Event Search

The Girl You Left Behind

Jojo Moyes

7:00 PM - A spellbinding love story of two women separated by time, but united in a fight for what they love.

The Year of Billy Miller

Kevin Henkes

2:00 PM - Kevin Henkes delivers a short, satisfying, laugh-out-loud-funny school and family story.

My Race: A Jewish Girl Growing Up Under Apartheid in South Africa

Lorraine Abramson

4:00 PM - The memoir of a gifted Jewish athlete growing up under the apartheid system of South Africa.

Friends of UW Libraries Book Sale 2013

Friends of UW Libraries

10:30 AM - The largest used-book sale in Wisconsin!

Expecting Better

Emily Oster

11:30 AM - Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong—and What You Really Need to Know.

Friends of Madison Public Library Book Sale

Friends of Madison Public Library

12:00 PM - Friends of the Madison Public Library will host its first big book sale in the new Central Library!

Philosophical Portraits: Descartes & Nietzsche

Steven Nadler & Jennifer Ratner Rosenhagen

5:30 PM - A conversation about two thinkers who mark the beginning and end of modern philosophy.

The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire

Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy

7:00 PM - Britain seemingly should have won the Revolutionary War. How did they manage to lose America?

Public Enemy

Bill Ayers

7:00 PM - Ayers charts his life as he becomes the GOP’s flaunted “domestic terrorist" and "public enemy."

Hip Hop Arts Showcase

First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble

7:30 PM - Hear visiting youth poetry slam champions and hip hop artists from cities across the Midwest.

2013 Charlotte Zolotow Lecture

Leonard Marcus

7:30 PM - Why Picture Books Matter - A lecture on the role of picture books in the modern age.

High School Friday

Jessie Garcia, Library as Incubator Project, First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble

9:00 AM - High School Friday brings 150 students to the Festival for a full school day of book programming.

My Life with the Green & Gold: Tales from 20 Years of Sportscasting

Jessie Garcia

4:00 PM - Behind-the-microphone insights on the Green Bay Packers and other Wisconsin teams and athletes.

Wisconsin People & Ideas Writing Contest Reading 2013

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, & Letters

5:00 PM - Reading by winners of the Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine statewide fiction and poetry contests

The American Craft Beer Cookbook

John Holl

5:00 PM - Learn about the rise of craft beer, how you can cook with beer, and, of course, have a sample or two

Wisconsin Talk: Linguistic Diversity in the Badger State

Thomas Purnell, Eric Raimy, & Joseph Salmons

5:00 PM - What is a bubbler? Get answers to this and many other questions about why we speak the way we do.

Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds For The Better

Clive Thompson

5:30 PM - It’s undeniable: technology is changing the way we think. But is it for the better?

Stay Awake

Dan Chaon

5:30 PM - In these stories, the world appears to be quiet. But you are up, unable to sleep. So you stay awake.

Performance Poetry

First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble

5:30 PM - This event will point to some of the ways back, bring "page" poets and "stage" poets together.

Monsters of Poetry Reading

Adam Fell, Kara Candito, Christopher Mohar

6:30 PM - Monsters of Poetry Reading Series curators will be stepping up to the mic to read from their work

I Believe in Zero: Learning From The World's Children

Caryl Stern

7:00 PM - A moving memoir about UNICEF's mission to eliminate preventable deaths of children under five.

Line Breaks Rewind

First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble

8:00 PM - Selected works and excerpts from the annual Line Breaks Festival.

Lost at Sea

Jon Ronson

8:30 PM - Ronson writes about the dark, uncanny sides of humanity with clarity and humor.

Friends of the CCBC Book Sale

Friends of the CCBC

8:00 AM - Book sale featuring new and gently used children's and young adult books at bargain prices.

Kids in the Rotunda - Return of the Glass Slipper

MadCap

9:30 AM - A retelling of Cinderella with a twist!

