Brattleboro
Literary
Festival

Thank you for celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Brattleboro Literary Festival with us in beautiful downtown Brattleboro. This year’s packed schedule of lively literary events were presented October 16th and 17th at locations around the downtown area to enthusiastic audiences. As always, all festival and partner events are free and open to the public.

Founded in 2002, the festival has grown into one of the region’s most significant annual gatherings, drawing more tourists, sponsors, and participants each year. Since its start, it has presented over 900 authors, including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Women’s Prize, the Newbery Medal, and the Caldecott Medal, among others. Read more about our history and the past 25 years of literary excellence.

This one isn't opening for me, but it's Poet Tim Mayo reads from his new book Muscle Memories of Love & Disaster (italics)
Poet Tim Mayo reads from his new book Muscle Memories of Love & Disaster.
Bookclub members stroll past the Brattleboro Literary Festival display at the Chamber of Commerce on their way to festival events at the Stone Church.
Programs and bookmarks with cover art by Caitlin Stearns, graphic design by Jillian Williams.
One for the Books tote bags hand-printed by Wonky Press.
Author Amity Gaige discusses her novel Heartwood with author Tom Clynes
Local middle-grade author Ann Braden presents her new book, Hijacked by Goats at Brooks Memorial Library
Karan Mahajan (center) and Hannah Lillith Assadi (right) signing books after their event at 118 Elliot.
Stephanie Wambugu (right) reading from her book Lonely Crowds before a conversation with Lily King (left).
Lisa Graves discussing her book, Without Precedent.

Meet the Authors

Fiction
See all →
Hannah Lillith
Assadi
Ann
Braden
Cynthia
D'Aprix Sweeney
Amity
Gaige
Gish
Jen
Jessica Francis
Kane
Lily
King
Karan
Mahajan
Andrew
Martin
Erin
Somers
Stephanie
Wambugu
Nonfiction
See all →
Stefan Merrill
Block
James
Dodson
Anne
Fadiman
Lisa
Graves
Tilar
J. Mazzeo
Jamaica
Kincaid
John
Seabrook
Beowulf
Sheehan
Vaune
Trachtman
Poetry
See all →
Wyn
Cooper
Monica
Ferrell
Tim
Mayo
Shara
McCallum
Kevin
McLellan
Rebecca Hart
Olander
Iain Haley
Pollock
Bianca
Stone

Brattleboro Literary Festival 2026 Schedule

All events are free and open to the public. We gratefully accept donations at the door.

Please note: event schedule and details are subject to change. Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates.

James Dodson
Out on The Road That Made America
118 Elliot
Friday, October 16, 7:30 PM
Partner Event: A Tea for Stephanie
Friday, October 16, 8:30 PM
Hannah Lillith Assadi
Karan Mahajan
Of Memory and Heritage
118 Elliot
Saturday, October 17, 10:00 AM
Lisa Graves
Disorder in the Court
Stone Church
Saturday, October 17, 10:00 AM
Wyn Cooper
Tim Mayo
Unraveled Worlds
Mitchell-Giddings Gallery
Saturday, October 17, 10:00 AM
John Seabrook
Frozen in the Bean Fields
118 Elliot
Saturday, October 17, 11:30 AM
Lily King
Stephanie Wambugu
Of Friendship, Love, and Time
Stone Church
Saturday, October 17, 11:30 AM
Shara McCallum
Rebecca Hart Olander
Conflicting Histories
Mitchell-Giddings Gallery
Saturday, October 17, 11:30 AM
Amity Gaige
Tom Clynes
Uncharted Survival
118 Elliot
Saturday, October 17, 1:00 PM
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
Jessica Francis Kane
Love in the Driver’s Seat
Stone Church
Saturday, October 17, 1:00 PM
Ann Braden
The Bully in the Brain
Brooks Memorial Library
Saturday, October 17, 1:00 PM
Erin Somers
Andrew Martin
The Lives We Live, the Lives We Imagine
118 Elliot
Saturday, October 17, 2:30 PM
Anne Fadiman
George Howe Colt
The Archness of the Essay
Stone Church
Saturday, October 17, 2:30 PM
Kevin McLellan
Iain Haley Pollock
Emerging Visions
Mitchell-Giddings Gallery
Saturday, October 17, 2:30 PM
Gish Jen
Stefan Merrill Block
Mother, Dear Mother
118 Elliot
Saturday, October 17, 4:00 PM
Monica Ferrell
Bianca Stone
Paradoxes of Perception
Mitchell-Giddings Gallery
Saturday, October 17, 4:00 PM
Beowulf Sheehan
Vaune Trachtman
Worth Thousands of Words
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center
Saturday, October 17, 4:00 PM
Partner Event: Write Action Open Reading
118 Elliot
Saturday, October 17, 7:00 PM
Partner Event: Write Action Spotlight Reading 2026
118 Elliot
Sunday, October 18, 11:00 AM
Partner Event: T.P. James’ Write-Like-the-Dickens Ghost Story Contest
118 Elliot
Sunday, October 18, 12:15 PM

Event Locations

Event venues indicated with green pin. And be sure to visit our area bookstores and library, too!

118 Elliot
Antidote Books
Book Lovers
Brattleboro Books
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center
Brooks House Restaurant
Brooks Memorial Library
ByWay Books
Everyone’s Books
Lost Time Books
Mitchell-Giddings Gallery
Morning Glorious Vintage
Stone Church