Georgia - North Carolina

GEORGIA
Augusta Literary Festival
Location: Augusta
Date: March 3, 2013
This is a new festival in 2013 and it looks like they are starting out right. No details are available yet, but do check back after the new year. They will have authors and exhibitors, and they are instituting a new literary award for fiction, the Yerby, that will be presented during the festival.

Dahlonega Literary Festival
Location: Dahlonega
Date: November 10-11, 2012
This festival focuses on both regional and national authors who participate in talks, interviews, and panel presentations. They also have a lovely selection of children’s events each year and vendors with books and other literary selections.

Decatur Book Festival
Location: Decatur
Date: August 31 - September 2, 2012
A multi-day event that features 14 stages packed with authors, live music, poetry readings, panel discussions, signings and cooking demonstrations. The children will be entertained with authors and illustrators, a parade and field trips and games/activities, while teens have their own activities. Live music and poetry, cooking demonstrations, the Southern Foodways Alliance Sunday Picnic, awards, the Rare and Collectible Book Fair, and the Writers’ Conference are all part of it too. Plus, the downtown square is filled with food vendors, a wine garden and plenty of other culinary establishments.

Georgia Antiquarian Book Fair
Location: Marietta
Date: September 22-23, 2012
More than fifty dealers in antiquarian and rare books, manuscripts, autographs, prints, maps, and ephemera will be here. Fans of all genres will find things here. Plus they offer learning sessions for new collectors and a Discovery Day.

Georgia Literary Festival
Location: “Moveable”; it moves to a new location within the state each year.
Date: November 9-10, 2012
This festival focuses though not exclusively on homegrown authors. Over the course of three days, it offers readings, storytelling, theatre, a book sale, lectures, author appearances and signings, craft demonstrations, children’s activities, exhibitors and more.

Savannah Book Festival
Location: Savannah
Date: February 14-17, 2013
The festival is built around the elegant Telfair Square with several venues, each of which has consecutive author presentations in the areas of Fiction, More Fiction, History & Biography, Contemporary Issues, Lifestyle, Poetry, and Family Activities. In addition, there are exhibitors, food vendors, and book sales. 

Savannah Children’s Book Festival
Location: Savannah
Date: November 10, 2012
Children’s book authors and illustrators will be here to chat with the kids and share their stories. In addition, there are arts and crafts, an International Tent, food and entertainment, a Book Walk, and a graphic novel/comics area.

HAWAII
Hawaii Book & Music Festival
Location: Honolulu
Date: May 18-19, 2013
Authors and musicians highlight the festival that celebrates Hawaiian culture. The different stages—Mauka Authors, Makai Authors, Main Stage, Mission Memorial Auditorium, Hawaii Council for the Humanities, Hawaiian Culture, Sustainability, Talk Story Stage, Keiki Stage, and Keiki Authors & Illustrators—offer continuous entertainment. In addition, numerous activities and a beer & wine garden provide more possibilities. Each evening a free sunset concerts marks the end of the day.

IDAHO
Ernest Hemingway Symposium
Location: Sun Valley
Date: October 18-20, 2012 
A festival devoted to this American author, a favorite of many readers, that offers talks by authors and editors of other publications about Hemingway, a book fair, guided tours, slide presentations, student readings, a dinner at Hemingway’s home, a film showing and an open mic night. Each year has a theme.

ILLINOIS
Bookamania
Location: Chicago
Date: November 17, 2012
This in-library festival focuses on children ages 3-10, and offers appearances by authors and illustrators, performances by storytellers and musicians, and special arts & crafts that relate to books. Favorite book characters will also make appearances.

Latino Book & Family Festival
Location: Chicago
Month: March 31-April 1, 2012
Launched in 1997, this weekend event has already expanded to several major markets, and is planning for more in the near future. It is co-hosted by actor and activist Edward James Olmos. it is an incredible event that includes books and authors (naturally) as well as vendors in career and education, crafts and travel, health, and home ownership. They have several stages, food courts, an art exhibition theatre, science, and a Writing Exhibition.

Newberry Book Fair
Location: Chicago
Date: July 25-28, 2013
This is a massive used book sale (which I included because it could, I suppose, if one stretched the meaning, be a book festival that is going to be like heaven for used book lovers. It runs for four days, and admission is free at all times.

