The Best Literary & Book Festivals Around The United States (Now With 2023 & 2024 Dates!)

Conventions and Festivals have also been a great way to celebrate certain hobbies with like-minded people. And with the explosion of book content on the internet between BookTok, Bookstagram, and Booktube there’s no shortage of connections for readers.
As wonderful as those are though, there’s still nothing like a weekend spent in person with all your favorite people, authors, and publishers. That’s where the literary and book festivals come in.
 
Whether you have an author you HAVE to meet, want to plan a vacation around a certain event, or simply want to find the nearest one to you, this guide will have all the information you need for the book festivals you’re interested in!
 
These are listed in order of when they happen. Most happen around the same weekend every, but a few do move around so that will be noted if it’s something you need to keep an eye on!
Also, the pandemic has led to a few changes but for the most pat we’ve made it past the re-scheduling so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem for any of these dates & locations.
If you have an event you love but don’t see listed, please let me know in the comments!
 

Lit & Book Festivals

January

February

Savannah Book Festival

Location: Telfair Square. Savannah, Georgia.
Dates: February 15-18 2024. (It’s usually around President’s Day weekend)
Previous Guests & Headliners: John Grisham, Colson Whitehead, Jodi Picoult, Diana Gabaldon.
Ticket Price: Festival Saturday is free and open to everyone. Headliner events might have a small fee.
Anything else to know? Any book signings require the book to be purchased at the festival.
https://www.savannahbookfestival.org/
 

March

Tucson Festival of Books

Who is it hosted by? The University of Arizona. Arizona Daily Star.
Location: The University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona.
Dates: March 4-5 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: (20222) Olivie Blake, Elle Cosimano, Ali Hazelwood, Jen DeLuca, J.A. Jance, Katee Robert, V. E. Schwab
Ticket Price: Free-of-charge for all attendees.
Anything else to know? n/a
https://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/
 

The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane

Who is it hosted by? Tulane University.
Location: Berger Family Lawn at Tulane University’s uptown campus. New Orleans, Louisiana.
Dates: March 9-11, 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: John Grisham, Andy Horowitz, Emma Straub
Ticket Price: Free. Seating at events is first come, first serve.
Anything else to know? One day of the weekend includes ‘Family Day’ with events centered on being fun for all ages.
https://bookfest.tulane.edu/
 

Lit & Book Festivals

April

LA Times Festival of Books

Who is it hosted by? LA Times
Location: University of Southern California. Los Angeles, California.
Dates: April 22-23, 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: (This is always one the biggest and best guest lists around) Amanda Gorman, Christina Lauren, Don Winslow, E. Lockhart, Victoria Aveyard, Veronica Roth, TJ Klune.
Ticket Price: Outdoor programming and events are free. Certain indoor panels and events will require ticket purchase.
Anything else to know? Not only does this also have a jaw-dropping author guest list, but there will usually be more mainstream celebrities as well, usually promoting a recent memoir (such as 2022’s Terry Crews and David Duchovny)
https://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/
 

ApollyCon

Who is it hosted by? author Jennifer L. Armentrout.
Location: Washington, D.C.
Dates: April 27-30, 2023. **This one moves around the calendar. For example, 2022 was at the end of June.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Ali Hazelwood, Elle Cosimano, Meghan Quinn, Sariah Wilson, Tessa Bailey
Ticket Price: $20-$150. Tickets usually go on sale the previous year and sell out within the first day. 2023 tickets went on sale in August 2022.
Anything else to know? There are multiple different ticket levels so be very careful when picking which one is right for you.
https://jenniferlarmentrout.com/apollycon/
 

YALLWest

Location: Santa Monica High School. Santa Monica, California.
Dates: April 29, 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Melissa Albert, Victoria Aveyard, Soman Chainani, Melissa De La Cruz, Chloe Gong
Ticket Price: Free with a limited number of ticketed keynote events.
Anything else to know? This is an event focused on Young Adult (YA) and Middle Grade books. Partner with YALLFest!
https://www.yallwest.com/
 

Get Lit! Festival

Who is it hosted by? Eastern Washington University.
Location: Spokane, Washington. (2022 was held at the Montvale Event Center)
Dates: Thursday April 20 – Sunday April 23 2023
Previous Guests & Headliners: Roxane Gay, Colson Whitehead, Kurt Vonnegut
Ticket Price: $15
Anything else to know? Out of all the book festivals this one has a special place in my heart because it’s my local one. It’s small but mighty!
https://inside.ewu.edu/getlit/
 

