After two years of dealing with Covid restrictions, fall book festivals returned in earnest this year, providing readers opportunities to engage with some of publishing’s best-known authors.
The Portland Book Festival returned as a fully in-person event on November 5, attracting more than 5,000 attendees and 100 authors and presenters, including Kwame Alexander, Reza Aslan, Selma Blair, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Juhea Kim, Colin Meloy, George Saunders, and Lidia Yuknavitch. In addition to author-led panels and discussions, the daylong event featured readings at the Portland Art Museum, writing workshops for youth and adults, and a dedicated stage for kids’ storytime and activities. The festival was held as a hybrid virtual event in 2020 and 2021.
More than 40,000 attendees came out to the 27th Texas Book Festival weekend, November 5–6, which included more than 250 authors who were featured on panels and in discussions, including Janet Evanovich and James Beard Award winner Jacques Pepin. BookPeople served as the official Texas Book Festival bookseller and was on site selling books.
