List of literary festivals
A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city. A literary festival usually features a variety of presentations and readings by authors, as well as other events, delivered over a period of several days, with the primary objectives of promoting the authors' books and fostering a love of literature and writing.
Writers' conferences are sometimes designed to provide an intellectual and academic focus for groups of writers without the involvement of the general public.
There are many literary festivals held around the world. Notable literary festivals include:
Africa
Nigeria
- Port Harcourt Book Festival, October
- Chinua Achebe Literary Festival, November
Asia
Asia-Pacific
Australia
- Adelaide Writers' Week, March
- Newcastle, New South Wales National Young Writers' Festival, September/October
- Perth Writers' Festival, February/March
- Sydney Writers' Festival, May
Bangladesh
- Hay Festival Dhaka, November
China
Hong Kong
India
- Chandigarh Literati, November
- Dehradun Literature Festival, February
- Delhi Poetry Festival, January
- Gateway Litfest, February/March
- Guntur International Poetry Festival (GIPF), July
- Jaipur Literary Festival, January
- Jashn-e-Rekhta, Urdu literary festival held annually in New Delhi
- Kalinga Literary Festival, July
- Lit for Life, January/February
- Lucknow Literary Festival, February/March
- Ma Literature Festival, January/February
- Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters
- Queer LitFest, Chennai, July/September
- Wayanad Literature Festival, Biennale, December
Indonesia
- Jakarta International Literary Festival, August
- Ubud [Writers and Readers Festival], held annually at Ubud, Bali
- , held annually at Makassar
Malaysia
- George Town Literary Festival
- Kuala Lumpur International Literary Festival, July
Nepal
Pakistan
- Islamabad Literature Festival, April
- Karachi Literature Festival, February
- Lahore Literary Festival, February
- Sindh Literature Festival, January/February/March
Singapore
- Singapore Writers Festival, October/November
Sri Lanka
- Galle Literary Festival, January
Middle East
Israel
United Arab Emirates
- Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, held annually in Dubai
Europe
Austria
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Czech Republic
- Authors' Reading Month, July
- Prague Writers Festival, June
Denmark
- Louisiana Literature, August
England
- Black British Book Festival, October
- Bradford Literature Festival, June/July
- , November
- Cheltenham Literature Festival, October
- Chester Literature Festival, October
- The Children's Bookshow, autumn
- Creative Folkestone Book Festival, November
- Harrogate International Festivals Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, July
- Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival, April
- Jewish Book Week, February/March
- Liverpool Literary Festival, October
- Manchester Literature Festival
- The [North London Literary Festival], March/April
- Oxford Literary Festival, Spring
- Peak Literary Festival, October/November or May/June
Finland
France
- FestivalandCo, held in Paris at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore
- Rencontres aubrac, Aveyron
Germany
- Berlin International Literature Festival, September
Ireland
Italy
- Festivaletteratura, held in Mantua, at the beginning of September
Norway
- Norwegian Festival of Literature, Lillehammer, is the largest literature festival in the Scandinavian countries since 1996
Poland
- Conrad Festival, Kraków, October. The largest literary festival in Central Europe.
Scotland
- Edinburgh International Book Festival, August, coinciding with the annual Edinburgh Festival
- Wigtown Book Festival
Sweden
- Göteborg Book Fair, Gothenburg, Sept
- WALTIC, Stockholm
Switzerland
- Openair Literatur Festival Zürich, Zürich, held annually since 2013
Turkey
- Istanbul Tanpınar Literature Festival, held in Istanbul, at the beginning of May
Wales
- The Hay Festival, May/June
North America
Canada
- Banff Mountain Book Festival, October/November
- Eden Mills Writers' Festival, Eden Mills/Guelph, Ontario
- Festival of Literary Diversity, Brampton, Ontario
- The Frye Festival, Moncton, New Brunswick, April
- Toronto International Festival of Authors, October/November
- Whistler Writers Festival, Whistler, British Columbia, November
- Winnipeg International Writers Festival, September
- The [Word on the Street (literary festival)|The Word on the Street], several cities
- Wordfest, Calgary, Alberta, October
Mexico
- Guadalajara International Book Fair, November/December
United States
- Boston Book Festival, October
- Brooklyn Book Festival, September
- Burlington Book Festival, September
- Children's Literature Festival at the University of Central Missouri, March
- The Curwood Festival, Owosso, Michigan, June
- Hollywood Book Festival, July
- Kentucky Women Writers Conference, Lexington, Kentucky, September
- Litquake, San Francisco, October
- Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, California, April
- Miami Book Fair International, Miami, Florida, November
- National Book Festival, September
- , New Orleans, April
- , Tustin, California, November
- New Orleans Literary Festival">New Orleans, Louisiana">New Orleans Literary Festival, New Orleans, March
- Texas Book Festival, Austin, Texas, fall
- Tucson Festival of Books, Tucson, Arizona, March
Caribbean
Jamaica
Trinidad and Tobago
- Bocas Lit Fest, April
South America
Argentina
Brazil
Colombia
Peru
- Trujillo Book Festival, Trujillo, March