Book Events: Fairs, Festivals, and Conferences (2021 and 2022)
Visit our Photo Gallery, Events Archives, and AALBC’s Events.
A printable list of these events. To add an event to our this list, share the event’s information on the Press Release area of our discussion forum, or complete our form to add a Book Festival or Fair to our Calendar.
Note: As a result of the global pandemic, please check the event’s official website for postponements, cancellations, conversion to virtual events.
146 Events Coming Up
Hargeysa International Book Fair
Hargeysa, Somaliland,
Hosted by: Hargeysa Cultural Center
Date: July 2019 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Hargeysa International Book Fair
Email: info@hargeysabookfair.com
Description:
12th Hargeysa International Book Fair took place July 20 - 25, 2019, Hargeysa, Somaliland
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Schomburg Center Literary Festival
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, New York
Hosted by: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Date: Saturday, June 20, 2020
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Website: Schomburg Center Literary Festival
Phone: 2123481532
Email: Schomburglitfest@nypl.org
Description:
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and interpretation of global black experiences. Our new Schomburg Center Literary Festival expands our long tradition of championing authors of African descent from across the globe and publications that celebrate Black history and culture. The day-long book festival will feature exhibitors, readings, panel discussions, workshops and more for all ages, from prose to poetry, comic books to young adult novels, fiction and non-fiction.
Learn more about Schomburg Center Literary Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Romance Slam Jam Convention
, Virtual,
Dates: Wednesday, June 24, 2020 to Sunday, June 28, 2020
Website: Romance Slam Jam Convention
Phone: 214-856-0697
Email: info@rsjconvention.com
Description:
Held in a different city each year, the Romance Slam Jam convention is an annual book lovers’ event for black authors of romantic fiction and the book lovers who read them.
RSJ was born out of a necessity in 1995 due to the systemic exclusion by the publishing industry of black authors from acquisitions, mainstream distribution, and industry awards. In a response to gatekeepers who once said, “People won’t buy black romance,” RSJ set out to break barriers in the now billion dollar romance book industry and support authors who challenged the illusion of inclusion.
Learn more about Romance Slam Jam Convention on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Austin African American Book Festival
George Washington Carver Library, and
George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Austin, Texas
Hosted by: Rosalind Oliphant
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2020
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Website: Austin African American Book Festival
Email: info@aaabookfest.org
Description:
Austin’s African American Book Festival celebrates it’ 13th anniversary, in 2019, promoting literature by and about African Americans at the Carver Museum and Library.
Learn more about Austin African American Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
ALA Conference
Chicago, Illinois,
Hosted by: American Library Association
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2020
Time:
Website: ALA Conference
Description:
Join #TheBookAwardCelebration! on June 28, 2020
ALA Annual Conference is the premier global library event each year, bringing together the newsmakers, innovators, thought leaders, and influencers in the library field, from all over the world. News is made at these events, where important announcements are made, updates are shared, relevant legislation and policy are addressed, and discussions take place that have a major impact on libraries, their role, and their ongoing transformation. This event trends nationally on Twitter and are extensively covered in the media.
Learn more about ALA Conference on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Harlem Book Fair
163 West 125th Street (New Location)
Corner of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard
, Harlem, New York
Hosted by: Max Rodriguez
Dates: Saturday, July 18, 2020 to Sunday, July 19, 2020
Website: Harlem Book Fair
Email: hbf@qbr.com
Description:
The Harlem Book Fair is the United State’s largest African-American book fair and the nation’s flagship Black literary event. Held annually in Harlem, NY, the Harlem Book Fair features exhibition booths, panel discussions, book sales, and workshops.
The Phillis Wheatley Book Awards are presented in conjunction with this event.
Learn more about Harlem Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The Atlanta Kick Back
Infinite Energy Center, Duluth, Georgia
Hosted by: 556 Book Chicks Book Club
Date: Saturday, July 18, 2020
Time: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: The Atlanta Kick Back
Email: atlantakickback@gmail.com
Description:
556 Book Chicks is an award-winning book club, founded in 2012 by 3 friends and co-workers (Benita, Monika, and Tiffany). It started as just a book club - discussing and meeting authors. Over the years the book club has grown into an Atlanta Book Signing Festival.
Learn more about The Atlanta Kick Back on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
National Book Club Conference
Intercontinental Buckhead Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
Hosted by: National Book Club Conference Foundation
Dates: Friday, July 31, 2020 to Sunday, August 2, 2020
Website: National Book Club Conference
Description:
Over the course of 15 years, some of the most famous and talented authors have been a part of what the NBCC calls “literary bliss”. Important to the NBCC, however, is to introduce new or lesser-known authors that have created stories that are entertaining, informative and important.
Learn more about National Book Club Conference on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Onyxcon
Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Rd SW, Atlanta, Georgia
Hosted by: Blaque Canvas
Date: August 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Onyxcon
Email: onyxcon@gmail.com
Description:
2018 marked the 10 year anniversary of ONYXCON ! A DECADE.
ONXCON is a convention, festival, and celebration.
We promote, showcase, educate, and entertain all fans of the Sequential Arts and related media. We EDUTAIN! We feature independent and legendary creators of comics, books, film, and other media with a focus on African Diaspora culture, concepts, interests, and general markets. Ultimately we represent diversity in these Arts and so we are open to representing all POPULAR ARTS that are CONSCIOUSLY DIVERSE! Our event is for everyone, and is a progressive and diverse networking event for professionals as well as enthusiasts who appreciate our showcase. Because comic books/comic strips have long stood as the foundation Art form of this type of convention, comics are a major feature. But ONYXCON IS NOT LIMITED TO COMIC BOOKS. Our events highlight other literary genres like speculative fiction, as well as video games, collectable toys and models, films/documentaries, and all other media related to the Popular Arts.
Learn more about Onyxcon on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Leimert Park Village Book Fair
Outdoor Promenade of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (BHCP), Los Angeles, California
Date: August 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Leimert Park Village Book Fair
Email: info@leimertparkboofair.com
Description:
The Leimert Park Village Book Fair was founded in 2006 by Cynthia E. Exum with the goal of promoting literacy and education in Los Angeles. The Leimert Park Village Book Fair was inspired by a project in February 1999 when Ms. Exum partnered with Our Authors Study Club, Inc. to present a ‘Festival of African American Authors’ at Los Angeles Southwest College. Its success in drawing 10 authors participating for an audience of 40 inspired the idea of creating an annual literary event.
Today, the Annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair attracts over 200 authors, poets, spoken word artists, storytellers, performers, and literary/educational exhibitor participants – and boasts an audience of over 5,000. Since its inception the Leimert Park Village Book Fair has grown in popularity and prestige becoming a cultural tradition and premier summer literary event.
Learn more about Leimert Park Village Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The Soulful Chicago Book Fair
61st Street from Cottage Grove to King Drive, Chicago, Illinois
Hosted by: Asadah Kirkland
Date: August 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: The Soulful Chicago Book Fair
Email: soulfulchicagobookfair@gmail.com
Description:
The Soulful Chicago Book Fair is a FREE, outdoor, celebration of literacy and literary arts found throughout the African Diaspora. It is Chicago’s only living “author-centric” festival, filled with OUR stories told through books, spoken word, storytelling, songwriting, play writing and art!
Learn more about The Soulful Chicago Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair
The Denver Mart - I-25 & 58th Avenue, Denver, Denver, Colorado
Hosted by: Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Booksellers Association (RMABA)
Date: August 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair
Email: bookfair2016@rmaba.org
Description:
The Rocky Mountain Book & Paper Fair will have guest speakers who will discuss the Mystery genre. Once again we will have the Book Arts displays and demonstrations including the Preservation Station. Whether you are a serious collector; print enthusiast, or casual shopper, the RMBPF has a lot to offer from rare books and maps to cultural oddities and whimsical finds.
Over 80 exhibitors from across the nation have selected their best inventory to present at the fair. If you’re looking for something specific, ask our exhibitors, you never know what they have in store that you have been hoping to acquire or might never have imagined exists!
Learn more about Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
National Conference of African American Librarians
Tulsa, Oklahoma,
Dates: Wednesday, August 5, 2020 to Sunday, August 9, 2020
Website: National Conference of African American Librarians
Description:
The Black Caucus of the American Library Association serves as an advocate for the development, promotion, and improvement of library services and resources to the nation’s African American community; and provides leadership for the recruitment and professional development of African American librarians.
The Black Caucus of the American Library Association also honors outstanding works of fiction and nonfiction for adult audiences by African American authors.
Learn more about National Conference of African American Librarians on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Mississippi Book Festival
Mississippi State Capitol, Jackson, Mississippi
Date: Saturday, August 15, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Website: Mississippi Book Festival
Phone: 769.717.2648
Email: info@msbookfestival.com
Description:
The Mississippi Book Festival, a nonprofit founded by literacy advocates, launched in August 2015 on the State Capitol grounds and continues to draw thousands to its annual “literary lawn party” and book lovers’ celebration.
Learn more about Mississippi Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Beijing International Book Fair
Beijing, China,
Hosted by: China National Publications Import & Export Corp.
Dates: Wednesday, August 26, 2020 to Sunday, August 30, 2020
Website: Beijing International Book Fair
Email: bibfmo@bibf.net
Description:
The BIBF - Beijing International Book Fair – is divided into several specific areas: The area of children’s books and comics, the field of industry, and the field of book and newspaper publishers. Another focus is the area of protection of copyright and copyright trade. Here, interested visitors can learn about the latest trends and phenomena all around the theme of books at the numerous international and national exhibition booths. 2018 is the 25th anniversary of the fair.
Learn more about Beijing International Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Black Writers Weekend
Various Locations, Atlanta, Georgia
Hosted by: African Americans on the Move Book Club (AAMBC)
Dates: Thursday, August 27, 2020 to Saturday, August 29, 2020
Website: Black Writers Weekend
Email: aambcvoting@gmail.com
Description:
Black Writers Weekend is an annual event created to celebrate and honor black literary creatives in publishing and film. Founded by Tamika Newhouse, the weekend bridges the gaps between black literary creatives and opportunities that will advance their careers. Powered by AAMBC Inc., the organization focuses on new and emerging voices in literature and fusing them with established creatives in film, television, and publishing.
First established in 2008 as an award show called the AAMBC Awards, it is now a four-day weekend. Attendees will enjoy panels, workshops, author signings and our celebratory book bash, movie screenings, along with the formal awards gala positioned as the highlight of the weekend. “This weekend was designed specifically for readers and writers of all genres, genders, and ages,” Newhouse says. “We wanted this to be a true celebration of literary achievement in every area imaginable.”