Printers Row Book Fair
Location: Chicago
Date: June 9-10, 2012
One of the nation’s largest book festivals, this one features nearly 200 author programs, 150 exhibitors, a Dictionary-Define-a-Thon, and a Kids Alley with storytelling, costumed characters, performances, sing-alongs and special activities. 

Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention
Location: Barrington Hills
Date: April 12-14, 2013
One of the bigger pulp fan conventions, this one offers a superb event filled with artifacts and discussions of the pulp era. Every year has a different theme, but what doesn’t change is the fun and camaraderie at this aspect of pop culture.

IOWA
Iowa City Book Festival
Location: Iowa City
Date: July 13-15, 2012 
This festival will be a mix of bookseller tables with new and used books for sale, a small music stage, children’s activities, food vendors, book arts demonstrations, readings, a wide array of panel discussions and workshops, and a special pre-festival Author Dinner.

KENTUCKY
Kentucky Book Fair
Location: Louisville
Date: November 9-10, 2012
More than 200 authors now visit this book fair along with lots of vendors and special children’s events. All profits are donated to school and public libraries throughout the state.

Southern Kentucky Book Fest
Location: Bowling Green
Date: Apil 20, 2013
“Open a book, open your mind” is their motto, and their focus on encouraging reading is demonstrated through their (pre-festival and festival) activities: 1Read for teens, Books & Baskets, Children’s Book Week, a used book sale, personal meetings between children and the authors, a Meet-the-Authors Reception, seven separate rooms each with its own panel and author presentations.

LOUISIANA
Louisiana Book Festival
Location: Baton Rouge
Date: October 27, 2012
“Celebrating Readers, Writers, & Their Books” is the mission of this deservedly popular one-day fair. More than 225 authors show up to participate in readings, panel discussions, and readings. Programs include the awarding of the Louisiana Writer Award; WordShops; One Book, One Festival; special events for children and teens; and the Authors’ Party.

New Orleans Book Fair
Location: New Orleans
Date: May 16-18, 2013 
More of a street fair than an organized book festival, this one offers vendors who populate the 500-600 blocks of Frenchman Street with tables, handmade signs, books, and a lot of fun. It’s obviously a casual drop-in affair with amusing overtones.

Tennessee Williams / New Orleans Literary Festival
Location: New Orleans
Date: March 20-24, 2013
Devoted specifically to Williams, this festival is a five-day celebration that encompasses scholars, writers and performing artists in panel discussions, theatrical and musical performances, a one-act play competition, lectures, literary walking tours, performances and a book fair.

MAINE
Bangor Book Festival
Location: Bangor
Date: October 19-20, 2012
Beginning with the Friday night opening night reception keynote speaker Douglas Preston, this festival continues through Saturday with a wide selection of authors presenting their subjects in panel discussions and solo presentations, signings, children’s stories, writers’ workshops, and more.

Maine Festival of the Book
Location: Portland
Date: March 29 - April 1, 2012 
Both writers and readers will enjoy four days of author readings and signings, panel discussions, and performances, all of which are free. Two special events—Opening Night: A Reception with the Authors and Youth Outreach—require paid tickets, but the Annual Poetry Party and a dramatic reading as well as everything else is free.

MARYLAND
Baltimore Book Festival
Location: Baltimore
Date: September 28-30, 2012
From Friday evening through Sunday evening, this festival hums with a go-everywhere-and-do-everything attitude. Panels, authors, discussions, lectures, music, storytelling, walking tours, theatre, poetry readings, open mike readings plus “fun stuff”: various neighborhood events, a book swap, handwriting analysis, a crafts corridor, a book arts tent, magazine stand and storybook parade.

Bethesda Literary Festival
Location: Bethesda
Date: April 19-21, 2013
Two-and-a-half days of literary happenings include a poetry slam, a children’s storytime, panels and solo presentations by visiting authors, book signings, a special authors’ reception, and a variety of panel discussions.

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Book, Print and Ephemera Show
Location: Boston
Date: November 17, 2012
If the wares at the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair are beyond your means, be sure to check out this fair where the dealers’ prices are much more reasonable—but their books (and other items) are still fantastic.

Boston Book Festival
Location: Boston
Date: October 27, 2012
Over 100 world-class novelists, thought leaders, children's authors and illustrators, poets, scientists, technologists, memoirists, and more will appear at this festival which also includes panels, presentations, workshops, music performances, and a street fair. In its second year in 2010, there will be forty exhibitors, thirty indoor events, children's activities, and live music. 

Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair
Location: Boston
Date: November 16-18, 2012
Rare books. Collectible books. Unusual books. Related ephemera. All of this, seminars, appraisals, and more, can be found at one of the premier book fairs in the country. From Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon more than 120 rare book dealers will be sharing and dealing in some of the world’s most beautiful books.

Boxborough Paper Town
Location: Boxborough
Date: September 15, 2012
Fine, rare and unusual old books plus postcards, tradecards, maps, autographs, prints, posters, playbills, and ephemera, will be brought to this fair by New England dearlers. There is also an an appraisal service.

Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival
Location: Chilmark
Date: August 4, 2013
A bi-annual festival on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, this one focuses on authors. They have three reading tents in which invited authors appear all day to discuss their subjects and sign their books. An opening-night reception includes champagne and a distinguished panel discussion gives attendees the chance to meet the authors in a private setting.

Newburyport Literary Festival
Location: Newburyport
Date: April 26-27, 2013
This festival opens on Friday evening with a special Dinner with the Authors. Saturday offers a full day of activities, including all the usual and wonderful readings, signings, panel discussions, children’s activities, and more.

Pioneer Valley Book & Ephemera Fair
Location: Newburyport
Date: October 14, 2012
Rare and collectible books and related ephemera will be starring in this show. If you can’t bring your wallets, being your appreciation. You’ll be glad you did. 

MICHIGAN
Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair
Location: Ann Arbor
Date: May 19, 2013
More than forty booksellers, map, and print dealers show up here with the usual: both old and collectible books and lots of ephemera.

Ann Arbor Book Festival
Location: Ann Arbor
Date: June 22-23, 2012
A pre-festival Scavenger Hunt using bookstores, libraries and fairy door establishments helps set the mood. There is an antiquarian book fair, a B&N book fair, author visits to schools, children’s events, a literacy symposium, a writers’ conference, a street festival, plenty of authors, a teen writing contest and much more. 

Booktopia
Location: Petoskey
Date: September 27-29, 2013
This is one of several national weekend retreats “for listeners of Books on the Nightstand.” Essentially, it’s a readers’ retreat where you can relax at a special hotel, meet authors of all kinds, participate in small group sessions, and enjoy a book swap.

Classicon 43
Location: Lansing
Date: June 9, 2012
One of the first of the pulp/paperback shows established, this one offers a bit of heaven for those who love pulps, pinups, original paperback art, western / romance / adventure and other classics from the 1920s through the 1960s.

Michigan Antiquarian Book & Paper Show
Location: Lansing
Date: October 7, 2012
This show is the largest of its type in the Midwest. Attendees will find things illustrated books, collectible books, rare books, and used books as well as ephemera from autographs to trade cards (and everything in between).

MINNESOTA
Twin Cities Book Festival
Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Date: October 13, 2012
This festival features a wide range of exhibitors, readings, talks and signings by local and national authors, book arts activities, children’s events, a used book sale and Literary Magazine Fair plus more.

MISSISSIPPI
Booktopia
Location: Oxford
Date: June 15-17, 2012
These retreats sell out early so you should check at least several months ahead of time if you are interested in attending one. (See also California and Vermont for the 2012 events.) Booktopia is about connecting readers with authors, and connecting readers with readers. It is limited to 75 guests to keep an intimate feel about it. It begins with small group sessions, includes the Celebration of Authors at their partner bookstore, and the popular Yankee Swap. This is an individual, pay-as-you-go on your own hang-out-with-friends kind of weekend. You pay for your own lodging and meals—so that people can stick to their own budget.

Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium
Location: Columbus
Date: October 18-20, 2012
For this event, each year having a different theme, a diverse group of Southern writers and scholars are presented to invite their work through a series of talks which are open and free to the public.

Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival
Location: Hattiesburg
Date: April 10-12, 2013
Held over three days, this festival offers workshops, lectures, signings, author luncheons and a closing reception. Registration is recommended.

Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration
Location: Natchez
Date: February 21-23, 2013
This five-day literary and cultural event which each year focuses on a different general aspect of southern history features lectures by nationally known scholars and writers, related films, tours, book signings, exhibits, plays, readings, concerts, entertainments and meals.

