Fort Collins Book Fest Features More Than 40 Authors and 25 Sessions
This year’s Fort Collins Book Fest theme, Up, Up, & Out, speaks to our collective desire to get up from our couches, meet up with family and friends (and soon-to-be friends), and get back out into the world.
Join us October 22-24 for the free Fort Collins Book Fest, a family-friendly event that will feature in-person activities and virtual, livestreamed sessions. The full lineup of authors, schedule, and links to required registrations, can be found on the event website, www.FoCoBookFest.org.
The festival will include author talks, writing workshops, kids and teen activities, reading, books signings, panel discussions, and other creative activities. Here are just a few highlights.
Featured Authors
The 2021 headlining author is presented in partnership with Fort Collins Reads. Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Sabrina & Corina and a national Book Award finalist, will be at the Lincoln Center on Saturday, October 23 to discuss her work. It is free to attend her session, but a ticket is required for entry to the performance hall through the Lincoln Center Box Office or online at lctix.com. Tickets are currently available via the Lincoln Center box office in person or reached via phone at 970-221-6730.
Fajardo-Anstine will be joined at the Book Fest by other award-winning authors including Stephen Graham Jones (My Heart is a Chainsaw and Memorial Ride), Alexandra Elle (After the Rain), James Bridle (The New Dark Age), Anne Waldman (Trickster Feminism), Jim Davidson (The Next Everest: Surviving the Mountain’s Deadliest Day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again), and many others.
All sessions are free to attend. Only Fajardo-Anstine’s presentation requires a ticket. Additionally, all sessions occurring Saturday 10/23 at the Lincoln Center will be streamed virtually and will be available via Poudre Library’s Facebook page.
Writing Workshops
This year’s featured writing workshop, Writing to Heal – Reclaiming Your Joy with Alexandra Elle, will be in-person at Wolverine Farm Publick House on Sunday, October 24 starting at Noon. This session does not require registration.
The other popular writing workshops are hosted by Northern Colorado Writers on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday ahead of the festival weekend and focus on historical fiction, poetry, screenplay writing, and mystery writing. These sessions will be virtual and require advance registration in order to receive the Zoom invite and link. Full details and a link to registration is available at www.FoCoBookFest.org.
A Month of Family Friendly Events
Leading up to Book Fest – the 4th weekend of October, the entire month is filled with fun events for the entire family kicking off with a community celebration marking the 10th anniversary of the Rafael Lopez Community Mural and the library’s IMAGINANTES program. The mural was created by community members and local artists and was a gift of unity and diversity for our City by artist Rafael Lopez and Poudre Libraries. The outdoor celebration takes place on October 1 from 5:00 – 6:30PM in the Civic Center Parking Structure which features the mural. Enjoy music, dance performances, storytelling, and more.
On the second day of Book Fest (Saturday, October 23) Council Tree Library will host a special family program called Sketch, Etch, Illustrate with local professional artist and children’s book illustrator Julie Rowan-Zoch. This is a drop-in program from 11:00 AM – 2:00PM.
Our featured family activity is also on Saturday. Latin Grammy-award winners and children’s authors 123 Andrés will be at the Lincoln Center at 11:30 AM to share their English/Spanish performance. After the singing and dancing, stick around for a book sale and signing and meet the authors.
Teen Track
We’re excited to feature two sessions just for ten readers and writers. First up is a writing workshop with Todd Mitchell on Tuesday, October 19 at Harmony Library. Everyone who attends will receive a copy of Mitchell’s newest book: The Namer of Spirits. Register online at PoudreLibraries.org.
Then on Saturday, October 23 at Council Tree Library, author Juleah del Rosario will discuss her books, 500 Words or Less and Turtle Under Ice. This will be followed by a writing workshop hosted by local author Laura Resau. Both sessions require registration.
And there’s so much more! The full author lineup, schedule of sessions, and links to registrations can be found online at www.FoCoBookFest.org. See you there!
The event is presented by Poudre River Public Library District with support from local organizations and businesses including the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, Colorado State University Libraries, Colorado Creative Industries, KUNC and the Colorado Sound, Front Range Community College, Old Firehouse Books, Wolverine Farm Publick House, the Lilla B. Morgan Memorial Endowment Fund, and a TourWest Grant.