AALBC.com’s Founder, Troy Johnson, was named Literary Activist of the Year for 2017.
Learn more about Black Writers Weekend on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Independent Authors Book Expo
Warinanco Sports Center, Roselle, New Jersey
Hosted by: Independent Authors Book Experience (IABX)
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Independent Authors Book Expo
Phone: 973-723-4584
Email: iabex@hotmail.com
Description:
Come out and meet face to face with local and international authors. Friends, family, and the community at large are encouraged to come out and support our budding authors. Authors will make presentations from their books; also games, prizes, promotional giveaways will be available. A wide selection of books will be available for purchase at the event. This event will feature the following: Author exhibits Author Readings and Signings Children's Corner (with Arts and Crafts and Author Readings) Free Workshops and Seminars Book Club Meet and Greet, and much more!
Learn more about Independent Authors Book Expo on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
ZEE JLF at Boulder
Boulder Library and Civic Lawns, Boulder, Colorado
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: ZEE JLF at Boulder
Email: contact@teamworkarts.com
Description:
A festival of literature from all over the world, ZEE JLF at Boulder promises to be an event unlike any other. Free and accessible to everyone, rich with words and ideas, the Festival invites you to join us in examining the human experience through the reflections and imaginations of distinguished contemporary authors from across the globe.
Learn more about ZEE JLF at Boulder on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Library of Congress National Book Festival
Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, District of Columbia
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Library of Congress National Book Festival
Email: bookfest@loc.gov
Description:
Mark your calendars for the 18th Library of Congress National Book Festival, Saturday, Sept. 1, at the Washington Convention Center. Follow the excitement via our hashtag, #NatBookFest.
Learn more about Library of Congress National Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Carolina Mountains Literary Festival
Burnsville, North Carolina,
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Carolina Mountains Literary Festival
Email: cmlitfest@gmail.com
Description:
The festival idea was born when a small group of local citizens and businesspersons spontaneously came together ten years ago around the goal of giving greater exposure to the art of writing and the joys of reading in an area already famed for its colony of artists in other media. Originally, that group consisted of literacy advocate Myrna Stephens; Wendy Reid, owner of The Design Gallery; poet Britt Kaufmann; children’s book author Karen Miller; artist Anne Sabri, and health care consultant and aspiring writer Ruth Perschbacher Price and her husband, historical novelist Charles F. Price. Now it also includes Dr. Dan Barron, former director of the Avery-Mitchell-Yancey Regional Libraries, downtown booster Lucy Gregory Doll, poet and community volunteer Kathy Weisfeld, librarian, runner, super-mom and new director of the Avery-Mitchell-Yancey Regional Libraries Amber Westall Briggs, artist and arts advocate Jane Brown Willig, and many others.
Learn more about Carolina Mountains Literary Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Fall Into Fiction
Waterfront Hotel, Emeryville, California
Hosted by: United California African-American Bookclubs (UCAAB)
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Fall Into Fiction
Email: ucaabookclubs@yahoo.com
Description:
UCAAB was created as a way for African-American book clubs in California to network, support, and promote our reading groups, black-owned independent bookstores, and the authors we love to read. Many of us live, work, and meet in the same area; but, rarely do we get a chance to come together as ONE! UCAAB is our way of officially creating and sustaining a cohesive environment that celebrates each member’s (book club or individual) uniqueness, encourages community bonding, embraces fellowship, and supports the literary contributions of authors of African descent.
One of the primary goals of UCAAB is to bring book lovers and authors together on the west coast. We accomplish this by hosting our annual Fall into Fiction literary event. This is just one of the ways we get the attention of publishers, so they will begin to include California on all of their authors' book tours.
Learn more about Fall Into Fiction on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Burlington Book Festival
UVM’s Dudley H. Davis Center and Other Venues, Burlington, Vermont
Hosted by: Rick Kisonak, Festival Director
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Burlington Book Festival
Phone: 802-658-3328
Description:
The Queen City’s annual celebration of the written word offers readings, book signings, panels, workshops, demos, family activities, and special events featuring literary luminaries from around the world and just around the corner. All events are free and open to the public.
Learn more about Burlington Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
SCIBA Trade Show
Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center, Pomona, California
Hosted by: The Southern California Independent Booksellers Association
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: SCIBA Trade Show
Phone: 909-938-5809
Email: andrea@scibabooks.org
Description:
The Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) is a non-profit trade association of independent booksellers, book wholesalers, publishers and other industry professionals located primarily in Southern California and Southern Nevada.
Learn more about SCIBA Trade Show on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Festival of Women Writers
Hobart, New York,
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Festival of Women Writers
Phone: 607-538-9222
Email: hobartfestivalofwomenwriters@gmail.com
Description:
The Festival of Women Writers has become a highly anticipated event, unique among cultural happenings in the Catskill Region, especially in Delaware County. The Festival will celebrate its fourth year in the Hobart Book Village, “the reading capital of New York State.” Since its inception, the Festival has created space for established and emerging women writers to share their insights and skills through a variety of writing activities and public readings with audiences throughout Delaware County, the state of New York, and beyond.
Poet Cheryl Clarke, novelist Breena Clarke, and Barbara Balliet are festival’s cofounders.
Learn more about Festival of Women Writers on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Kingston WritersFest
Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront, Ontario, Canada
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Kingston WritersFest
Email: info@kingstonwritersfest.ca
Description:
“A festival for writers and readers.”
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The Allegheny Regional Festival of Books
Check the website, Bedford, Pennsylvania
Hosted by: Community Foundation for the Alleghenies
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: The Allegheny Regional Festival of Books
Email: arfbinfo@gmail.com
Description:
The Allegheny Regional Festival of Books (ARFB) is a truly grassroots, community based, literary festival, promoting authors, writing and reading, while raising funds for scholastic projects. Born from the imagination of a writers group, this vision was transformed into a framework driven by hard working volunteers committed to excellence.
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Open Book Festival
The Fugard Theatre, Cape Town, South Africa
Hosted by: Cape Town Literary Festival
Date: September 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Open Book Festival
Description:
An annual literary festival, the first of which took place in 2011.
(Back to Top)
AJC Decatur Book Festival
Downtown Decatur, Decatur, Georgia
Dates: Friday, September 4, 2020 to Sunday, September 6, 2020
Website: AJC Decatur Book Festival
Phone: 404.666.2112
Description:
The AJC Decatur Book Festival is the largest independent book festival in the country and one of the five largest overall. Since its launch, more than 1,000 world-class authors and hundreds of thousands of festival-goers have crowded the historic downtown Decatur square.
Learn more about AJC Decatur Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Printers Row Lit Fest
Historic Printers Row, Chicago, Illinois
Dates: Saturday, September 5, 2020 to Sunday, June 7, 2020
Website: Printers Row Lit Fest
Phone: 312-836-7000
Description:
The Printers Row Lit Fest was founded in 1985 by the Near South Planning Board to attract visitors to the Printers Row neighborhood (once the city's bookmaking hub). By 2002, it had grown to five city blocks (on Dearborn, from Congress to Polk), attracting more than 200 booksellers from across the country displaying new, used and antiquarian books and featuring more than 200 authors participating in panels, discussions and a variety of other programs.
Learn more about Printers Row Lit Fest on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Sacramento Black Book Fair
The Historic Center of Oak Park, Sacramento, California
Hosted by: Blue Nile Press
Dates: Friday, September 11, 2020 to Saturday, September 12, 2020
Website: Sacramento Black Book Fair
Phone: 916.484.3749
Email: faye@bluenilepress.com
Description:
This historic two-day book fair and celebration will include a panel discussion among our featured authors, book signings, talks by each of the featured writers, cultural & food vendors, book discussions with each writer listed in the program, children’s activities, poetry readings, art displays, and much more
Learn more about Sacramento Black Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Calabash International Literary Festival
Treasure Beach, Treasure Beach, Jamaica, W.I.
Hosted by: The Calabash International Literary Festival Trust
Dates: Friday, September 11, 2020 to Sunday, September 13, 2020
Website: Calabash International Literary Festival
Phone: 876-965-3000
Email: calabashfestival@hotmail.com
Description:
The Calabash International Literary Festival, held on a biennial basis on even years, was founded in 2001 by three Jamaicans the novelist Colin Channer, the poet Kwame Dawes and the producer Justine Henzell. Their aim was simple—to create a world-class literary festival with roots in Jamaica and branches reaching out into the wider world. The Calabash International Literary Festival was founded in 2001 by three Jamaicans the novelist Colin Channer, the poet Kwame Dawes and the producer Justine Henzell. Their aim was simple—to create a world-class literary festival with roots in Jamaica and branches reaching out into the wider world.
A three-day festival of readings and music with other forms of storytelling folded in the mix, Calabash is earthy, inspirational, daring and diverse. After 10 successive years Calabash is now staged on a biennial basis on even years. All festival events are free and open to the public. Passion is the only price of entry. But voluntary contributions are welcomed.
The festival is produced by the Calabash International Literary Festival Trust (the Trust), which also produces publishing seminars and writing workshops. The Trust is affiliated with the Friends of the Calabash International Literary Festival, a registered 501(c)(3) corporation in the United States.
Learn more about Calabash International Literary Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Digital Book World
Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, Nashville, Tennesse
Hosted by: Score Publishing
Dates: Monday, September 14, 2020 to Thursday, September 17, 2020
Website: Digital Book World
Description:
As part of the 2018 Digital Book World (DBW) — two industry veterans will be the first to be inducted into the new Publishing Hall of Fame. The first inductee is Marie Dutton Brown, the iconic editor and literary agent who successfully championed diversity in publishing over the course of her 50-year career.
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Act Like an Author, Think Like a Business Conference
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Hosted by: Path To Publishing
Dates: Thursday, September 17, 2020 to Saturday, September 19, 2020
Website: Act Like an Author, Think Like a Business Conference
Phone: 725-605-4054
Email: info@pathtopublishing.com
Description:
If your publishing success is just as important to you as your writing success, then instead of going to yet another writing conference, don’t you think it’s time you attend a publishing conference? If the business you build with your book to create multiple streams of income is just as important to you as book sales and royalties, then instead of going to another one of those “fun” conferences designed to give readers an experience with authors, don't you think it’s time you attend a conference that can teach you how to make money as a writer and author outside of book sales and royalties? Are you ready to learn how to operate your literary business in thriving excellence and not mediocre struggle and lack? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then we’ll see you in Las Vegas.