Oxford Conference for the Book
Location: Oxford
Date: March 21-23, 2013
Not quite a book festival, yet not strictly a conference, this “conference” offers the public the chance to attend a series of program sessions without charge. Other opportunities include a Mississippi Delta Literary Tour, a Writers Workshop and a Youth Authors Fair plus a buffet, several lunches and a dinner; there are charges for these. 

Tennessee Williams Festival
Location: Clarksdale
Date: October 12-13, 2012
This literary festival celebrates the role that Clarksdale, its cultural heritage, and its people had on this great American playwright. Each year, the festival focuses on one play, and invites Williams scholars, theatre professionals, and artists to present lectures, readings, and dramatizations. One-act plays are presented on front porches of homes in the historic neighborhood where receptions also take place. Winners of an acting contest recreate their performances at a Saturday festival finale.

Tennessee Williams Tribute & Tour of Victorian Homes
Location: Columbus
Date: September 4-9, 2012
The town where Williams grew up honors its association to the playwright with an annual program that includes his home, scholarly lectures, dramatic presentations, tours of Victorian homes, and social gatherings in which attendees can experience “Southern hospitality.”

MISSOURI
Children’s Literature Festival
Location: Warrensburg
Date: March 17-19, 2013
Presented by Central Missouri State University’s library, this festival is geared specifically to children in grades 4-10. Pre-registration (there is a fee) is required for both adults and children, which includes a luncheon. More than 40 authors attend to share their books and stores.

St Louis Fine Print, Rare Book and Paper Arts Fair
Location: St. Louis
Date: May 4-6, 2012
Local and national dealers in rare books, artists’ books, and fine printing as well as prints, posters, maps, photographs, and ephemera show up for this show. There is a Friday evening Preview Party where you can get a first look at the offerings, and on Saturday/Sunday demonstrations will be offered by various artists.

MONTANA
Montana Festival of the Book
Location: Missoula
Date: October 4-6, 2012
Focusing on the region’s writers, this festival offering more than 50 events including readings, panels, exhibits, demonstrations, signings, workshops, entertainment, receptions. Special events include a Dictionary Define-a-Thon, staged readings, a book appraisal, an author’s reception and silent auction.

NEBRASKA
Nebraska Book Festival
Location: Lincoln
Date: April 6, 2013 
Attendees will find readings and presentations, book signings, poet sightings, photo exhibits, award ceremonies, aardvarks and String Beans, music and food, a film screening, and other fun activities for children and adults are what one can expect to find at this book festival. Oh, and books too.

NEVADA
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering
Location: Elko
Date: January 28 - February 2, 2013
Thousands of cowboys and cowgirls, poets and musicians, artisans and scholars, rural people and city folks meet to celebrate, in a week-long event, the artistic traditions of the region with several special events and plenty of poetry.

Vegas Valley Book Festival
Location: Las Vegas
Date: November 1-3, 2012
Panel discussions, readings, exhibits, poetry and book signings, authors, writers’ workshops, art exhibits, spoken word performances and a massive book sale are all included in this book festival.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
BookHampshire
Location: Portsmouth
Date: August 5, 2012
It’s the usual and wonderful collection of rare, rare, and unusual old books, maps, print, autographs, trade cards, photographs, posters, and more. In addition, appraisals will be offered during the day. 

New Hampshire Antiquarian Book Fair and Paper Show
Location: Concord
Date: August 12, 2012
The New Hampshire Antiquarian Booksellers Association (NHABA) 
is an association of persons and businesses engaged in the selling of rare 
and out-of-print books, and this fair is their way of showcasing their wares in one place on one day. Rare and collectible books and other ephemera will be on display.

NEW JERSEY
Collingswood Book Festival
Location: Collingswood
Date: October 6, 2012
A week of activities lead up to this day-long festival which includes appearances by adult and children’s authors, poetry readings, and plenty of music and live theatre performances.

Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival
Location: Stanhope
Date: October 11-14, 2012
The largest poetry event in North America, this festival offers readings, music, stories, performances, conversations and more—all centered around poetry. The web site’s latest update notes that because of community support, they are reconsidering canceling the event. Check the site for the latest information.

New Jersey Book & Ephemera Fair
Location: West Hanover
Date: December 1, 2012
More than four dozen antiquarian book and ephemera dealers gather together to present their wares in a two-day fair that also includes free appraisals for attendees.  

