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 2020 Wisconsin Book Festival was understandably different from any previous iteration, but despite moving to fully virtual programming, the festival presented 70 events throughout the year, and the overall attendance average for events actually increased due to the highly accessible virtual format. Another unplanned-for benefit of virtual events is the ability to replay them on YouTube or Crowdcast, allowing thousands of people to watch after the live event. Audience member responses were very positive, with more than 94 percent of survey respondents reporting they were very satisfied or satisfied.

The festival is committed to presenting events that are free and open to the public.

Events Schedule