What Is a Book Festival?

A Book festival, also called a literary festival, is a gathering of readers and writers that usually feature talks, panels, workshops, and opportunities to meet authors and purchase books and bookish merchandise. There are festivals of all shapes and sizes around the world, and even some that focus on specific genres.

Meet the Tucson Festival of Books

The Tucson Festival of Books began in 2009. Now held annually on the University of Arizona campus, the festival boasts over 100,000 attendees and a new southwestern animal mascot every year. It’s a free event to attend and features authors of all genres in a variety of scheduled talks and panels. In addition to this, there are booths from different publishers, authors, and literacy organizations.

A Day Volunteering at the Book Festival

The festival relies heavily on its volunteer force for the festival to run smoothly. Volunteers are needed to fill more than 2000 shifts in the weeks leading up to, and during the festival weekend. Volunteers help with everything from author transportation to line management at popular presentations. I have volunteered with the festival for the last two years.

A day as a volunteer starts with check-in. You’re given a t-shirt, a bookmark, a button, and a name tag before you head off to your chosen location. For me, that’s heading to the Indie Author tent. The Tucson Festival of Books has three indie author tents as part of their Reimagined Indie Author program: Children’s, Teen/Young Adult, and Adult Fiction and Nonfiction.

After going over the itinerary for the day and any reminders, I’m off to the Teen tent. There, I help check in authors and answer questions as attendees try to find different locations throughout the festival. As the authors promote their books, I get to watch, helping out when needed and running back to the Adult tent if we need more supplies. During downtime, I talk with the authors about their work, where they’re from, and learn more about why they decided to write. At the end of my shift, I help with the paperwork as we clean up for the next group.

Why I Volunteer

I spent my middle and high school years walking around the book festival with my family, seeing all the booths but not really knowing what was happening. It was a family outing, a way to get outside and enjoy what is typically nice weather before the harsh Tucson summer. However, I never bought books or looked further into it. Sometimes I knew the authors attending, but I never tried to meet them or attend one of their panels.

In college, I watched as the festival spent several weeks setting up tents, only to come back from spring break and watch any evidence of the event disappear. Later, walking around the festival with my sister and nephews, I still never saw what the festival truly was.

As an adult finding my love for reading again, I decided to focus my time and energy on causes that make me happy and make a difference in my community. Reading has become a fun activity for me again, and volunteering at a festival that encourages literacy felt like the perfect way to spend my time.  

Volunteering with the Indie Author pavilions lets me discover new authors and stories while helping spread the word about them. It’s an amazing experience to watch as other readers find them, too. Aside from enjoying new stories and meeting new people, it reminds me of why I love to read. There’s a story for everyone, and it wasn’t until I dived back into the community as an adult that I realized that. The festival makes a difference, and I’m glad to be a part of the magic.

Liz Young is a reader and writer from the southwest USA. She enjoys discovering new authors and stories, in addition to eating tacos and spending time with her cat. She has an active Bookstagram account. (https://www.instagram.com/lizanneyoung97)