May

Bay Area Book Festival

Who is it hosted by? Self-hosted with partnership from the San Francisco Chronicle
Location: Berkeley, CA. The outdoor fair will be at Berkeley’s MLK, Jr. Civic Center Park. The indoor author programs multiple Downtown Berkeley venues
Dates: May 6th & 7th, 2023
Previous Guests & Headliners: Kirstin Chen, Melissa de la Cruz, Dave Eggers, Laurie King
Ticket Price: The outdoor fair and daytime author programs are all free. The evening Headliners events require a $15 ticket.
Anything else to know? They have a year-round Women Lit program you can join for special author events and a members hub for an online connection to the fascinating and well-read community.
https://www.baybookfest.org/ 
 

Santa Fe Literary Festival

Who is it hosted by? Fractured Atlas (a nonprofit arts service organization and the country’s largest arts fiscal sponsor.)
Location: Santa Fe Convention Center. Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Dates: May 19-21 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Emily St. John Mandel, Margaret Atwood, Colson Whitehead, George R. R. Martin, Sandra Cisneros, John Grisham, Jon Krakauer
Ticket Price: 2023 prices not announced. (a heads up that 2022 was on the expensive end with ticket pricing in the hundreds.)
Anything else to know? 2022 was it’s inaugural year! An impressive addition to book festivals for being brand new.
https://www.sfliteraryfestival.org/
 

June

Book Bonanza

Who is it hosted by? Colleen Hoover
Location: Gaylord Texan. Grapevine, Texas.
Dates: June 22-24, 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Colleen Hoover (obviously!), Elle Kennedy, Liz Talley, Meghan Quinn, Sariah Wilson, E L James
Ticket Price: $200
Anything else to know?
https://bookbonanzaevent.com/
 

Lit & Book Festivals

July

Comic Con (SDCC)

Okay this one might seem strange on a list of book festivals BUT they always have great book content. Multiple major publishers have booths like Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster/Simon Teen, Macmillan, and Tor. There were multiple author signings and Tor even hosted a few panels.
Location: San Diego Convention Center. San Diego, California.
Dates: July 20-23, 2023.
Ticket Price: Varies per day, total for the weekend is usually around $250. Tickets require prior registration, go on sale months in advance, and are extremely hard to get. Make sure to get all the info on their website. (2023 tickets went on sale November 2022.)
Anything else to know? While this isn’t a book event it’s a HUGE event that does have a literary presence. There are also usually a lot of adaptation announcements and trailer releases!
https://www.comic-con.org/
 

August

San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books

Who is it hosted by? The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper along with University of San Diego.
Location: University of San Diego campus
Dates: August 19th, 2023
Previous Guests & Headliners: Rebecca Serle, David Duchovny, Melissa de la Cruz, Silvia Morena-Garcia
Ticket Price: Attendance to the festival is free, there will be a few sessions on the Shiley Main Stage that require a $5 ticket.
Anything else to know? They also have a Storytime Series for younger children, where local notables read stories on their Facebook page.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/festivalofbooks
 

Steamy Lit Con

Who is it hosted by? Steamy Lit
Location: Anaheim Marriott (across the street from Disneyland!)
Dates: Agust 18-19, 2023
Previous Guests & Headliners: Ali Hazelwood, Christina Lauren, Jen DeLuca, Olivia Dade, Lyssa Kay Adams
Ticket Price: Tickets are $300 which covers entry to all events for both days.
Anything else to know? The nickname for this event is “The Rom Con”
http://www.steamylitcon.com/

September

Bookmarks Festival of Books

Who is it hosted by? Bookmarks-a bookstore in Winston-Salem puts on the event. One of the few book festivals actually hosted by an independent bookstore!
Location: various locations around Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Dates: September 21-24 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sandra Cisneros, Jamie Ford, Andrew Sean Greer, Tessa Bailey, Idina Menzel, TJ Klune.
Ticket Price: All events on Saturday, September 24 are free and open to the public. There are ticketed author events on Thursday, Friday, and Monday surrounding the Saturday festival.
Anything else to know? This bookstore has a great relationship with authors, hosting releases and other fun events year round, on top of this festival.
https://www.bookmarksnc.org/festival
 

