Get Ready for the Annual Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors in Winston-Salem

September 8, 2023

Booklovers, get ready! The annual Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors is coming to downtown Winston-Salem. The event will feature more than 50 authors signing books, speaking on panels, and reading to children.

The History:

The Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors started in 2004 with around 5,000 attendees. The festival later expanded into a literary arts nonprofit organization and an independent bookstore, which both operate under the name Bookmarks.

The festival is now the largest annual book festival in the Carolinas. According to WXII 12, the festival attracted more than 20,000 people in 2022! Authors who have attended the festival in the past include New York Times bestsellers and winners of multiple literary awards, according to the Bookmarks website.

This Year:

Festival attendees can expect an impressive line-up of authors, including:

Megan Miranda (The Only Survivors)
Etaf Rum (Evil Eye)
Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Ivan)
Max Brallier (The Last Kids on Earth)

Festival Events:

Thursday, September 21

2023 Festival Opening Keynote: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone (How to Be a (Young) Antiracist)
- $30 (plus taxes and fees)
- Wait Chapel, 7 PM

Friday, September 22

Books & Bites
- $35 (plus taxes and fees)
- Benton Convention Center, 7 PM

Saturday, September 23

All free author panels and free book signings will take place on Saturday, September 23
Morning Keynote with Celeste Ng (Our Missing Hearts) and Jason Mott (Hell of a Book)
- Free admission
- First Baptist on Fifth, 9:30 AM
Closing Keynote with Jose Antonio Vargas (Dear America)
- Free admission
- Calvary Moravian Church, 5 PM

Additional Details

A complete list of authors attending the festival–along with their panels and book signing times on Saturday, September 23–is available here
Various food trucks and vendors will be present at the festival on Saturday, September 23