area Book Festival
Dates: June 4-5
Website: http://www.baybookfest.org/
Chicago, IL: Printers Row Lit Fest
Dates: TBD
Website: http://printersrowlitfest.org/
Nantucket, MA: Nantucket Book Festival
Dates: June 17-19
Website: https://nantucketbookfestival.org/
Ann Arbor, MI: Ann Arbor Book Festival
Dates: June 16-18
Website: http://aabookfestival.org/
July 2016
New York, New York: Harlem Book Fair
Dates: July 16
Website: http://www.harlembookfair.com/
Portland, OR: Northwest Book Festival
Dates: July 30
Website: http://www.nwbookfestival.com/
August 2016
Edgartown and Chilmark, MA: Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival
Dates: TBD
Website: http://mvbookfestival.com/
Jackson, MS: Mississippi Book Festival
Date: August 20
Website: http://msbookfestival.com/
September 2016
Decatur, GA: Decatur Book Festival
Dates: TBD
Website: https://www.decaturbookfestival.com
Memphis, TN: Mid-South Book Festival
Date: September 7-11
Website: http://www.midsouthbookfest.org/about-the-festival
Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Book Festival
Date: September 17-18
Website: http://www.brooklynbookfestival.com/
Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress National Book Festival
Date: September 24
Website: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/
October 2016
Baltimore, MD: African American Author’s Festival and Multi-Cultural Book Fair
Date: October 15
Website: http://aaaexpo.ning.com/
Charlotte, NC: Carolina Book Fest
Date: October 15
Website: http://carolinabookfest.com/
Cincinnati, OH: Books by the Banks
Date: October 15
Website: http://booksbythebanks.org/
November 2016
Austin, TX: Texas Book Festival
Date: November 5-6
Website: http://www.texasbookfestival.org/

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