Learn more about Act Like an Author, Think Like a Business Conference on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The Bocas Lit Fest
Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago,
Dates: Friday, September 18, 2020 to Sunday, September 20, 2020
Website: The Bocas Lit Fest
Email: info@bocaslitfest.com
Description:
Boca is the Spanish word for mouth — the organ of speech and song and storytelling. And the Bocas del Dragón — the Dragon’s Mouths — are the narrow straits off Trinidad’s northwest peninsula, which connect the sheltered Gulf of Paria to the open Caribbean Sea. For centuries, the Bocas were the gateways connecting Trinidad to the Caribbean and the Atlantic.
NGC is the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago, our title sponsor. Their generous support makes the festival possible.
The Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature is presented during this festival.
Learn more about The Bocas Lit Fest on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The High Desert Book Festival
Hesperia Civic Plaza Park, Hesperia, California
Hosted by: Wordsmith Productions
Date: Saturday, September 26, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Website: The High Desert Book Festival
Email: hdbookfest@gmail.com
Description:
Our annual High Desert Book Festival is where authors and book lovers meet to celebrate the written word amidst Joshua Trees and Route 66.
Wordsmith Productions presents its fifth annual High Desert Book Festival on Saturday, September 26, 2020 at Hesperia Civic Plaza Park in Hesperia, California. The event is co-sponsored by Hesperia Recreation & Park District and the City of Hesperia. The 501c3 nonprofit is the recipient of a prestigious 2019 California Humanities For All Quick Grant for its project on Exploring the Literature of the California Desert. We are in the California Mojave High Desert, 90 minutes northeast of L.A., on the way to Las Vegas, and just 45 minutes from Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead.
Learn more about The High Desert Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Southern Minnesota Book and Art Festival
Henderson Event Center, Henderson, Minnesota
Hosted by: The Arlington Book Project
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Southern Minnesota Book and Art Festival
Email: arlingtonbookproject@gmail.com
Description:
This is Southern Minnesota Book and Art Festival inaugural event and author/exhibitor/artist space is free! The festival features local, regional, and emergent authors, publishers, and artists. Located less than an hour from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Henderson is located in the scenic Minnesota River Valley. The event will be well promoted in the Twin Cities area and Southern Minnesota. This is a rain or shine indoor event. Registration deadline is September 6, 2019.
Learn more about Southern Minnesota Book and Art Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
African American Literary Awards Show
Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture, New York, New York
Hosted by: Yvette Hayward
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: African American Literary Awards Show
Email: yvette@literaryawardshow.com
Price: $55
Description:
The African American Literary Award show is the brainchild of Yvette Hayward. She came up with the idea in 1996 and was finally able to bring it to fruition in September 2004.
Learn more about African American Literary Awards Show on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards Ceremony
Washington Plaza Hotel, Washington, District of Columbia
Hosted by: Hurston/Wright Foundation
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards Ceremony
Description:
Named for literary geniuses, Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright, the Hurston/Wright Foundation was founded in 1990. Hurston/Wright was established to be a resource center for training and a gateway to ensure the unique experience and voice of African Americans in literature.
The Hurston/Wright Foundation is a literary education institution committed to the development, dissemination and preservation of literature with a focus on the contributions of African American writers. By preserving and honoring African Americans in literature, the Foundation ensures this vital part of American literature will continue to remain available to all readers.
The Hurston/Wright Foundation serves aspiring and emerging writers, published authors, readers and supporters of Black literature. Hurston/Wright programs, awards, special events and literary resources aim to impact the literature community and those who contribute to the enrichment of it.
Learn more about Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards Ceremony on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Alaska Book Week
Statewide, , Alaska
Hosted by: Alaska Center for the Book
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Alaska Book Week
Email: alaskabookweek@gmail.com
Description:
Alaska Book Week was established in 2011 by 49 Writers to spotlight Alaska's authors and their books. Since then it has grown into a state-wide celebration, coordinated by a coalition of organizations: the Alaska Center for the Book, 49 Writers, the Alaska State Library, and Anchorage Public Library.
Learn more about Alaska Book Week on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Boston Book Festival
Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Boston Book Festival
Phone: 857.259.6999
Email: info@bostonbookfest.org
Description:
The Boston Book Festival celebrates the power of words to stimulate, agitate, unite, delight, and inspire by holding year-round events culminating in an annual, free Festival that promotes a culture of reading and ideas and enhances the vibrancy of our city.
Learn more about Boston Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Twin Cities Book Festival
MINNESOTA STATE FAIRGROUNDS, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Hosted by: Rain Taxi
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Twin Cities Book Festival
Description:
The Twin Cities Book Festival—brought to you by Rain Taxi—is not only the largest and most important literary gathering in the Upper Midwest, it is the annual get-together for the Twin Cities’ devoted literary community. This FREE, day-long festival brings people together to celebrate our vibrant literary culture. The festival welcomes ‘rock star’ authors, local literary heroes, publishers, magazines, booksellers—all of whom connect over great books and conversations.
Learn more about Twin Cities Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Vegas Valley Book Festival
Las Vegas, Nevada,
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Vegas Valley Book Festival
Phone: 702.229.5902
Email: plharris@lasvegasnevada.gov
Description:
The Vegas Valley Book Festival, now in its fifteenth year, is a celebration of the written, spoken, and illustrated word. The festival has networked together a community-wide consortium of cultural organizations and sponsors to offer “a one-stop shopping experience for literature” through a wide range of programs built around sharing resources, developing audiences, advancing the craft of writing, and sharing the joys of reading. This annual festival is the largest literary event in Nevada, drawing more that 10,000 attendees during the season. Since its founding in 2002, the festival has presented over 800 authors and speakers and has produced or sponsored over 500 events, sessions, readings, workshops, and book signings. The festival is free and open to the public.
Learn more about Vegas Valley Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Books by the Banks
Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Books by the Banks
Email: contact@booksbythebanks.org
Description:
More than 5,000 people and more than 150 authors made the 2015 Books by the Banks book festival our biggest year yet. Our planning teams are already getting ready for 2016. But first, take a look back at what people had to say about our most recent festival. We hope you had as much as fun as they did. See you in 2016!
Learn more about Books by the Banks on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Southern Festival of Books
Nashville, Tennessee,
Hosted by: Humanities Tennessee
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Southern Festival of Books
Description:
The Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written WordSM is a three-day Festival celebrated each year during the second full weekend of October. It is free and open to the public. No advance registration or tickets are required. All seating is on a first-come basis.
The Festival annually welcomes more than 200 authors from throughout the nation and in every genre for readings, panel discussions and book signings. Book lovers have the opportunity to hear from and meet some of America's foremost writers in fiction, history, mystery, food, biography, travel, poetry and children's literature among others.
Learn more about Southern Festival of Books on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Texas Book Festival
State Capitol and surrounding grounds, Austin, Texas
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Texas Book Festival
Email: bookfest@texasbookfestival.org
Description:
The Texas Book Festival (#TXBOOKFEST) celebrates authors and their contributions to the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination.
The Texas Book Festival was established in 1995 by Laura Bush, a former librarian and an ardent advocate of literacy. Along with Mary Margaret Farabee, founding co-chair, Mrs. Bush created a task force to plan a book festival to honor Texas authors, promote the joys of reading and serve to benefit the state’s public libraries. The first Festival took place at the Capitol in November 1996.
The signature event has evolved into one of the premier literary events in the country and takes place in and around the State Capitol in Austin, hosting about 250 authors each year. More than 40,000 book lovers of all ages attend the Festival annually, enjoying author readings and presentations, panel discussions, book signings, cooking demonstrations, live music, local food, YA authors, children’s activities, and exhibiting vendors from across the state. While remaining an important showcase for the work of Texas authors, the Texas Book Festival hosts important writers from all over the world and has earned a national reputation for the quality of its programming and its appeal to readers, authors, and publishers alike.
Learn more about Texas Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Wisconsin Book Festival
Madison Public Library, Madison, Wisconsin
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Wisconsin Book Festival
Email: bookfest@mplfoundation.org
Description:
The Wisconsin Book Festival is Wisconsin's premier literary event. Every October we draw a local and regional audience of 12,000-15,000 people for four days of author events. Our year-round series of events has drawn more than 15,000 people to an additional 75 events over the past two years. Madison's proximity to Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Iowa City makes it an easy addition to any tour through the Midwest. As the State Capitol and home to the University of Wisconsin, Madison boasts an engaged and active literary community who have shown a dedication to supporting great author programming.
Learn more about Wisconsin Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Fall for the Book
George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus, Fairfax, Virginia
Hosted by: William Miller
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Fall for the Book
Phone: 703-993-3986
Email: executivedirector[@]fallforthebook.org
Description:
What began as a two-day literary event in 1999, organized by George Mason University and the City of Fairfax, has expanded into a week-long, multiple-venue, regional festival that brings together people of all ages and interests, thanks to growing community interest and generous supporting partners.
Events take place at George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus, the festival’s base, and at other locations throughout Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland.
Learn more about Fall for the Book on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Literary Festival of Charlotte
Second Ward Gym, 710 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Charlotte, North Carolina
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Literary Festival of Charlotte
Description:
The Charlotte Literary Festival is here to reignite the love of reading in our community, provide exposure to new literary voices, and promote a renaissance of engagement with the arts.
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Collingswood Book Festival
Along Haddon Avenue, Downtown Collingswood, NJ, Collingswood, New Jersey
Hosted by: Collingswood Public Library
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Collingswood Book Festival
Email: nfo@collingswoodbookfestival.com
Description:
Book lovers of all ages: join us on Saturday, October 7, 2017. Stroll more than six blocks of Haddon Avenue filled with authors/speakers for adults and children, as well as booksellers, storytellers, poetry readings, workshops, exhibitors, kid-friendly activities, and entertainment for all ages. This award-winning festival is the longest-running, largest literary event in the Delaware Valley. Remember, all events are free!
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Morristown Festival of Books
Morristown, New Jersey,
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Morristown Festival of Books
Email: info@morristownbooks.org
Description:
The Morristown Festival of Books celebrates the power of the written word to challenge, transport and transform us, while bringing together our community in conversation.
Modeled after successful book festivals in other communities throughout the world, the Morristown Festival of Books brings together acclaimed authors with readers and book lovers.
Learn more about Morristown Festival of Books on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Virginia Children’s Book Festival
Longwood University, Farmville, Farmville, Virginia
Hosted by: Longwood University
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Virginia Children’s Book Festival
Email: info@vachildrensbookfestival.com
Description:
The Virginia Children’s Book Festival will bring together prominent children’s authors and illustrators and the general public in an annual event designed to foster the enjoyment of children’s literature.
