The Virginia Festival of the Book brings together writers and readers to promote and celebrate books, reading, literacy, and literary culture. Featuring the annual Festival in March plus the year-round Shelf Life virtual event series, our programming offers something for readers of all levels and interests.
With a longstanding focus on accessibility and diversity, Festival programming engages attendees and viewers with new books, on a variety of topics and across genres, that are timely and necessary, and which we hope will prompt discourse, inspiration, and connection.
We select Festival speakers through active recruitment as well as open submissions (June 1-October 1, annually; details below) and work with community partners to plan programs that speak to the interests and needs of Virginians.
We also coordinate school visits by Festival speakers with public and private preK-12 schools in Virginia, reaching thousands of students.
Submissions
Every March, the Virginia Festival of the Book presents book-related programming featuring hundreds of speakers discussing their new books, in addition to year-round virtual events in our Shelf Life series.
We select speakers through active recruitment as well as open submissions, June 1 through October 1 annually. During this time, we invite submissions of new, published books of fiction (including genre fiction), nonfiction, poetry, cookbooks, and books for young readers.
Books may be submitted by authors, illustrators, publicists, or other publishing professionals with permission. We encourage submissions by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including race and ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, class, and/or abilities.
Submissions for the 2023 Virginia Festival of the Book are now closed. See our Submissions page for further details.
Past Speakers & Schedules
Since 1995, we have presented a captivating list of speakers, from international bestsellers and topical specialists to debut authors and poets. Explore the Festival archive to learn more about our past speakers—including Baldacci, Grisham, Karon, Lowry, Shetterly, and Stiglitz—and to discover new authors to read in the future.
Our Team
The Virginia Festival of the Book is staffed by two voracious readers:
Partners & Sponsors
The Virginia Festival of the Book is a community-driven effort, and, as such, greatly appreciates the support of many community partners, sponsors, and volunteers in helping develop and present our annual programs.