National Book Festival

Who is it hosted by? Library of Congress
Location: Washington Convention Center. Washington D.C.
Dates: 2023 dates not yet announced.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Janelle Monáe, Nick Offerman, Geraldine Brooks, Angie Thomas, Mitch Albom, Holly Black, Victoria Aveyard
Ticket Price: Free. Tickets might be required for some events but they will be at no cost.
Anything else to know?
https://www.loc.gov/events/2022-national-book-festival/
 

Brooklyn Book Festival

Who is it hosted by? Brooklyn Literary Council
Location: city-wide. Brooklyn, New York City, New York.
Dates: Festival Day October 1, 2023. Citywide Bookends September 24-October 2.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Lauren Groff, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Emma Straub
Ticket Price: Free.
Anything else to know? Events take place for an entire week with one dedicated Children’s Day (usually Saturday) and then a Festival Day (usually Sunday)
https://brooklynbookfestival.org/
 

Lit & Book Festivals

October

Morristown Festival of Books

Location: historic Vail Mansion (110 South Street, Morristown 07960) Morristown, New Jersey.
Dates: October 6-7 2023.
Guests & Headliners: Elle Cosimano, Marie Benedict, Emma Straub, Chris Pavone
Ticket Price: Friday’s Keynote Event is a ticketed event. Everything else is free.
Anything else to know? 2023 will be the festivals 10th anniversary! Also has a KidFest at the same time making it a great event for families.
https://morristownbooks.org/
 

Las Vegas Book Festival

Who is it hosted by? Nevada Humanities. City of Las Vegas.
Location: Historic Fifth Street School. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dates: October 21 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Tessa Bailey, Sandra Cisneros, Fran Lebowitz, Katee Robert
Ticket Price: free
Anything else to know? This is held near Fremont Street/Downtown, not The Strip!
https://lasvegasbookfestival.com/
 

Boston Book Festival

Location: Copley Square. Boston, Massachusetts.
Dates: October 14, 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Beth Macy, Celeste Ng, Lemony Snicket, Rick Riordan
Ticket Price: free
Anything else to know? They also host a Lit Crawl in the Spring!
https://bostonbookfest.org/
 

November

Portland Book Festival

Who is it hosted by? Literary Arts
Location: Portland Art Museum. Portland, Oregon.
Dates: November 4, 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Louise Erdrich, Lauren Groff, Brit Bennett, Veronica Roth
Ticket Price: $15. or $25 at the door.
Anything else to know? Literary Arts has some really good podcasts.
https://literary-arts.org/about/programs/portland-book-festival/
 

YALLFest

Location: Charleston, South Carolina.
Dates: 2023 dates note yet announced.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Adam Silvera, Chloe Gong, E. Lockhart, Grady Hendrix
Ticket Price: Panels and signings are free. Keynote talks and YA Smackdown require tickets. (2022 pricing not available yet)
Anything else to know? This is an event focused on Young Adult (YA) and Middle Grade books. Partner with YALLWest!
https://yallfest.org/
 

Texas Book Festival

Who is it hosted by? The festival has it’s own funding and Board of Directors.
Location: downtown Austin, Texas
Dates: November 11-12, 2023.
Previous Guests & Headliners: Sandra Cisneros, Nelson DeMille, Janet Evanovich, Jamie Ford, Beth Macy,
Ticket Price: Free. There are a few special Book Ticket events that grant holders priority seating and signing.
Anything else to know? This festival was started by First Lady Laura Bush and Mary Margaret Farabee in 1995!
https://www.texasbookfestival.org/
 

Let me know if you have any questions or any book festivals to be added!

Happy Reading!!
~Alison

The Best Literary & Book Festivals Around The United States

 
Hi there! I’m Alison in Libraryland, and I’ll be here for all your book related needs. Many of you know me as the girl with the book recommendations. Don’t be shy! Ask me! If you’re looking for a good book or movie adaptation, let me help you find it. I’ll be here for all your literary needs. This is a book blog run on an obsession for shiny new books, worn-through old classics, and all attempts at moving those stories to the screen. I hope this helped you find the book festivals perfect for you!