The Wisconsin Book Festival had a record-breaking spring season, made possible only by the unwavering support of sponsors, festival members, and other donors. Your contributions to the festival’s work ensure that programming stays world-class and that we’re able to host events to our community’s delight!
From school visits to larger-scale off-site evenings, we held 23 events this spring, bringing in more than 5,500 attendees across the board. This season, our featured writers ranged from international best-selling authors like Valeria Luiselli and Ijeoma Oluo, all the way to local stars and debut artists like Terese Allen and Mylo Choy. This spring, we also had our biggest event in Wisconsin Book Festival history, with Amor Towles drawing almost 1,400 book lovers to The Orpheum Theater to hear about and receive a free copy of his new short story collection, Table for Two!
There’s nothing quite like seeing people’s faces after receiving a much-anticipated free book, and it’s thanks to your generosity that we’re able to make this magic happen on such a large scale. But even beyond these bursts of joy, we’re honored to be able to present you with authors that instill a sense of hope in our community. “Wonderful speaker and content,” wrote an attendee of Trish O’Kane’s Birding to Change the World event in her survey response. “[I] left touched and excited about our relationship with the future, however it plays out.”
The Wisconsin Book Festival has accomplished so much this past year, and our sights are set even higher for the 2024 Fall Celebration and the year ahead.