Virginia Festival of the Book

We love books. We also love the people who make books, from writers and illustrators to agents and publishers. Each year, more than 20,000 people attend the Virginia Festival of the Book to share in this love.

A program of Virginia Humanities, the Festival brings together writers and readers to promote and celebrate books, reading, literacy and literary culture every March.

Shelf Life virtual programming is offered throughout the year, providing book lovers a variety of ways to learn about the world, find inspiration in work from today’s best writers and illustrators, and discover new ways of understanding ourselves and others. We also coordinate school visits by Festival speakers to public and private Pre-K–12 schools in the Charlottesville area, reaching thousands of local students.

With a longstanding focus on accessibility and diversity, Festival programming engages attendees with new books on a variety of topics across many genres that are timely and necessary, and which we hope will prompt discourse and connection between people.

The hybrid 2022 Virginia Festival of the Book will be held from March 16-20, in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, and from the comfort of your own home!