The Heartland Book Festival—a day-long bonanza of book signings, writing workshops, author talks, and other literary fun—comes back for its second year Saturday at downtown’s Central Library.
The festival is free and runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its activities will occupy multiple floors of the library. Two floors will be dedicated to vendors—be they local authors, local bookstores, or other regional literary forces—and children’s activities.
This festival is a hearty meal for any bookworm, so let’s break it all down. (Keep the schedule handy, too).
Know Before You Go
The Heartland Book Festival is a joint effort by Missouri Humanities, Missouri Center for the Book, and the Kansas City Public Library. It will have several ticketed and non-ticketed activities.
Non-ticketed activities—like shopping the various vendor booths, attending book signings, and enjoying the kid-centric events in the 2nd-floor children’s library—are open to all. Just park for free (with validation) in the Central Library garage, walk in, and enjoy.
Attendance will be limited for ticketed activities—things like workshops, panels, and speeches. You have until 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11, to RSVP for free online. (If tickets run out, there will be standby lines, but entry isn’t guaranteed.)
The Nook, which is the chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant’s new cafe, will offer food and beverages throughout the library.
The festival’s FAQ page is very helpful, as is its PDF festival guide. We’ll give highlights of the events below; refer to the festival schedule for the full lineups.
Vendors and Kids’ Activities
Haven’t you missed the Scholastic Book Fair? There will be Scholastic Book Fair vibes this festival.
The west mezzanine on the 2nd floor will be Bookstore Alley, where you can peruse booths from six local bookstores. The east mezzanine will have booths run by children’s authors, and the children’s library will have grab-and-go crafts and other fun activities for the kiddos.
On the 3rd level in 3North, 16 local authors will sell their wares. The Grand Reading Room will hold 17 assorted vendors, including KC Zine Con, Fated Fiction, and The New Territory magazine.
Book Signings
Seven authors will sign copies of their books throughout the day, no tickets required.
A couple of notable names: Pedro Martín, who wrote and illustrated the graphic memoir Mexikid, and Stacey Abrams, an author and former legislator who released a children’s picture book, Stacey Speaks Up.
The full lineup:
- Pedro Martín: 10:45-11:15 a.m
- Catherine Browder, Dawn Downey, and Kenan Orhan: 11:45-noon
- Sarah Chapelle: 12:15-12:45 p.m.
- Deborah Jackson Taffa: 1:45-2:15 p.m.
- Stacey Abrams: 3-3:30 p.m.
Workshops
The workshops, which require an RSVP, are opportunities to polish your own literary talents. Novice and experienced writers alike can attend intimate workshops on a variety of skills, including crafting food narratives, ghost-story writing, and zine making.
Read It Watch It
If you want to get the most out of the “Read It Watch It” events, you’ll have to have read a couple of books. Luckily, they’re pretty popular: Bridget Jones’s Diary or Pride and Prejudice.
RSVP to watch the films with a crowd of fellow readers in the Durwood Film Vault, then talk it all out in employee-led discussions when you’re done. Pride and Prejudice is at 10 a.m., and Bridget Jones’s Diary is at 1 p.m.
Speakers, Panels, and Storytime
These events are where authors can share with you about what they care about. Just a preview of the speakers: From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Kate Brady Murr will demonstrate how to write poems on the spot. At 11:15 a.m., Sarah Chapelle will discuss her writing muse: Taylor Swift’s fashion. Stacey Abrams will speak about the importance of libraries at 2:15 p.m.
Panels get multiple minds in on the action. At 10 a.m., there’s a panel on audiobooks led by library employees Kaite Stover and Lucy Donnelly. At 11 a.m., authors Catherine Browder, Dawn Downey, and Kenan Orhan will discuss their practice of producing short works. Hear from Kansas City bookstore owners at 12:15 p.m.
To kick off the day, Stacy Abrams will read her picture book Stacey Speaks Up to kids of all ages.
Correction: An earlier version of this article said the event was on October 11. The Heartland Book Festival is on October 12.