The Fort Collins Book Fest kicks off on Friday through Tuesday, Feb. 28 with a variety seminars, workshops, presentations and more for all ages. (Courtesy/Fort Collins Book Fest)
The 2023 Fort Collins Book Fest kicks off a month packed with writing workshops, author presentations, book signings and more for literary lovers of all ages.
The event, presented by the Poudre River Public Library District in partnership with Old Firehouse Books, CSU Libraries and CSU Department of English, will begin with a Book Fest Kickoff Party at 6:15 p.m. Friday at the Old Town Library, 20 Peterson St., for adults, teens and children.
Silent Hauntings: An Evening with Erika T. Wurth follows the kickoff party at 8 p.m. at Snowbank Brewing, 225 N. Lemay Ave., Unit 1 for adults 21 and older.
“February is the perfect time to celebrate a love of reading and spread the joy of creating and sharing literature in all forms,” said Diane Lapierre, executive director of the Poudre Libraries. “We are thrilled to showcase the amazing and diverse local and regional literary talent we have in our community.”
Wurth, poet John Tipton, debut author Nazli Koca, bestselling thriller novelist Carter Wilson, children’s author Tara Dairman and graphic cartoonist Will Betke-Brunswich are this year’s feature presenters for the festival.
The Writing Heights Writers Association will host writing workshops on memoir, horror, how-to writing and an introduction to writing for Kindle Vella as part of the more than 40 different sessions offered throughout the month.
Upcoming sessions include:
- Veterans Reading Showcase: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8 at the Old Town Library
- The Art of Handwriting: 4:30 Friday, Feb. 10 at the Old Town Library
- We Are The West: 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at Mythmaker Brewing
- Rekindle the Classics: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15 at Gryphon Games and Comics
- Dear Anti-Valentine: 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17 at Old Firehouse Books
- Be A Book Maker: 1:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20 at Harmony Library
- An Evening with Ja Tyler: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Old Firehouse Books
Local breweries, Mythmaker Brewing and Snowbank Brewing will host Get Lit Trivia night, Book Bingo, author readings and other evening activities for adults.
For kids, the book fest is offering creative workshops on how to be a writer, illustrator and bookmaker as well as special story hours with children’s authors Wanda Vasquez Garcia and Megan Levaque.
A new feature at the book fest this year is the Human Library, hosted by Poudre Libraries, the city of Fort Collins and the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery.
The Human Library allows participants, or “readers,” to borrow a human “book” to engage in conversation about their unique stories, specifically their experiences in Fort Collins regarding their identities. The program is designed to encourage participants of all ages to “unjudge” a human book by its cover.
The Human Library is scheduled from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Museum of Discovery, 408 Mason Ct.
The book fest’s Downtown Story Stroll is available daily through Tuesday, Feb. 28.
The story stroll will feature the book “The Biggest Story” by Sarah Coyle and Dan Taylor for people of all ages to read while exploring downtown Fort Collins. The self-guided tour will take participants along the path of pages until the end of the book.
The story stroll map and more information are available at http://bit.ly/3JyuHK7.
The 2023 Fort Collins Book Fest and all sessions are free to attend thanks to sponsors including Colorado Creative Industries, Poudre River Friends of the Library, KUNC, The Colorado Sound, Front Range Community College, Poudre River Library Trust and Colorado Humanities.
To see the complete schedule of events, read author bios, learn more about the Human Library and find other information on the event, go to www.focobookfest.org.