The Virginia Children’s Book Festival will be available to the public without an entrance fee. Children, parents, grandparents, book collectors, and interested members of the public are welcome to attend.
Learn more about Virginia Children’s Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Brattleboro Literary Festival
Brattleboro, Vermont,
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Brattleboro Literary Festival
Phone: 802-579-7414
Email: vtbookfest@gmail.com
Description:
The Festival is a four-day celebration of those who read books, those who write books, and of the books themselves. Located in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, the Festival includes readings, panel discussions, and special events, featuring emerging and established authors. All events are FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
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International Festival of Authors
Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Canada
Hosted by: IFOA
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: International Festival of Authors
Phone: 416-973-4760
Email: info@ifoa.org
Description:
Since its inception in 1974, Toronto’s International Festival of Authors has welcomed more than 9,000 authors from over 100 countries, including 22 Nobel Laureates and countless other award winners.
IFOA presents the finest international novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers and biographers, and provides Canadian writers with an internationally recognized forum in which to present their work.
Incorporated in 1986 as a non-profit organization with a mandate to cultivate and advance the cause of literature, IFOA is home to a weekly event series (September to June), the annual International Festival of Authors (October) and ALOUD: a Celebration for Young Readers with Forest of Reading® Festival of Trees™ (May), presented with the Ontario Library Association. IFOA also runs Toronto Lit Up, a three-year programme supported by the Toronto Arts Council (TAC) that helps launch and promote the work of local authors.
In 2006, IFOA introduced its touring programme, IFOA Ontario, which now visits communities in numerous cities and towns across the province.
Learn more about International Festival of Authors on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Vancouver Writers Fest
Granville Island, and two off Site Venues, Vancouver, Canada
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Vancouver Writers Fest
Phone: 604-681-6330
Email: info@writersfest.bc.ca
Description:
The Vancouver Writers Fest turns reading into a community experience, bringing people together to share thoughts, explore ideas, and witness brilliant conversations.
For the past 30 years, the Writers Fest has enriched our imaginations and the culture of our city and has touched and inspired thousands of lives by creating a forum for authors to connect with readers and by offering a vibrant exchange of ideas and conversation.
The Festival is a celebration of story, told by authors, poets, spoken word performers, and graphic novelists.
Learn more about Vancouver Writers Fest on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Fort Worth BookFest
Tarrant County College, Trinity River Campus, Fort Worth, Texas
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Fort Worth BookFest
Email: fwbookfest2017@gmail.com
Description:
Organized in April 2016, a cross-cultural, community-driven Action Group is spearheading the Fort Worth BookFest effort. Our Group has attracted broad support throughout the community among individuals, organizations, elected officials, and institutions.
Our goal is to raise awareness of the transformative power of literacy through the BookFest platform to showcase the wealth of talent among all cultures that call Fort Worth and the southwest region (our marketing area – TX, NM, OK, AR, and LA) home. We have collaborated with Max Rodriguez, founder and producer of the famed Harlem Book Fair for his 18-years of Book Fair production experience.
Learn more about Fort Worth BookFest on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Ake Arts and Book Festival
Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Ikeja, Nigeria
Hosted by: The Book Buzz Foundation
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Ake Arts and Book Festival
Email: info@akefestival.org
Description:
Aké Arts & Book Festival is four days of cultural immersion and aims to showcase the very best of contemporary African literature
Learn more about Ake Arts and Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Black Ink: A Charleston African-American Book Festival
Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain Street, Charleston, South Carolina
Hosted by: Charleston Friends of the Library
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Black Ink: A Charleston African-American Book Festival
Email: info@charlestonlibraryfriends.org
Description:
Celebrating its 4th year in 2019, the Charleston African-American Book Festival is the first and only annual celebration of African-American literature in the Charleston area.
Learn more about Black Ink: A Charleston African-American Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair)
Frankfurt Trade Fair Grounds, Frankfurt, Germany
Hosted by: Frankfurter Buchmesse GmbH
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair)
Email: contact@book-fair.com
Description:
Authors read this if you plan to attend.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is perhaps the world’s largest trade fair for books, based on the number of participating publishing companies and attendees.
Learn more about Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair) on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The Christian Book Lover’s Retreat
Doubletree Resorts, Charlotte, North Carolina
Hosted by: Vanessa Miller
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: The Christian Book Lover’s Retreat
Email: info@christianbookloversretreat.com
Description:
The Christian Book Lover’s Retreat is all about Faith, Fun, Fellowship… and a whole lot of books. The first day of the retreat is jam packed with socials, game shows, and parties. The next day kicks off with praise and worship and then it's all about author book discussions and more
Learn more about The Christian Book Lover’s Retreat on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Read My World
Tolhuistuin Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Read My World
Email: info@readmyworld.nl
Description:
Read My World is the international literature festival of Amsterdam. Going beyond the commonplace, Read My World explores the boundaries between literature and journalism, between here and there and draws attention to everything in between. Next year’s edition takes place in October in the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam North, with a special focus on journalism, literature and stories from Black USA.
Learn more about Read My World on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Sharjah International Book Fair
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates,
Hosted by: Sharjah Book Authority
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Sharjah International Book Fair
Email: info@sibf.com
Description:
The Sharjah International Book Fair is one of the showcase events of the Government of Sharjah and, with a history spanning 34 years, this event is more than a typical book exhibition, it is an institution that can give an insider’s glimpse at authentic Arab culture.
Learn more about Sharjah International Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, Seattle, Washington
Hosted by: Louis Collins & Bill Wolfe
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair
Phone: 206-323-3999
Email: visitor@seattlebookfair.com
Description:
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Seattle Urban Book Expo
Northwest African American Museum, Seattle, Washington
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Seattle Urban Book Expo
Email: subexpoinfo@gmail.com
Description:
Seattle Urban Book Expo (S.U.B.E) provides a platform for authors to showcase their Literary work and connect them with readers in their community.
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Minnesota Black Author’s Expo
DeLaSalle High School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Date: October 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Minnesota Black Author’s Expo
Description:
This expo is intended to support the work of Black authors; to engage the community; and to provide a space in north Minneapolis where literature is celebrated as a community.
Learn more about Minnesota Black Author’s Expo on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
South Dakota Festival of Books
Brookings & Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
Hosted by: South Dakota Humanities Council
Dates: Friday, October 2, 2020 to Sunday, October 4, 2020
Website: South Dakota Festival of Books
Phone: 605-688-6113
Description:
The South Dakota Humanities Council celebrates literature, promotes civil conversation, and tells the stories that define our state.
Learn more about South Dakota Festival of Books on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
West Virginia Book Festival
Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, West Virginia
Dates: Friday, October 2, 2020 to Saturday, October 3, 2020
Website: West Virginia Book Festival
Email: WVBookFestival@kanawhalibrary.org
Description:
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Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Dates: Saturday, October 3, 2020 to Sunday, October 4, 2020
Website: Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Phone: 424-652-1948
Email: eventinfo@latimes.com
Description:
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books began in 1996 with a simple goal: to bring together the people who create books with the people who love to read them. The festival was an immediate success and has evolved to include live bands, poetry readings, chef demos, cultural entertainment and artists creating their work on-site. There’s also a photography exhibit, film screenings followed by Q&A’s and discussion panels on some of today’s hottest topics.
Learn more about Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Brooklyn Book Festival
Brooklyn Borough Hall and Vicinity, Brooklyn, New York
Hosted by: Brooklyn Book Festival, Inc. and Brooklyn Book Festival Literary Council
Date: Sunday, October 4, 2020
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Website: Brooklyn Book Festival
Phone: 570-362-6657
Email: lkoch@brooklynbookfestival.org
Description:
The Brooklyn Book Festival is the largest free literary event in New York City, presenting an array of national and international literary stars and emerging authors. One of America’s premier book festivals, this hip, smart diverse gathering attracts thousands of book lovers of all ages to enjoy authors and the festival’s lively literary marketplace.
Learn more about Brooklyn Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Wimbledon BookFest
Wimbledon Common, London, United Kingdom
Dates: Thursday, October 8, 2020 to Sunday, October 18, 2020
Website: Wimbledon BookFest
Email: info@wimbledonbookfest.org
Description:
It was founded in 2006 by Fiona Razvi and Tony Kane whose ambition was to develop the arts and cultural offering in the area. The public festival takes place in early October in a “pop up” festival site on Wimbledon Common in its Baillie Gifford Big Tent and William Morris Tent. It hosts almost 100 events in its 10 day period and has grown from 1,000 visitors in its first year to over 15,000 with 7,000 school children from over 60 schools now enjoying the festival every year.
Learn more about Wimbledon BookFest on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
New York Comic Con
Javitz Center, New York, New York
Hosted by: ReedPOP Events
Dates: Thursday, October 8, 2020 to Sunday, October 11, 2020
Website: New York Comic Con
Email: Inquiry@NYComicCon.com
Description:
“…if you’re a speculative fiction author (horror, fantasy, paranormal, urban fantasy, sci-fi, etc.) you should definitely go”—Cerece Rennie Murphy
New York Comic Con is the East Coast's biggest and most exciting popular culture convention. Our Show Floor plays host to the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television.
Learn more about New York Comic Con on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The Cavalcade of Authors
Cambria Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
Hosted by: Marcro Marketing and Promotions Group
Dates: Friday, October 9, 2020 to Sunday, October 11, 2020
Website: The Cavalcade of Authors
Phone: 888.854.8823
Description:
The Cavalcade of Authors is the ultimate event where readers and book clubs tour Chicago with their favorite authors. Join us for a weekend of private dinners, intimate chats, dancing, shopping, games, and so much more.
Learn more about The Cavalcade of Authors on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention
Sacramento, California,
Dates: Thursday, October 15, 2020 to Sunday, October 18, 2020
Website: Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention
Description:
The World Mystery Convention is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization which holds an annual convention in honor of Anthony Boucher, the distinguished mystery fiction critic, editor and author.
Bouchercon (2019 is the 50th Year Celebration) is an annual world mystery convention where every year readers, writers, publishers, editors, agents, booksellers and other lovers of crime fiction gather for a 4-day weekend of education, entertainment, and fun!
It is the world’s premier event bringing together all parts of the mystery and crime fiction community, and is pronounced [bough’•chur•con]. The first Bouchercon took place in 1970 in Santa Monica, California. Recent Bouchercons have been held in many cities across the United States.
