Wisconsin Book Festival

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Wisconsin Book Festival

Free author programs, presented by Madison Public Library and Madison Public Library Foundation.

The Wisconsin Book Festival's Fall Celebration is scheduled for October 19-22, 2023. All Wisconsin Book Festival programs are free and open to the public. In-person author events provide the opportunity for people to come together from across Wisconsin — and when events are virtual, from anywhere in the country or around the world — in celebration of books, reading and ideas. Attendees can discov

er new books or favorite writers, and enjoy unprecedented access to author discussions and great stories.

06/05/2026

The community rooms at Madison Public Library are a bit quieter these days, but the Wisconsin Book Festival is still hard at work preparing for book events that’ll take place later this year. As we head into summer, we want to make sure that our programming is the best that it can be.

Attended a talk this past spring but forgot to fill out a survey? Head to the link below to access our post-event survey. The festival deeply values what our attendees have to say, whether it’s praise, suggestions, or some of your favorite moments from this year so far.

See you in the fall: We can’t wait to keep celebrating 25 years of free author events!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/wbf-2026

06/03/2026

Happy Pride Month from the Wisconsin Book Festival! This month, we’re sharing some of the titles we’ve hosted featuring LGBTQ+ authors and/or narratives. The festival prides itself in connecting our literary community with writers of different backgrounds and elevating stories from diverse perspectives.

Head to your local branch of Madison Public Library and check out a copy of these books today!

05/30/2026

Do you have a young writer in your life? Encourage them to apply to the WE READ Youth Voices Writing Contest by June 30! This contest gives youth ages 18 and under the opportunity to get published and to win up to $500 in cash prizes thanks to support from the Madison Public Library Foundation . This year’s theme is “Community Action,” championing by the 2026 Youth Ambassador and Madison Youth Poet Laureate, Octavia Ickard.

Hosted by Wisconsin Book Festival in partnership with Madison Public Library and Forward Madison FC, this annual Madison-based contest encourages youth to share their voices through written works. The library accepts submissions in English, Spanish, Hmong and other languages, and writing can be in the form of short stories, songs, poems, comics, graphic novels, and more.

Learn more: https://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/weread/youthvoices

05/29/2026

And just like that, we’ve got another Wisconsin Book Festival season in the books. But this wasn’t just any old spring season: This was our biggest one yet! Swipe through to see some of our golden numbers, including total audience attendance and book giveaways.

Missing the festival already? Us too! Head over to our website to get a sneak peek of our Fall 2026 events, starting September. We’re only getting started with celebrating a wonderful 25th year, folks✨📚💚🧡

https://www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/event-schedule

05/27/2026

There’s nothing more fulfilling than ending another Wisconsin Book Festival season on a high note. Last week, we hosted over 450 people at our event with Caro Claire Burke for her debut novel, YESTERYEAR. Then, we spent an evening at the Milwaukee Public Library with former US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo to a crowd of 300 people for her book GIRL WARRIOR!

Swipe through to see some highlights from both events, and stay tuned for our Spring By the Numbers round up post later this week.

05/25/2026

There’s just a little under a week to apply to be a featured author at the 25th annual Wisconsin Book Festival Fall Celebration (October 15-18)! Authors, submit your title for consideration by Sunday, May 31. The festival prides itself in offering a wide variety of genres and voices at our events, and these proposals play a role in ensuring we reach that goal.

Swipe through to read about Caro de Robertis’ experience presenting at last year’s Fall Celebration for their book, SO MANY STARS.

Apply today: https://www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/proposals

05/21/2026

A huge congratulations to 2025 Fall Celebration featured author Sasha Debevec-McKenney! Earlier this month, Debevec-McKenney won the prestigious Swansea University Dylan Thomas Poetry Award, which celebrates exceptional literary talent aged 39 or under at a ceremony held in Swansea University’s Great Hall, marking International Dylan Thomas Day.

Debevec-McKenney was awarded €20,000 for her debut poetry book, JOY IS MY MIDDLE NAME, a collection about crawling through your twenties and emerging into your thirties, discussing everything from s*x, race, and womanhood to addiction, sobriety, and pop culture. Congrats, Sasha!

📷: Shanna Wolf Photography

05/18/2026

The wait is nearly over! Join the Wisconsin Book Festival and A Room of One's Own Bookstore for an evening with Caro Claire Burke for her debut novel, YESTERYEAR.

One morning, trad-wife influencer Natalie, whose Instagram account has amassed 8 million followers, wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed.

See you tomorrow (5/19) at 7 p.m. at Central Library!

We are anticipating high attendance for this event. As always, seats are first come, first served. Doors open at 6 p.m.!

05/16/2026

This Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month, the Wisconsin Book Festival is sharing some of the incredible titles we’ve hosted by Asian American authors over the past few seasons. The festival prides itself in connecting our literary community with writers of different backgrounds and elevating stories from diverse perspectives.

Head to your local Madison Public Library branch and check out a copy of these books today!

05/15/2026

The Wisconsin Book Festival open proposal period is accepting submission for two more weeks! Authors, from now until May 31, submit your title for consideration for this year’s Fall Celebration. The festival prides itself in offering a wide variety of genres and voices at our events, and these proposals play a role in ensuring we reach that goal.

Check out Dean Robbins’ experience presenting at last year’s Fall Celebration for his book, WISCONSIN IDOLS, below.

Apply today: https://www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/proposals

Address

201 W Mifflin Street
Madison, WI
53703

Telephone

+16082666318

Website

http://wisconsinbookfestival.org/

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