Princeton Children’s Book Festival
Location: Princeton
Date: September 8, 2012
This festival takes place at the Princeton Public Library and Hinds Memorial Plaza, and offers a celebration of the library and books. Invited authors and illustrators participate in panel discussions, talk about their work, sign books, and chat with fans. Rain or shine, it happens. For more information, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Antiquarian Book Fair
Location: Albuquerque
Date: April 5-6, 2013
One of the larger antiquarian book fairs, this one has a number of dealers whose specialties include books, fine bindings, ephemera, maps, book arts, photographs and prints. 

NEW YORK
Albany Antiquarian Book Fair
Location: Albany
Date: October 21, 2012
Sixty dealers will be here to sell antiquarian and out-of-print books, manuscripts, autographs, postcards, maps, posters, photographs and ephemera.

Americana & Antiques at the Pier: Book Alley
Location: New York
Date: March 16-17, 2013
Book Alley is a special section of the Americana and Antiques At the Pier Show, and will feature vendors in antiquarian, art, and collectible books, prints, and other ephemera.

Anarchist Book Fair
Location: New York
Date: April 14-15, 2012
Two days of panels, presentations, workshops and “skillshares” make up this book fair that focuses on sharing the “rich and varied field of anarchist ideas and practices . . . a place where the ideas, activism, ethics, creativity and history of the contemporary anarchist movement come together in an exciting weekend of community and collaboration.” And it’s all free.

Boucheron
Location: Albany
Date: September 19-22, 2013
For mystery lovers only! This fan convention is the largest of its kind, and it moves to a different city each year. The guests of honor are top-notch in their field, and they also have an astonishing number of attending authors as well as special events. Don’t miss this event if you are a fan of this genre.

Brooklyn Book Festival
Location: Brooklyn
Date: September 23, 2012
A relatively new, but excellent addition, this full-day event offers numerous readings and panels, both indoor and outdoor, a children’s area, young writers’ pavilion, and more than 100 exhibitors with thousands of books, and a gala VIP event that evening.

Collectible Paperback & Pulp Fiction Expo
Location: New York
Date: October 14, 2012
This long-time show is not the biggest but it has to be one of the most fun. Though most attendees are serious collectors s of pulp fiction, they have a number of fans attending who have the opportunity to meet a good number of guest authors and artists who sign books and hang out with fans. The atmosphere is laid back, and though there are no panels or appraisals or other events there are lots of scare paperbacks, pulps, hardcovers, rare and obscure books, and plenty of bargains.

Cooperstown Antiquarian Book Fair
Location: Cooperstown
Date: June 30, 2012
Dozens of dealers in antiquarian books, prints, maps, and paper ephemera gather together here to share their stories and sell their wares to book-loving fans of the old and the beloved.

Festival of New French Writing
Location: New York City
Date: February 2013 
This festival is a series of one-on-one discussions between French authors and American cultural critics over two-and-a-half days. The conversations will “shed light on the concerns and accomplishments of writers in France today as well as the similarities and differences that the commitment to writing implies in France and in the U.S.” The festival’s goal is to attract American readers to modern French and Francophone fiction and nonfiction.

Greenwich Village Antiquarian Book Fair
Location: New York
Date: February 22-24, 2013
Both the serious bibliophile and casual browser will find delightful opportunities here when the sixty plus dealers bring books spanning the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries, as well as art, photography, maps, prints, political fliers, comics, autographs, Dickensiana, and other ephemera.

Harlem Book Fair  
Location: Harlem  
Date: July 21, 2012
A popular book festival that features African American authors, performers and offers a large variety of panel discussions, outdoor stage events, a young readers’ pavilion, book awards, an Author Lunch and Sunday Author Brunch and more.

Hudson Children’s Book Festival
Location: Hudson
Date: May 4, 2013
Nearly one hundred children’s and young adult authors and illustrators will be making appearances; in addition, there will be hundreds of books offered by  more than three dozen exhibitors, arts & crafts, and workshops, raffle prizes, and music.

LitCrawl
Location: New York
Date: September 15, 2012
Like the original, this city’s LitCrawl is one night of fantastic street literature. Phase 1 begins at 6:00 pm with a choice of seven events. Phase 2 begins at 7:00 and offers a choice of six events. Then at 8:00 pm, the After Party begins with a party “lit-style",” meaning attendees can also buy Crawl author books there in addition to their favorite beverages.