Farm Fresh and Fast

Fairshare CSA Coalition

10:00 AM - The Fairshare CSA Coalition will discuss thier newest cookbook, Farm Fresh and Fast.

Letters Home to Sarah: The Civil War Letters of Guy C. Taylor, Thirty-Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers

Kevin & Patsy Alderson

10:00 AM - A collection of newly discovered letters that captures the experiences of the Civil War.

Library as Art Space Drop-In Workshops

Library as Incubator Project

10:00 AM - The Library as Incubator Project team will teach you many new ways of experiencing a library!

Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures

Emma Straub

10:30 AM - A Wisconsin girl escapes family tragedy and becomes a movie star during Holllywood's Golden Age.

Lawyers Who Shaped Dane County

Tom Ragatz, Paul Humphrey

11:00 AM - A complete retrospective on lawyers and lawyering in Dane County from the early 1800s to the present

Personal Effects

E.M. Kokie, Nick Podehl

11:00 AM - The author and audiobook narrator of this gripping YA novel come together.

Madison Print & Resist

11:00 AM - Madison Print & Resist is a one-day show of posters, stickers, zines, journals, and books.

Sons of the Prophet

Verse Wisconsin, Forward Theater Company

12:00 PM - Forward Theater Company & Verse Magazine present scenes and original poems for Sons of the Prophet

ReGENERATION: A Manifesto for America's Next Leaders

Rebecca Ryan

12:00 PM - If you knew the future, what would you do differently?

ROY G. BIV

Jude Stewart

1:00 PM - Picture these: a blackened tomato or the word YELLOW written in blue type. Color means something.

Queen of the Air

Dean Jensen

1:00 PM - She was simply known as Leitzel. Her feats as an aerialist mesmerized crowds across the globe.

The Conditions of Love

Dale Kushner

1:00 PM - An exploration of love, loss and resiliency in this debut novel.

Jane Addams Book Awards Reading

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

1:00 PM - A reading from and discussion of the 60th annual Jane Addams Award-winning children's books.

The Center Holds

Jonathan Alter

1:30 PM - A dramatic look at the last part of Obama’s first term and successful reelection in 2012.

Illustration Conversation

Briony Morrow-Cribbs, Lynda Barry, Ivan Brunetti, Chris Ware

2:30 PM - An intimate conversation about illustration with some of the most respected illustrators in America.

Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere

Lucas Mann

2:30 PM - An unforgettable chronicle of a year of minor-league baseball in a small Iowa town.

Sister: An African American Life in Search of Justice

Jody LePage

3:00 PM - The oral history of an extraordinary individual seeking justice for her brother's murder.

Wisconsin Poet Laureate Reading

Max Garland

4:00 PM - 2013-14 Wisconsin Poet Laureate, Max Garland, will read a selection of his poetry.

Attempts at Love in Greece

John D'Agata

4:00 PM - Plutarch may have been one of the world's most innovative essayists. John D'Agata explains why.

Graphic Novelist Panel

Lynda Barry, Ivan Brunetti, Chris Ware

4:00 PM - Celebrated graphic novelists, Lynda Barry, Ivan Brunetti, and Chris Ware will discuss their work.

Sea Creatures

Susanna Daniel

5:30 PM - In this riveting novel, a mother must make the unthinkable choice between her husband and her son.

Lemon

Lemon Andersen

6:00 PM - A documentary about Lemon Andersen's struggle to free his family from poverty and pain.

The Book of Matt

Stephen Jimenez

7:00 PM - A provocative and spellbinding examination of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard.

Passing the Mic Tribute Showcase

Lemon Andersen, Gia Scott-Heron

8:00 PM - A special evening will celebrate the lives, achievements and legacies of three pioneers.

Michelle Wildgen's Humor Writing Showcase

Emma Straub, Lucas Mann, Michelle Wildgen, Lindsay Hunter

8:30 PM - A showcase of humor writing by Wisconsin Book Festival authors

Wheel Fever

Jesse Gant & Nicholas Hoffman

10:00 AM - A historical bike ride through downtown Madison beginning and ending at Madison Central Library.

