Nothing makes a bibliophile happier than going to an event that celebrates books, where they have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the language of books, hang out with other like-minded booklovers, and BUY MORE BOOKS! Or maybe that’s just me.
I, for one, am thrilled at how much our literary world has grown in Oklahoma in the past few years – from the increase in independent book store openings (which has led to an increase in author events!) to new book festivals and book cons, I’ll take it all!
Here are a couple of great events that are fairly new to our state coming up this fall that you won’t want to miss!
OK Book Fest – September 21, 2019 – Oklahoma City Boathouse District
The Mission of this festival is to bring “authors and readers together to create an exciting venue where literacy, artistic expression, and cultural experiences are celebrated”.
This is a completely FREE event. Featuring over 100 authors from around the country, including some of our own SCBWI OK favorites!
Tammi Sauer Jerry Bennett
Gwendolyn Hooks Brenda Maier
Traci Sorell Kim Ventrella
Barbara Lowell Brad McClelland
Mariana Llanos Mike Wimmer
Jennifer Lynn Barnes Una Belle Townsend
Susan Myers Alexandra Ott
There will be panel discussions, presentations, crafts, poetry readings, book signings, food trucks, and more. Check out the website for a full listing of authors and for a schedule of events.
Oklahoma Teen Book Con (OKTBC) – November 16, 2019 – OU Memorial Union Norman, OK
The OK Teen Book Con is a FREE event that strives to connect teens to YA authors and their books. There will be author panels, book signings, author meet ups, a teen artist gallery and more!
It has a new home in Norman, OK, this year which will probably make it much better attended than when it was in Guthrie. Last year they had the awesome Maggie Stiefvater of the RAVEN CYCLE books – I’m a HUGE fan!
This year, the phenomenal Neal Shusterman will be the Keynote Speaker! I had the pleasure of seeing him speak at the LA SCBWI conference a few years ago and he was wonderful. He talked about his fabulous book CHALLENGER DEEP. So moving.
The fine folks at OKTBC keep announcing other authors that will be attending a little at a time, just to keep us hungry for more. You can follow along on their Twitter or their Instagram account to see who else will be announced and to keep up with information on this event.
If you are a YA author and would like to attend this event, you can find an author submission form and the submission criteria on the event website.
How about you? Are you planning on attending any book-related events this fall?
valerie r lawson 