Learn more about Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Queen City Book Fair
The Carole Hoefoner Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Hosted by: Quisha Dynae and Shmel Carter
Date: Saturday, October 17, 2020
Time: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Website: Queen City Book Fair
Phone: 704-390-1419
Email: Quishadynae@yahoo.com
Description:
Queen City Book Fair (est. 2016) co-founders Quisha Dynae and Shmel Carter, warmly invite you to their fair! All local avid readers and anyone interested in stimulating literary appetites are called to join in our latest contribution to literacy!
Learn more about Queen City Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
National Black Book Festival
Fallbrook Church / Gymnasium, Houston, Texas
Hosted by: Cushcity.com
Dates: Thursday, October 22, 2020 to Saturday, October 24, 2020
Website: National Black Book Festival
Phone: 1-800-340-5454
Email: info@nationalblackbookfestival.com
Description:
The National Black Book Festival (NBBF) is an annual event, sponsored by Cushcity.com, the world’s largest African-American retailer online. The event attracts a wide array of authors, publishers, book clubs, libraries and individual readers from the Southwest U.S. and nationwide.
The festival was cofounded by author and entrepreneur Gwen Richardson and her husband Willie Richardson.
Learn more about National Black Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Louisville Book Festival
The Galt House, 140 North 4th St., Louisville, Kentucky
Hosted by: Katrice Baughman, Chief Development Officer
Dates: Friday, October 23, 2020 to Saturday, October 24, 2020
Website: Louisville Book Festival
Email: dcummings@louisvillebookfestival.com
Description:
2020 marks the first year for this festival
Learn more about Louisville Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Baltimore Book Festival
Baltimore Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland
Date: November 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Baltimore Book Festival
Phone: 410-752-8632
Email: baltimorebookfestival@promotionandarts.org
Description:
The Baltimore Book Festival features hundreds of appearances by local, celebrity and nationally known authors, book signings, more than 100 exhibitors and booksellers, nonstop readings on multiple stages, cooking demos by top chefs, poetry readings, workshops, panel discussions, storytellers and hands-on projects for kids, live music, and a thoughtfully curated food, craft beer, and wine program.
Learn more about Baltimore Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading
University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida
Date: November 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading
Email: LSHELTON@TAMPABAY.COM
Description:
Book. Music. Authors. Food.
Learn more about Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Kentucky Book Fair
Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park, Frankfort, Kentucky
Hosted by: The Kentucky Humanities Council and The Kentucky Book Fair
Date: November 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Kentucky Book Fair
Email: kybookfair@ky.gov
Description:
About the Kentucky Book Fair: Since its inception in 1981, the Kentucky Book Fair has been connecting readers and authors in a celebration of shared passion and mutual interest: the importance of reading and writing. Each year, more than 170 local and national authors participate in the event, signing their latest books and meeting readers from Kentucky and surrounding states.
Learn more about Kentucky Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Louisiana Book Festival
State Library of Louisiana and nearby locations, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Date: November 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Louisiana Book Festival
Phone: 225.219.9503
Email: lbf@state.lib.la.us
Description:
The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana is a free, world-class literary festival held in downtown Baton Rouge.
Learn more about Louisiana Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
York Book Expo
Wisehaven Event Center, York, Pennsylvania
Hosted by: Year of the Book, Demi Stevens
Date: November 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: York Book Expo
Email: demi@yotbpress.com
Description:
There’s something for all ages to experience at York Book Expo. You will be able to buy books from more than 100 authors, and have them personalized and autographed, too! Kids can read to the Happy Tails Therapy Dogs, and enjoy awesome crafts and activities all day. Aspiring writers can sign up for free writing workshops.
Learn more about York Book Expo on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Portland’s Book Festival
Portland Art Museum and Neighboring Venues, Portland, Oregon
Hosted by: Literary Arts
Date: November 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Portland’s Book Festival
Phone: 503.227.2583
Email: la@literary-arts.org
Price: $15
Description:
Portland Book Festival (formerly Wordstock) includes author discussions and activities for readers of all ages, an extensive book fair, pop-up readings and concerts, a beverage garden, and local food trucks.
Learn more about Portland’s Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Bluffton Book Festival
Calhoun Street in Historic Old Town Bluffton, Bluffton, South Carolina
Hosted by: Rockelle Henderson
Date: November 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Bluffton Book Festival
Phone: 843-707-6409
Email: blufftonbookfestival@gmail.com
Description:
The Bluffton Book Festival's mission is to raise money for two non-profit organizations that support literacy, education, reading, authors, bookselling and the publishing community as a whole and to bring awareness to local and national literary talent in the process.
Learn more about Bluffton Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
National Book Awards
Cipriani Wall Street, New York, New York
Hosted by: National Book Foundation
Date: November 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: National Book Awards
Description:
Attendance by invitation only.
All of the authors of African descent who have won a National Book Award.
Watch vidoes the 67th annual National Book Awards (2016), hosted by Larry Wilmore
Learn more about National Book Awards on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Belize Writers’ Conference
Ak’bol Yoga Retreat, Ambergris Caye, Belize
Dates: Wednesday, November 4, 2020 to Monday, November 9, 2020
Website: Belize Writers’ Conference
Email: thebelizewritersconference@gmail.com
Description:
First-ever Belize Writers’ Conference Launching April 2018. Six-day conference offers workshops by New York literary agents.
Learn more about Belize Writers’ Conference on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
National Black Writers Conference
Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, New York
Hosted by: Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College
Dates: Wednesday, November 11, 2020 to Saturday, November 14, 2020
Website: National Black Writers Conference
Phone: 718-804-8883
Email: writers@mec.cuny.edu
Description:
The National Black Writers Conference is be held, every two years at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York. The conference features panels, author readings, roundtable discussions, and educational seminars.
Panel Discussions, Town Hall Meeting, and Dramatic Readings.Speakers include Ifa Bayeza, Keith Josef Adkins, Amina Henry, Ladee Hubbard, and Aurin Squire among others.
For more information and to register, visit www.centerforblackliterature.org Learn more about National Black Writers Conference on AALBC.com.
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Miami Book Fair International
Miami, Florida,
Hosted by: Miami Dade College
Dates: Sunday, November 15, 2020 to Sunday, November 22, 2020
Website: Miami Book Fair International
Phone: 305-237-3258
Description:
The first Miami Book Fair International, founded by Miami Dade College and community partners, took place in 1984. Since then, it has been recognized as the nation’s finest literary festival. In 2001, the Fair became part of The Center for Writing and Literature @ Miami Dade College, a cultural and academic initiative that promotes the advancement and appreciation of literature throughout the year.
Learn more about Miami Book Fair International on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Mosaic Literary Conference
The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, New York
Hosted by: The Literary Freedom Project
Date: Saturday, November 21, 2020
Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: Mosaic Literary Conference
Phone: 347-454-2161
Email: ron@literaryfreedom.org
Description:
The Mosaic Literary Conference provides a platform for literature-based creative thinking and knowledge sharing. Each year we invite educators, community and arts organizations, as well as the public to participate in a variety of workshops. This conference was founded by Ron Kavanaugh
Learn more about Mosaic Literary Conference on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Kingston Book Festival
Kingston, Jamaica, W.I.,
Hosted by: Book Industry Association of Jamaica
Dates: Wednesday, November 25, 2020 to Sunday, November 29, 2020
Website: Kingston Book Festival
Email: kgnbookfest@gmail.com
Description:
The Kingston Book Festival is one of the largest book festivals in the English speaking Caribbean. It comprises 30 events over 8 days with a combined audience of more than 6,000. We also include training and networking sessions for industry professionals as well as special events for vulnerable populations.
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated. Venues to be confirmed.
Learn more about Kingston Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Abantu Book Festival
Eyethu Lifestyle Centre & Soweto Theatre, Soweto, South Africa
Date: December 2020 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Abantu Book Festival
Email: molweni@abantubookfestival.co.za
Description:
Abantu Book Festival is an annual literary event held in Soweto, South African’s artistic heartland, featuring authors from South Africa, Africa, and the diaspora. Abantu is the Nguni word for people, which makes this the people’s festival. Our vision is simple—We see a Soweto with a vibrant culture of reading.
Learn more about Abantu Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival
Curtis Hixon Park, Tampa, Florida
Hosted by: Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival, Inc.
Date: January 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival
Phone: 888-224-1733 ext. 3143
Email: programs@tampablackheritage.org
Description:
The Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival is an annual, cultural arts & music festival that takes place over the course of 10 days in Tampa Bay, Florida. They host an Author Village for two days during an outdorr festival. Check out AALBC.com’s coverage of the Author Village in 2017
Learn more about Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival
Diggi Palace Jaipur, Jaipur, India
Hosted by: Sanjoy K. Roy, Festival Producer
Date: January 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival
Email: info@teamworkarts.com
Description:
Described as the “greatest literary show on Earth,” the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is a sumptuous feast of ideas.
Learn more about ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Sunshine State Book Festival
SFC Fine Arts Hall, 3000 NW 83rd St
Gainesville, FL 32606, Gainesville, Florida
Hosted by: Writers Alliance of Gainesville
Date: January 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Sunshine State Book Festival
Email: SunshineStateBookFestival@writersalliance.org
Description:
“Bringing Readers and Writers Together” for three days of literary enrichment with over 75 authors, 6 nationally recognized speakers, and a literary heritage tour of sites where Robert Frost, Tennessee Williams, William Bartram, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings lived and wrote in the area.
Learn more about Sunshine State Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
ALA Midwinter Meeting
Indianapolis, Indiana,
Hosted by: American Library Association
Dates: Friday, January 22, 2021 to Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Website: ALA Midwinter Meeting
Description:
ALA Annual Conference is the premier global library event each year, bringing together the newsmakers, innovators, thought leaders, and influencers in the library field, from all over the world. News is made at these events, where important announcements are made, updates are shared, relevant legislation and policy are addressed, and discussions take place that have a major impact on libraries, their role, and their ongoing transformation. This event trends nationally on Twitter and are extensively covered in the media.
Learn more about ALA Midwinter Meeting on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Rancho Mirage Writers Festival
Rancho Mirage, California, 71-100 Hwy 111
Dates: Friday, January 29, 2021 to Sunday, January 31, 2021
Website: Rancho Mirage Writers Festival
Email: info@rmwritersfest.org
Description:
The Rancho Mirage Writers Festival is a world class gathering of writers, thinkers, and people contributing to the intellectual vitality of our time — “Coachella for the brain.”