Jewelweed

David Rhodes

10:00 AM - Jewelweed returns us to the magic places and characters of Wisconsin's Driftless Region.

Writing the Unthinkable

Dan Chaon, Lynda Barry

11:00 AM - This workshop is about a way of creating a sustainable writing practice for anyone at any level.

Saige Paints the Sky Movie

Jessie Haas

11:30 AM - Girl of the Year, Saige, in her very own movie!

In Search of Golianthus Hercules

Jennifer Angus

11:30 AM - Jennifer Angus will read and show illustrations from her debut novel.

Public Poets Conversation

Max Garland, Wendy Vardaman, Sarah Busse

11:30 AM - Poets from all walks of life gather for a conversation on what it means to be a public poet

What Would Frodo Do? Faith, War, and the Birth of Modern Fantasy Literature

G. Willow Wilson

1:00 PM - What is the relationship between faith and fantasy? Between conflict and great fantasy literature?

Saige: Girl of the Year

Jessie Haas

1:00 PM - Come learn about Saige, a spirited girl whose passions inspire actions.

From Scratch: Inside the Food Network

Allen Salkin

2:30 PM - Come close the festival with the definitive history of the Food Network!

An Evening With Ruth Ozeki

Ruth Ozeki

7:00 PM - Join the Wisconsin Book Festival for the public presentation of this year's Go Big Read book.

The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane

Kelly Harms

7:00 PM - Janine Brown just won a brand-new, fully-loaded dream home. But is it for Janey Brown or Nean Brown?

Curtain’s Up with CTM presents: An Evening with Lois Lowry

7:00 PM - Newbery Medal award winning author Lois Lowry joins CTM for a unique event celebrating The Giver.

Bread & Butter

Michelle Wildgen

7:00 PM - Join Michelle Wildgen to celebrate the release of Michelle's her novel, Bread & Butter

Pearls Falls Fast

Stephan Pastis

6:00 PM - Join the Pearls family as they face many more misadventures!

Praying Drunk

Kyle Minor

8:00 PM - Join us as author Kyle Minor reads from his new collection of short stories PRAYING DRUNK!

Lunch for Libraries: Nosh with Nevada

Nevada Barr

11:30 AM - Join the Madison Public Library Foundation for its third annual Lunch for Libraries fundraiser!

Biggest Book Club Ever with Nevada Barr

Nevada Barr

6:00 PM - Join bestselling author Nevada Barr for the biggest book club ever! Registration required.

Struck By Genius

Jason Padgett

7:30 PM - Jason Padgett can see mathematical designs hidden in every day objects, but he wasn't born this way!

Shotgun Lovesongs

Nickolas Butler

7:00 PM - Debut Wisconsin author reads from his highly-acclaimed new novel, Shotgun Lovesongs

The Artist's Library

Erinn Batykefer, Laura Damon-Moore

7:30 PM - A book launch celebration featuring projects led by Erinn Batykefer and Laura Damon-Moore!

Madison Authors Reading

Kara Candito, Chloe Benjamin

7:00 PM - Join Madisonians Chloe Krug Benjamin and Kara Candito for readings from their new books.

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour

Joshua Ferris

6:00 PM - Come to A Room of One's Own Bookstore to see New York Times Bestselling author, Joshua Ferris read!

Going Somewhere Ride & Read

Brian Benson

1:00 PM - Ride with the author from Pinney Library to Central and hear Brian Benson read from his new memoir

Read-a-Romance Month Book Discussions

7:00 PM - August is Read-a-Romance month. We're celebrating with four romance genre discussions.

The Body in Bodega Bay

Betsy Draine

7:00 PM - These Wisconsin authors join us to present the second novel in their exciting mystery series

Take It Off the Shelf!