Long Island Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair 
Location: Long Island
Date: April 6-7, 2013
Exhibitors in fine and rare old books, maps, prints and other ephemera will be here to show and sell their wares. Homemade refreshments will be available as will appraisals by book experts.

Manhattan Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair
Location: New York
Date: April 12-13, 2013
Books of the rare and antiquarian variety plus poetry, prose, political and social ephemera will be shown by the more than fifty exhibitors from around the world who come for this one.

New York Antiquarian Book Fair
Location: New York City
Date: April 11-14. 2013
The premier antiquarian book fair, the New York one emphasizes the best of the rare books. Dealers from all over the world attend with their finest offerings. If you get the chance to go, this should not be missed.

PEN World Voices Festival
Location: New York City
Date: April 29-May 5, 2013
One hundred and sixty established and emerging writers from forty countries will converge in New York City to engage in conversations, panels, performances, and readings around a single theme over the course of six days. Special events include Opening Night, the Arthur Miller Freedom to Write lecture, and the PEN Cabaret. 

Queens Book Fair
Location: Queens
Date: September 29, 2012
The festival is a bit unusual in that it promotes not only good reading but good health. It seems an admirable idea that is well served by the authors, publishing professionals, and health experts who share their expertise.

Rochester Antiquarian Book Fair
Location: Rochester
Date: September 8, 2012
All bibliophiles, book lovers, and paper fetishists are welcome to come and enjoy hard-to-find, unusual, out-of-print,rare, beautiful, and scholarly books; ephemera; prints and photographica that this fair specializes in during this one-day event.

Rochester Children’s Book Festival
Location: Rochester
Date: November 10, 2012
Held on the campus of Monroe Community College, this festival focuses on young readers from tots to teens. In addition to the usual activities of readings, signings, you’ll find author and illustrator presentations and demonstrations, a Read to Me Corner for the youngest readers, the One Busy Bookworm Place for pre-K and elementary school-age children, a Tween Time for those between the ages of nine and 13, and a special Just for Teens program.

Westfield Book & Paper Show
Location: Westfield
Date: August 4, 2012
More than two dozen dealers in antiquarian and rare books, maps, prints, postcards, autographs, prints, posters, and other ephemera show up for this show that benefits the McClurg Museum. 

NORTH CAROLINA
Book ‘Em North Carolina
Location: Lumberton
Date: February 23, 2013
This festival is all grown up and now attracts more than eighty authors, several publishers, and 2,000 attendees. Its purpose is to raise public awareness of the link between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates so proceeds go to increasing literacy in Robeson County. Multiple panel discussions; talks; book signings; and a special Children’s Corner with readings, appearances by storybook characters and arts & crafts are highlights.

Bookmarks Book Festival
Location: Winston-Salem
Date: September 8, 2012
A one-day festival that nevertheless offers a rich variety of events. The authors, readings, panels, storytelling, demonstrations, writing workshops, book signings, interactive activities such as Games Readers Play and Literary Parties, reading-related exhibitors and food vendors all work to make this a very special events.

Bouchercon
Location: Raleigh
Date: October 8-11, 2015
For mystery lovers only! This fan convention is the largest of its kind, and it moves to a different city each year. The guests of honor are top-notch in their field, and they also have an astonishing number of attending authors as well as special events. Don’t miss this event if you are a fan of this genre.

Carolina Mountains Literary Festival
Location: Burnsville
Date: September 6-8, 2012
This festival is noticeably different from most. Their mission is to bring together authors, readers, novice writers, listeners, and learners in small, intimate settings for discussions with the intent of raising “awareness of works of literary significance from smaller presses . . . to create a little literary community which is in dialog with readers, aspiring writers, and established authors about craft and ideas of sustaining merit.” Thus, there are no outside vendors. Authors are encouraged to roam the town, attending sessions they like. The events are spread out all over the town, and most are within walking distance. Intimacy is key here, and what a great idea it is!

High Country Festival of the Book
Location: Boone
Date: June 21-23, 2013
New to the book festival scene—2013 will be its second year—this one already has authors, exhibitors, and events lined up and will no doubt be adding more soon. In addition to the book festival the town is worth visiting, having been called “the ultimate outdoor adventure destination" in the Southeast.

Spring Literary Festival
Location: Cullowhee
Date: April 8-11, 2013
This festival is based on the Visiting Writers Series by Western Carolina University. It brings both established and emerging literary talent to present a series of talks and book signings over five days. And it’s all free.