Learn more about Rancho Mirage Writers Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival
Midtown Cultural and Educational Center, Daytona Beach, Florida
Hosted by: Donna M. Gray-Banks, Founder & Director
Dates: Thursday, January 13, 2022 to Saturday, January 15, 2022
Website: F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival
Email: freshbookfestivals@gmail.com
Price: $5
Description:
Teachers and students with ID are free. Seniors are free.
This book festival actually cover three days and features a film festival and author meet and greet in addition to the fair. The F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival was developed to assist young inspiring authors with their marketing and to introduce them to veterans of the book business at the festival.
Learn more about F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The Hampton Roads Indie Author Book Festival
Family Life Center 1 Redheart Drive, Hampton, VA 23661, Hampton, Virginia
Hosted by: Words to Ponder Publishing Company
Date: February 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: The Hampton Roads Indie Author Book Festival
Phone: 757-751-0953
Email: HRIndieauthor2019@gmail.com
Description:
Upon returning from an out of state book festival, Florenza Denise Lee wondered what would be required to have her very own book festival in her neck of the woods. This internal dialogue lead to the creation of, The Hampton Roads Indie Author Book Festival and Fundraiser. Wanting to pay life forward, she selected REACH, Inc. (Reading Enriches All Children) a 501(c)3 organization that provides literacy programs for homeless and at-risk children in Hampton Roads.
Learn more about The Hampton Roads Indie Author Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Detroit Book City
Northwest Activities Center, Detroit, Michigan
Hosted by: Janeice R. Haynes
Date: February 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Detroit Book City
Phone: 248-993-3844
Description:
Detroit Book City: African-American Family Book Expo is an exciting one-day event is designed to preserve literacy in our community — at the family level. Enjoy a winter afternoon with over 60 talented, Black Indie Authors of adult & children books.
(Back to Top)
Black Book Expo: A Conscious Literary Festival
Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, Richmond, Virginia
Hosted by: Elegba Folklore Society
Dates: Saturday, February 27, 2021 to Sunday, February 28, 2021
Website: Black Book Expo: A Conscious Literary Festival
Phone: 804-644-3900
Email: story1@efsinc.org
Description:
The Black Book Expo, A Conscious Literary Festival is a vast display of literature is featured including topics like black history, politics, science, health, African Diasporic culture, African spirituality, personal development, novels and children’s books. The public is invited to meet authors, hear their talks and browse and buy books to complement personal collections.
(Back to Top)
Virginia Festival of the Book
Charlottesville, Virginia, 145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Hosted by: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
Date: March 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Virginia Festival of the Book
Phone: 434 924-7548
Email: vabook@virginia.edu
Description:
Produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH), the largest of the 56 state (and territory) humanities councils, the Festival is a program of the Virginia Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.
The Festival is the largest community-based book event in the Mid-Atlantic region and has attracted audiences of more than 20,000 for each of the past thirteen years. We have presented a captivating list of authors, ranging from international bestsellers to topical specialists to debut authors. An abbreviated list of past participants includes Rick Atkinson, Edward Ayers, David Baldacci, Maureen Corrigan, Edwidge Danticat, Kate DiCamillo, Rita Dove, Alan Furst, John Grisham, Jan Karon, Jim Lehrer, Frances Mayes, Colum McCann, David McCullough, Alice McDermott, Katherine Paterson, Jon Scieszka, Lisa Scottoline, Pete Seeger, Karin Slaughter, Alexander McCall Smith, Lee Smith, Bryan Stevenson, Elizabeth Strout, Judith Viorst, and Charles Wright. A more complete list of past participants can be seen here.
Programs range from traditional author readings and book signings to children’s programs and hands-on workshops. All programs are open to the public and, with the exception of a few ticketed events, the majority of Festival programs are free to attend.
Learn more about Virginia Festival of the Book on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Black Writers On Tour
Carson Community Center, Los Angeles, California
Hosted by: Dr. Rosie
Date: March 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Black Writers On Tour
Email: drrosie@aol.com
Description:
Purpose: To promote literacy awareness, to give exposure to African-American authors, writers, and to motivate, and develop aspiring new writers and authors. To showcase Black Businesses, provide exposure and to increase their sales.
Learn more about Black Writers On Tour on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Paris Book Fair
Porte de Versailles, Pavilion 1, Paris, France
Hosted by: Syndicat National de l’Édition
Date: March 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Paris Book Fair
Email: jai1question@livreparis.com
Description:
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Southwest Florida Reading Festival
Fort Myers Regional Library Campus, Fort Myers, Florida
Date: March 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Southwest Florida Reading Festival
Email: mbyers@leegov.org
Description:
There really is something for all ages to experience at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival. Everyone enjoys the multiple stages with the celebrity authors who share ‘inside scoop’ about their latest books or what makes a story idea click for them. You will be able to buy books and have the authors personalize and sign them too! You’ll find our numerous book and educational vendors offering the latest in services and new ideas. Kids will be mesmerized by the storytellers.
Learn more about Southwest Florida Reading Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Tucson Festival of Books
University of Arizona Campus, Tucson, Arizona
Hosted by: John Humenik
Date: March 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Tucson Festival of Books
Email: chairman@tucsonfestivalofbooks.org
Description:
The Tucson Festival of Books debuted March 14-15, 2009, on the campus of The University of Arizona. The Festival featured 450 authors and presenters and welcomed 50,000 regional visitors, all made possible with generous support from our sponsors and the energetic goodwill of 800 volunteers.
Learn more about Tucson Festival of Books on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
New York Antiquarian Book Fair
Park Avenue Armory, New York, New York
Hosted by: Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America & International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (sanctioned by)
Date: March 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: New York Antiquarian Book Fair
Phone: 212.777.5218
Email: info@sanfordsmith.com
Description:
2020 is the 60th Year
This book fair is officially sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. The consumer can rely upon the experience and professionalism of participating dealers and the authenticity of the items available for purchase. All books, manuscripts and related material have been carefully examined for completeness and bibliographic accuracy.
Learn more about New York Antiquarian Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Venice Book Fair and Writers Festival
Blalock Park, Venice, Florida
Hosted by: Pam Johnson
Date: March 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Venice Book Fair and Writers Festival
Email: info@venicebookfair.com
Description:
The Venice Book Fair and Writers Festival is a small, unique program hosting writers teaching writers on Friday night, and authors selling and signing their books to the public on Saturday. All proceeds from the Venice Book Fair and Writers Festival go to Venice Heritage Inc., the 501(c) 3 fundraising arm of two historic sites in Venice, the Lord-Higel House, currently under restoration, and the Venice Museum and Archives expansion project.
Learn more about Venice Book Fair and Writers Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Children’s Africana Book Awards Festival
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art , Washington, District of Columbia
Hosted by: Africa Access
Date: March 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Children’s Africana Book Awards Festival
Email: africaaccess@aol.com
Description:
children can learn to spin a yarn and weave a story, based on tales from Ghana, Morocco and Ivory Coast. A panel of Current and past CABA winners CABA authors/illustrators is featured from 11:30 – 12:30. Current and past CABA winners will be signing their books after the panel discussion. The museum is also opening its newest exhibit, Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts. The event is free and open to the public.
Learn more about Children’s Africana Book Awards Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
North Texas Teen Book Festival
Irving Convention Center, Irving, Texas
Date: March 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: North Texas Teen Book Festival
Email: info@nttbf.org
Description:
The North Texas Teen Book Festival strives to connect our reading community, adding dimension to the reading experience through diverse author panels and dynamic discussions in a safe and fun environment.
Learn more about North Texas Teen Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
London Book Fair
Olympia London, London, United Kingdom
Hosted by: Reed Exhibitions Limited
Dates: Monday, March 9, 2020 to Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Website: London Book Fair
Email: lbf.helpline@reedexpo.co.uk
Description:
The London Book Fair is the global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and digital channels. Next year, the Fair will take place in April at Olympia, West London, covering all aspects of the publishing industry.
Learn more about London Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
AWP Conference
Kansas City Convention Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Dates: Wednesday, March 3, 2021 to Saturday, March 6, 2021
Website: AWP Conference
Phone: 301-226-9716
Email: events@awpwriter.org
Description:
The AWP Conference & Bookfair is an essential annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Each year more than 12,000 attendees join our community for four days of insightful dialogue, networking, and unrivaled access to the organizations and opinion-makers that matter most in contemporary literature. The 2016 conference featured over 2,000 presenters and 550 readings, panels, and craft lectures. The book fair hosted over 800 presses, journals, and literary organizations from around the world. AWP is now the largest literary conference in North America.
Learn more about AWP Conference on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Dahlonega Literary Festival
Historic Square of Dahlonega, GA, Dahlonega, Georgia
Hosted by: Lumpkin County Literacy Coalition
Dates: Friday, March 5, 2021 to Saturday, March 6, 2021
Website: Dahlonega Literary Festival
Email: info@savannahbookfestival.org
Description:
The Dahlonega Literary Festival is an annual celebration of books that takes place in March. Situated in Historic Downtown Dahlonega, the festival continues to grow and become more delightful as the years go on. Ours is an intimate festival about books and authors with a mission to promote interaction between readers and writers in a relaxed, informal environment. Visitors have an opportunity to meet and interact with the authors. In addition to attending speaking events and book signings, attendees can have lunch with their favorite authors at a local restaurant.
Past featured authors include: Frances Mayes, Diana Gabaldon, Terry Kay, Deanna Raybourn, Joshilyn Jackson, and many more. Where else can you see, have conversations with, and even dine with bestselling authors while surrounded by the beautiful North Georgia Mountains.
Learn more about Dahlonega Literary Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Southern Kentucky Bookfest
Bowling Green, Kentucky,
Dates: Friday, March 26, 2021 to Saturday, March 27, 2021
Website: Southern Kentucky Bookfest
Email: sokybookfest@wku.edu
Description:
The Southern Kentucky Book Fest is one of the state’s largest literary events. Held in Bowling Green, Kentucky each April, Book Fest draws thousands of readers of all ages who welcome the occasion to meet their favorite authors and purchase signed copies of their books.
The Southern Kentucky Book Fest partnership consists of Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Warren County Public Library, and WKU Libraries. These entities collaborate throughout the year on a variety of literary events designed to fulfill the mission of the partnership: to encourage reading and the love of books, and to be a positive force in promoting literacy in our region and state.