Forward Theater Company

7:00 PM - Celebrate Banned Books Week (September 21-27) with Forward Theatre’s Take It Off the Shelf! Banned B

The Quirks in Circus Quirkus

Erin Soderberg

10:30 AM - Celebrate Central Library's 1st Anniversary with a reading from this fun tale of a quirky family!

A Sudden Light

Garth Stein

7:30 PM - Join New York Times-bestselling author Garth Stein for a reading from his stirring new novel.

2014 Charlotte Zolotow Lecture

Paul Fleischman

7:30 PM - Paul Fleischman discusses his career as a children's book author and relationship with his editor

Elementary School Thursday

Gustafer Yellowgold, Susan Apps-Bodilly, Julie Mata

9:00 AM - Elementary School Thursday has been postponed. We will reschedule this event for later in the year.

StoryBook: Warrington Colescott’s Venice

Rick Axsom

12:30 PM - Richard H. Axsom will engage artist Warrington Colescott in a conversation about "Death of Venice"

Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot

Sir Peter Crane

3:30 PM - World renowned botanist, Sir Peter Crane, teaches us about a prehistoric tree thriving in our midst.

Bending the Frame

Fred Ritchin

4:00 PM - How are innovative practitioners using imagery today in response to our most pressing issues.

Barracuda in the Attic

Kipp Friedman

5:00 PM - A tribute to growing up in a family of artists swept up in the whirlwind of the NYC arts scene.

How Not to Be Wrong

Jordan Ellenberg

5:30 PM - Jordan Ellenberg shows us how Math touches everything we do.

Delancey: A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage

Molly Wizenberg

6:30 PM - Join the author of this funny, frank, & tender memoir about a pizza restaurant and a young marriage.

Devil's Lake Reading

Danielle Evans, Rebecca Dunham

6:30 PM - Deveil's Lake Driftless Prize judges, Danielle Evans and Rebecca Dunham, read from their work.

A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico

Amy Greenberg

7:00 PM - Amy S. Greenberg's definitive history of the oft-forgotten 1846 conflict paints

To Dwell in Darkness

Deborah Crombie

7:30 PM - New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie presents her new novel To Dwell in Darkness

Passing the Mic/All Elements Hip Hop Arts Showcase featuring Midwest Hip Hop All Stars

First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble, reg e gaines, Chinaka Hodge

8:00 PM - OMAI presents a special evening with reg e gaines, Chinaka Hodge, and the Midwest Hip Hop All Stars

High School Friday 2014

First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble, Jordan Ellenberg

9:00 AM - High School Friday brings 150 students to the Festival for a full school day of book programming.

Performance Poetry 2014

First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble

5:00 PM - This event will point to some of the ways back, bring "page" poets and "stage" poets together.

We Make Beer

Sean Lewis

5:00 PM - An eye-opening journey into craft beer–making in America, and what you can find in the quest to brew

A Good Year

Andrea Potos, Evie Robillard, Katrin Talbot, Rosemary Zurlo-Cuva

5:00 PM - Four vastly different Madison poets, all with new chapbooks to celebrate.

Missing Class: How Seeing Class Cultures Can Strengthen Social Movement Groups

Betsy Leondar-Wright

5:30 PM - Written for activists & social scientists, the book describes class differences in paths to activism

Where Are Children's Books Going?

B. G. Hennessy

5:30 PM - A lecture on the future of children's books to celebrate the grand opening of the new CCBC!

Snow in May

Kseniya Melnik

5:30 PM - A Siberian town with darkly fascinating history teems with life in this luminous story collection.

Wisconsin People & Ideas Writing Contest Reading 2014

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, & Letters

5:30 PM - Reading by winners of the Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine statewide fiction and poetry contests.

Dappled Things

Robin Chapman

7:00 PM - Dappled Things pairs the poetry of Robin Chapman with the photogravures of Peter Miller.

Underground: New and Selected Poems

Jim Moore

7:00 PM - Underground is the long overdue career retrospective of Jim Moore, a poet of great depth.

