The Brooklyn Book Festival (BKBF) is New York City’s largest free literary festival. It connects readers with local, national, and international authors and publishers throughout a nine day celebration of literature.

Launched in 2006, the Festival began as a one-day event designed to address the need for a free, major literary event. It has since grown to include eight days of city-wide Bookend events. From it’s flagship Festival Day and Literary Marketplace, to the BKBF Children’s Day that celebrates childhood reading, they offer literary fun for everyone!

In a city that is so large and wonderfully diverse, the BKBF seeks to embrace all of New York City’s constituencies. The Festival Day and Literary Marketplace, with 300 authors and 250 independent and major publishers, will occur on Sunday, October 1, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza and Columbus Park. Seven stages will overflow with conversation as authors come together to converse, read, and sign books throughout the day. Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Hilton Als, Toluse Olorunnipa, Robert Samuels, and Colson Whitehead will be on stage. Hilton Als will be awarded The Best of Brooklyn (BoBi) award. Festival Day also stages the largest book market in the Northeast!!

“We’ll have more than 200 publishers, some of them small, which means this is a major opportunity for people to get to see books that they might not find in bookstores,” said Brooklyn Book Festival Co-Producer Liz Koch. “Our favorite books don’t just appear in bookstores. They are created and produced by innovators who are thrilled to discuss their ideas with people who are interested in exploring.”

City-wide Bookend events (September 24, various times and locations) will take place in all five boroughs, as well as some virtually. These literary-themed events are presented in bookstores, clubs, libraries, cultural organizations, and performance spaces to create a literary celebration in all five boroughs.

This year, BKBF will again present a Virtual Festival Day (Monday, September 25, from 1 0a.m. to 5 p.m.) to include authors and audiences that are unable to attend in person.

Children’s Day (Saturday, September 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Brooklyn Commons at MetroTech) will celebrate childhood reading as an act of love and a learning adventure – parents and guardians reading to children and children meeting their favorite authors. Families will enjoy a full day of readings, workshops, performances, book signings, and art projects with their favorite authors and illustrators.

Stay tuned to Facebook and Instagram for more information, and be sure to set aside the time (and space on your bookshelf) for these events! Join Broadway Stages in celebrating diversity and cultural literature.

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