Learn more about Southern Kentucky Bookfest on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
National Black Writers Conference Biennial Symposium
Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, New York
Hosted by: Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College
Date: Saturday, March 27, 2021
Time: 11 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Website: National Black Writers Conference Biennial Symposium
Phone: 718-804-8883
Email: writers@mec.cuny.edu
Description:
The 2021 Biennial Symposium will be Held via Zoom
Purchase the Books by the Authors Featured in this Symposium
The 2021 National Black Writers Conference Biennial Symposium, “They Cried I Am: The Life and Work of Paule Marshall and John A. Williams, Unsung Black Literary Voices,” will celebrate the life and works of the late Paule Marshall and John A. Williams.
Featured program highlights will include a keynote address, roundtable discussions, and dramatic readings. Confirmed speakers include Carole Boyce-Davies, Edwidge Danticat, Keith Gilyard, Maryemma Graham, Michael Anthony Green, Lawrence Jackson, Evan Marshall, Liza Jessie Peterson, Ishmael Reed, Linda Villarosa, Mary Helen Washington, and Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch.
Learn more about National Black Writers Conference Biennial Symposium on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Alabama Book Festival
Old Alabama Town, in Downtown Montgomery, Montgomery, Alabama
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Alabama Book Festival
Phone: 888-240-1850
Email: alabamabookfestival@gmail.com
Description:
With over lots of authors, vendors and exhibitors, this free public event is the state’s premier literary event. Thousands of people from around the state and the Southeast gather at the festival each year to meet their favorite authors and scholars. A fun activity area for children makes this a day of fun for the entire family!
Learn more about Alabama Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Newburyport Literary Festival
Newburyport, Massachusetts,
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Newburyport Literary Festival
Email: events@newburyportliteraryfestival.org
Description:
Newburyport is located at the mouth of the Merrimack River, in the far northeast corner of Massachusetts. It is 35 miles north of Boston and 18 miles south of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Learn more about Newburyport Literary Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Oxford Conference for the Book
Oxford, Mississippi,
Hosted by: Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Oxford Conference for the Book
Phone: 662.915.3374
Email: jgthomas@olemiss.edu
Description:
The Oxford Conference for the Book brings together fiction and nonfiction writers, journalists, poets, publishers, teachers, and students for three days of readings, lectures, panels, workshops, and social events that celebrate the written word.
Learn more about Oxford Conference for the Book on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Ohioana Book Festival
Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square, Columbus, Ohio
Hosted by: The Ohioana Library Association
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Ohioana Book Festival
Phone: 614.466.3831
Email: ohioana@ohioana.org
Description:
Since its inception in 2007, the Ohioana Book Festival has given readers the opportunity to connect with their favorite Ohio writers. Held each spring, the Festival welcomes roughly 100 authors and more than 3,000 visitors every year.
Learn more about Ohioana Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Virgin Islands Literary Festival and Book Fair
Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Hosted by: Alscess Lewis-Brown
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Virgin Islands Literary Festival and Book Fair
Phone: 340-692-4152
Email: abrown@uvi.edu
Description:
The second annual Virgin Islands Literary Festival and Book Fair was held in April of 2016 with events highlighting and celebrating literature’s role in culture and society. World-renowned author Salman Rushdie will be this year’s keynote speaker. Other highlighted guests include authors Jamaica Kincaid, Elizabeth Nunez and Earl Lovelace. See our Announcements page for updates and a list of featured authors.
Learn more about Virgin Islands Literary Festival and Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD)
Various Locations, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD)
Email: info@thefoldcanada.org
Description:
The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) celebrates diversity in literature by promoting diverse authors and stories in Brampton, Ontario—one of Canada&rsquos most culturally diverse cities.
Learn more about The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
San Antonio Book Festival
Central Library (600 Soledad Street), the neighboring Southwest School of Art, and the Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, Texas
Hosted by: The San Antonio Library Foundation
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: San Antonio Book Festival
Phone: 210.225.4728
Email: information@saplf.org
Description:
The Festival is a day-long event that unites readers and writers alike. Author presentations are held indoors while outdoors the Festival grounds are active with book sales, signings, children’s story time and learning projects, family activities, and a technology area. Food trucks offer a variety of eats; special tents feature live music and recipe demonstrations by cookbook authors. The large Festival Marketplace offers a lively setting for booksellers, publishers, literary-minded nonprofits, and local artists and craftmakers.
Learn more about San Antonio Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Annapolis Book Festival
The Key School, Annapolis, Maryland
Hosted by: The Key School
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Annapolis Book Festival
Phone: 410-263-9231
Description:
The Annapolis Book Festival is one of the premier community events in the region. Every year more than 3,000 people attend this free community Festival that celebrates the beauty, power, passion, and excitement of the written word. The Annapolis Book Festival brings nationally renowned authors to The Key School in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss their books and the craft of writing. The Festival also features children's activities, live music, refreshments, and new and used book sales.
Learn more about Annapolis Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
OE Book Fair
Oxford Exchange, Tampa, Florida
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: OE Book Fair
Phone: 813-253-0222
Email: info@oxfordexchange.com
Description:
“It is our mission at Oxford Exchange to continually foster human engagement, spark meaningful dialogue and establish Tampa’s place as a cultural destination. We launched the OE Book Fair in 2015 to provide an open platform for local authors to connect with their community face to face. A broad array of genres and interests are represented, complimented by discussions and workshops throughout the day of the fair. We hope you’ll join us the discovery of local literary talent!”
Learn more about OE Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Florida Antiquarian Book Fair
St. Petersburg’s Historic Coliseum, St. Petersburg, Florida
Hosted by: Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Florida Antiquarian Book Fair
Email: FloridaBookFair@gmail.com
Description:
The book fair is the third largest in the country and features more than one hundred specialized booksellers from all over the United States.
(Back to Top)
Sydney Writers’ Festival
Carriageworks, Sydney, Australia
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Sydney Writers’ Festival
Email: contact@zeitgeistmediagroup.com
Description:
Each year, Sydney Writers&rsquol Festival presents more than 400 events, attracting audiences of 100,000 plus for a week-long conversation of books and ideas.
Learn more about Sydney Writers’ Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Six Bridges Book Festival
Main Library, Little Rock, Arkansas , Little Rock, Arkansas
Hosted by: Central Arkansas Library System
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Six Bridges Book Festival
Email: SixBridgesBookFest@cals.org
Description:
Previously known for 16 years as the Arkansas Literary Festival, the four-day event in April celebrates reading, literacy, stories and wordsmithing including musical lyrics.
Learn more about Six Bridges Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
National Hispanic Cultural Center Children's Bilingual Book Festival
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1701 4th Street SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
Hosted by: Valerie Martinez, Director, History and Literary Arts
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: National Hispanic Cultural Center Children's Bilingual Book Festival
Phone: 505-383-4708
Email: valerie.martinez@state.nm.us
Description:
National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) is the only one of its kind in the U.S. that features children’s books in Spanish and English and Native languages and English. The festival features author readings, student storytelling, a book fair, workshops for parents and teachers, and creative and book-related activities for young readers (K-6) and their families.
Learn more about National Hispanic Cultural Center Children's Bilingual Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Tampa Bay Black Authors Expo
Tampa, Florida, 5508 N. 50th St., Tampa, FL 33610
Hosted by: WoW Book and Toy Store
Date: April 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Tampa Bay Black Authors Expo
Phone: 228-229-6873
Email: info@wowbookandtoy.com
Description:
The TBBAE grew from a desire to showcase the diverse literary talent that is alive and well in the greater Tampa Bay area. By creating the only expo dedicated to authors of color here in the Bay area, we’ve created a platform for some of this area’s most creative minds to gather, network and share their stories with their community.
(Back to Top)
Bologna Children’s Book Fair
Bologna, Italy,
Hosted by: BolognaFiere Viale della Fiera
Dates: Monday, April 12, 2021 to Thursday, April 15, 2021
Website: Bologna Children’s Book Fair
Email: bookfair@bolognafiere.it
Description:
Founded in 1964 The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the most important international event dedicated to the hildren’s publishing and multimedia industry.
Learn more about Bologna Children’s Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Black Pack Party
The Frying Pan, Pier 66 at Hudson River Park, 207 12th Ave, New York, New York
Hosted by: AALBC.com, Linda Duggins, and One Book One Bronx
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Email: troy@aalbc.com
Description:
Rain or Shine! The venue is outdoors, on the water, but can be completely enclosed if necessary.
The Black Pack Party is an annual gathering of publishing industry professionals and writers and is held just before the evening before Book Expo America begins.
Check out photos from the previous gatherings and a retrospective.
Learn more about Black Pack Party on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Book Expo America
Javitz Center, New York, New York
Hosted by: Association of American Publishers, Association of Authors Representatives, Inc., and the American Booksellers Association
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Book Expo America
Phone: 1-800-840-5614
Email: inquiry@bookexpoamerica.com
Description:
BookExpo America (BEA) is the leading book and author event for the North American publishing industry. It’s the best place to discover new titles and authors, conduct business and network, and learn the latest trends.
BEA is the largest gathering of booksellers, librarians, retailers, publishers, rights, licensing, and book industry professionals in North America.
Learn more about Book Expo America on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature
Various Venues, New York, New York
Hosted by: PEN America
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature
Email: festival@pen.org
Description:
PEN World Voices is America’s only international literary festival, attracting the best-known writers from across the globe. Since its founding, they have presented more than 1,500 writers and artists from 118 countries speaking 56 languages in venues across New York City in a weeklong series of literary events with a human rights focus. The Festival was founded by Salman Rushdie, Esther Allen, and Michael Roberts in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, with the aim of broadening channels of dialogue between the United States and the world—a mission that, today, has never been more relevant.
Learn more about PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Greensboro Bound Literary Festival
Various locations in downtown Greensboro, NC, Greensboro, North Carolina
Hosted by: Greensboro Bound
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Greensboro Bound Literary Festival
Phone: 336-392-5213
Email: jessica@greensborobound.com
Description:
Greensboro Bound celebrates writers and readers of all ages as essential to vibrant cities. The non-profit organization, in its third year, offers programming throughout the year with an annual literary festival held in May at various locations in downtown Greensboro.
Learn more about Greensboro Bound Literary Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Books in Bloom Literary Festival
The 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa
, Eureka Springs, ArkansasHosted by:
Presented by the Carroll and Madison Public Library Foundation
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Books in Bloom Literary Festival
Email: jean@booksinbloom.org
Description:
Books in Bloom Literary Festival: a Celebration for Writers and Readers was established in 2005 by the Carroll and Madison Public Library Foundation as its signature event to promote the value of books and reading. The Books in Bloom Co-chairs are Jean Elderwind, Jennifer Hudspeth, and Lin Wellford, directors on the Public Library Foundation Board.
