The Wisconsin Book Festival, presented by Madison Public Library in partnership with Madison Public Library Foundation, presents free, public author events that celebrate books and spark conversations. Each year, the festival creates a robust schedule of accomplished and new writers whose fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books appeal to all ages of readers. The festival presents stand-alone events throughout the year with a culminating celebration each fall. The 24th annual Fall Celebration dates are October 23-26, 2025.
The festival is committed to presenting a mix of in-person and virtual events that are free and accessible to the public, with select events live streamed and archived on Crowdcast.
The Wisconsin Humanities Council founded the festival in 2001; Madison Public Library and Madison Public Library Foundation took over festival leadership in 2013. Under the auspices of the library and former Festival Director Conor Moran, the festival transformed into a year-round series of author events. Assuming festival leadership opened new opportunities for the library to connect with authors, publishers, media, and book lovers throughout the year. Partnerships keep the festival strong and provide fresh perspectives to continue the literary conversation in Madison.
In Winter 2023, Jane Rotonda became Festival Director. She works with many local organizations and small businesses — from UW–Madison departments and Madison nonprofits to independent booksellers — to create new partnerships that expand the festival’s programming reach and amplify underrepresented voices.
Since 2013, the festival has hosted more than 900 writers, including:
- Amor Towles, author of New York Times best-selling novel A Gentleman in Moscow
- Pushcart Prize recipient Celeste Ng
- Charles Yu, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction for Interior Chinatown
- Chef Eric Ripert, winner of the James Beard Award and The New York Times bestselling cookbook author
- Chloe Benjamin, Madison-based winner of the 2014 Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award for The Anatomy of Dreams and New York Times best-selling author of The Immortalists
- Clint Smith, #1 New York Times bestselling author and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction for How the Word Is Passed
- Many UW-Madison graduates, such as 2021 USA Writing Fellow, Danez Smith, and Booker Prize finalist, Brandon Taylor
- Ed Yong, science journalist, author, and recipient of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting
- U.S. Senator and 2016 Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren
- Pulitzer Prize winners David Maraniss, Jane Smiley, and Anthony Doerr
- The world’s best-selling author, James Patterson
- Jeff Kinney, international bestselling author and cartoonist of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
- Joyce Carol Oates, renowned author and winner of Guggenheim Fellowship for the Arts, PEN/O. Henry Award, National Book Award for Fiction, and others
- Two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo
- Kaveh Akbar, poet, novelist, and editor and winner of multiple Pushcart Prizes and the 2024 National Book Award for Martyr!
- Acclaimed food writer and cooking expert Mark Bittman
- Musician and winner of the 43rd annual American Book Awards for Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner
- Ambassador Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize winner and one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People for 2004
- Sarah Broom, author of National Book Award-winning memoir The Yellow House
- Political leader, voting rights activist, and New York Times best-selling author Stacey Abrams
- Tommy Orange, winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award and American Book Award for There There
- Numerous local and debut authors