The Festival provides an opportunity for the public to meet accomplished authors, and to hear them read from or speak about their work. Aspiring writers learn about various aspects of writing and publishing, and avid readers are introduced to authors working in a wide variety of genres.
Learn more about Books in Bloom Literary Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Yallwest Santa Monica Book Festival
Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, California
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Yallwest Santa Monica Book Festival
Email: shane@yallwest.com
Description:
Over 113 authors including New York Times Bestsellers along with local and acclaimed young adult and middle grade writers, plus notable Hollywood directors and creators.
2 days of panels, book signings, food trucks, bad jokes, rock 'n' roll, killer photo ops & general geeky debauchery
Learn more about Yallwest Santa Monica Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Gaithersburg Book Festival
Gaithersburg City Hall Grounds, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Gaithersburg Book Festival
Phone: 301.258.6350
Email: ccrosby@gaithersburgmd.gov
Description:
The festival will feature more than 100 best-selling and award-winning authors who will participate in talks, panel discussions and book signings throughout the day.
The Gaithersburg Book Festival is a celebration of the written word and its power to enrich the human experience. Our mission is to foster an interest in reading, writing and literary conversation.
Since its inception in 2010, the Festival has quickly become one of the nation’s top literary events, attracting hundreds of award-winning and best-selling authors, poets, and songwriters from across the country. Other festival highlights include exhibiting authors, a Children’s Village, literary exhibitors, the Brew & Vine Cafe featuring live performances by singer/songwriters and poets, Friends of the Library used book sale, and onsite new book sales by Politics & Prose. Visitors of all ages also have the opportunity to participate in free interactive, hands-on writing workshops for children and adults/teens on a variety of topics.
Learn more about Gaithersburg Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
BookCon
Javitz Center, New York, New York
Hosted by: ReedPOP Events
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: BookCon
Phone: 800.777.8774
Email: inquiry@TheBookCon.com
Description:
BookCon is the event where storytelling and pop culture collide. Consumers and brands will experience the origin of the story in all its forms by interacting with the authors, publishers, celebrities and creators of content that influence everything we read, hear and see. BookCon is an immersive experience that features interactive, forward thinking content including Q&As with the hottest talent, autographing sessions, storytelling podcasts, special screenings, literary quiz shows and so much more. BookCon is the ultimate celebration of books, where your favorite stories come to life.
Learn more about BookCon on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Bay Area Book Festival
In Downtown Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Bay Area Book Festival
Email: info@baybookfest.org
Description:
The Bay Area Book Festival is the primary project of the Foundation for the Future of Literature and Literacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in California. FFLL’s Tax ID number is 47-3955286. Its business address is 1569 Solano Ave. #635, Berkeley, CA 94707.
FFLL is governed by a Board of Directors. Members include Cherilyn Parsons (Berkeley, CA), Peter Richardson (San Francisco, CA), Mal Warwick (Berkeley, CA), Brooke Warner (Berkeley, CA), and Igor Zagatsky (Berkeley, CA).
Learn more about Bay Area Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Great American Book Festival
Main Street Square, Rapid City, South Dakota
Hosted by: Literary Classics Book Awards & Reviews
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Great American Book Festival
Email: LITERARYCLASSICS@LIVE.COM
Description:
The Great American Book Festival was created by the founders of Literary Classics Book Awards & Reviews
In an effort to support the literary arts, Literary Classics Book Awards and Reviews has created the Great American Book Festival. To be held annually, this event has become home to the Literary Classics Book Awards and related events, and will be held in conjunction with a book festival. The Great American Book Festival is slated to be held each year on Labor Day weekend. The festival is open to the public and authors from all regions and genres are invited to participate along with related vendors and food purveyors.
Learn more about Great American Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
LitUp Festival
North Independence Branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library, Independence, Missouri
Hosted by: North Independence Branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library
Date: May 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: LitUp Festival
Email: litupfest@mymcpl.org
Description:
LitUp is a book festival for teenagers and young adults. There will be free books and food, illustrating and writing clinics, author interviews, amazing keynote speakers, and a poetry slam.
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Go On Girl! Book Club Author Awards Weekend
The L.A. Grand Hotel - Downtown, Los Angeles, California
Hosted by: Go On Girl! Book Club
Dates: Thursday, May 20, 2021 to Sunday, May 23, 2021
Website: Go On Girl! Book Club Author Awards Weekend
Email: events@goongirl.org
Description:
The first Author Awards were presented in 1992 as a small event held in Brooklyn, New York to recognize those authors and publishers that made significant contributions in the writing and publication of quality books for and about people of African descent. That year we honored Gloria Naylor for Bailey’s Café and New Authors of the Year Barbara Neely for Blanche on the Lam and Barbara Summers for Nouvelle Soul. We gave a publishing award to Beacon Press for their work in publishing authors of color. We were delighted when they all showed up to accept their awards. That was the beginning of a GOG tradition. The annual Author Awards event has traveled the United States from east to west as well as outside the U.S. to Jamaica, West Indies and Toronto, Canada.
Beginning in 1993, the one-night event became a three-day weekend where chapters meet and take care of business issues and celebrate the winning authors. It's also an opportunity for members to meet and reconnect with their literary sisters from all over the country.
Each year winning authors are selected from our reading list based upon votes from each Go On Girl! Book Club chapter for Author of the Year and New Author of the Year. They are then invited to receive their awards in person at the annual Awards Ceremony. GOG members and guests have had the honor of awarding in person to Pearl Cleage, Bebe Moore Campbell, Walter Mosely, Jill Nelson, Valerie Wilson Wesley, Diane McKinney Whetstone, Lawrence Hill, Daniel Black, Isabel Wilkerson to name a few.
This flagship event is one of the ways of expressing our deep authentic respect for Black literature and authors, reinvigorating our literary sisterhood, and providing a platform for new literary talent to emerge.
Learn more about Go On Girl! Book Club Author Awards Weekend on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Greater St. Louis Book Fair
Greensfelder Recreation Complex in Queeny Park, St. Louis, Missouri
Date: June 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Greater St. Louis Book Fair
Email: info@stlouisbookfair.org
Description:
Greater St. Louis Book Fair is one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most popular charity book sales. For over 60 years, book lovers and collectors have enjoyed bargain prices on a diverse and quality selection of new, gently-used and rare books. Fair proceeds benefit local non-profit education and literacy programs.
Learn more about Greater St. Louis Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
The Bronx Book Festival
Fordham Plaza in the Bronx, Bronx, New York
Hosted by: Saraciea Fennell, Founder
Date: June 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: The Bronx Book Festival
Email: BronxBookFest@gmail.com
Description:
The first traditional book festival geared toward all ages to hit the Bronx! #TheBronxisReading
Learn more about The Bronx Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Nantucket Book Festival
Cultural District
, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Hosted by: Maddie Hjulstrom, Executive Director, Nantucket Book Foundation
Date: June 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: Nantucket Book Festival
Phone: 508-563-2144
Email: director@nantucketbookfestival.org
Description:
Nantucket Book Festival celebrates its 9th year in 2020. They feature a line-up of award-winning authors and local and regional talent. They take center stage, representing genres fiction, poetry, history, journalism, politics, and memoir. Attendees enjoy author presentations Thursday-Sunday, also featured in the garden are storytimes for children. Most events are free to the public.
Learn more about Nantucket Book Festival on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
South Florida Book Festival
African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Hosted by: African-American Research Library and Cultural Center
Date: July 2021 – Dates to be Announced
Website: South Florida Book Festival
Phone: 954-357-6282
Email: lib-customersvc@broward.org
Description:
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Elm City LIT Fest
New Haven, Connecticut,
Hosted by: IfeMichelle Gardin
Dates: Saturday, September 11, 2021 to Sunday, September 12, 2021
Website: Elm City LIT Fest
Email: elmcitylitfest@gmail.com
Description:
An annual celebration of books, LITerature and LITerary artists with the purpose of enhancing LITeracy while promoting awareness of local, regional and global artists of the African Diaspora. Created in the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance for the Greater New Haven region and beyond.
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Black Authors & Readers Rock
Harborside Hotel, Oxon Hill, Maryland
Hosted by: Sharon Lucas and The Reading Divas Book Club
Dates: Friday, October 1, 2021 to Saturday, October 2, 2021
Website: Black Authors & Readers Rock
Email: sharon@sharonrlucas.com
Description:
BARR is a two day literary conference that offers readers the opportunity to meet and mingle with new, emerging and nationally recognized African American authors from all writing genres, and offers authors the opportunity to greet old friends, meet new readers and sell their works.
Though BARR’s focus is on authors of color, because they are traditionally underserved by the publishing industry, the conference is open to everyone.
BARR brings value to the community by providing attendees the opportunity to learn about the craft of writing, and other related topics, through workshops and panel discussions focused on triggering an exchange of knowledge and ideas. BARR was founded by Sharon Lucas
AALBC’s Founder and Webmaster, Troy Johnson, will be giving a workshop this year!
Learn more about Black Authors & Readers Rock on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
African American Children’s Book Fair
Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hosted by: The Literary Media & Publishing Consultants
Date: Saturday, February 5, 2022
Time: 1 to 4 p.m.
Website: African American Children’s Book Fair
Phone: 215-878-2665
Email: vlloydsgam@aol.com
Description:
Check out our photos from the 2020 Festival
The African American Children’s Book Fair is one of the oldest and largest single-day events for children's books in the country. It features nationally known bestselling authors and illustrators, many of whom have won some of the most prestigious literary awards including the American Library Association Coretta Scott King Award. These authors and illustrators have produced some of the best books of our generation.
Parents, caregivers and educators are very supportive of the African American Children's Book Fair because they understand that children who read outside of their normal school course work tend to make more responsible decisions about their lifestyles.
The fun-filled afternoon is packed with activities that promote the POWER and JOY OF READING. Authors and illustrators will make presentations and sign their books. The Literary Row will distribute book-related promotional materials free of charge. Our Educator's Book Giveaway will also distribute brand new books to teachers and librarians for use in their schools. In addition there will be a wide selection of affordable literature available to purchase.
The African American Children's Book Fair is a part of the African American Children's Book Project's initiative to promote and preserve multicultural children's literature.
The organization is leading a campaign entitled PRESERVE A LEGACY, BUY A BOOK. Its goal is to put books back into children's homes. You can't tell a child to read at home if there are no books. Read an interview the event’s organizer, Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati
The event is free and opened to the public.
Learn more about African American Children’s Book Fair on AALBC.com.(Back to Top)
Check out our coverage of past events.