Daring: My Passages

Gail Sheehy

7:30 PM - A fascinating, no-holds-barred memoir and testament to guts, resilience, smarts, and daring.

Monsters of Poetry 2014

Monsters of Poetry

8:00 PM - Monsters of Poetry Reading Series presents 4 great authors!

Science of the Supper Club

Terese Allen, Ron Faiola, Robin Shepard

8:00 PM - Wisconsin Book Festival authors share their perspectives on Wisconsin's culinary legacy.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory

Caitlin Doughty

9:00 PM - Join mortician & author Caitlin Doughty for stories from her new book on life in the death business.

2014 Friends of UW Libraries Semiannual Book Sales

Friends of UW Libraries

10:00 AM - One of the largest used-book sales in Wisconsin

Eyes Wide Open

Paul Fleischman

10:00 AM - Giving readers 14 and up the briefing they need to comprehend their moment in history.

Armed with Nonviolence: Stories from the Fight for Human Rights

Ann Bausum

10:30 AM - This program for teens & adults explores uses of nonviolent resistance in the fight for human rights

Vintage

Susan Gloss

10:30 AM - At Hourglass Vintage in Madison, Wisconsin, every item in the boutique has a story to tell.

A Christmas Wish for Corduroy

B. G. Hennessy

11:00 AM - A heartwarming story about the power of hope, perseverance, and friendship.

Alamo Doughboy

Jennifer Rude Klett

11:00 AM - A solid military history, told through family interviews, Army histories, letters, & service records

Difficult Fruit

Lauren Alleyne

11:00 AM - A collection of poems about self-knowledge, of fighting for and winning personhood as a woman.

Sisterland and the Madison Writers' Studio Conversation

Curtis Sittenfeld, Susanna Daniel, Michelle Wildgen, Mary Kay Zuravleff

11:30 AM - A novel about the obligation we have towards others and the responsibility we take for our actions.

The Sleeve Waves

Angela Sorby

12:00 PM - the poems in The Sleeve Waves meditate on how almost everything comes to us in waves.

My Family and Other Hazards

June Melby

12:00 PM - A heartwarming memoir about saying goodbye to a childhood home - in this case, a mini golf course.

Double Exposure

Bridget Birdsall

1:00 PM - A stunning young adult novel that brings to light complex gender issues and teenage insecurities.

Son of Fortune

Victoria McKernan

1:30 PM - An unforgettable YA novel about a boy's dangerous life importing guano.

The Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government

Aneesh Chopra

1:30 PM - America's first Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra describes a new revolution in America.

Painted Cities

Alexai Galaviz-Budziszewski

1:30 PM - Author Alexai Galaviz-Budziszewski shares from his book of stories about the city.

Further Joy

John Brandon

2:30 PM - A stunning assortment of men and women at the edge of possibility.

2014 South Asia Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature Ceremony

Elizabeth Suneby, Jennifer Bradbury, Farhana Zia

3:00 PM - This year's ceremony honors Elizabeth Suneby, Jennifer Bradbury, and Farhana Zia

Seventh Generation Earth Ethics: Native Voices of Wisconsin

Patty Loew

3:00 PM - UW-Madison Professor Patty Loew presents her book about Wisconsin's Native people and sustainability

Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women's Movements

Linda Gordon, Astrid Henry

3:00 PM - The American women’s movement is shrouded in myth. Feminism Unfinished is a much-needed corrective.

How to Sell Your Novel

Chloe Benjamin, Ashley Ream, Judith Claire Mitchell

3:30 PM - Three Madison authors discuss a novel's path to publication with readings by each author.

Marketplace of the Marvelous

Erika Janik

4:00 PM - Discover how unorthodox nineteenth-century methods influence modern-day medical theory and practice.

Man Alive!

Mary Kay Zuravleff

4:30 PM - A warm, funny, and profoundly original novel about a family dealing with disaster.

Alena

Rachel Pastan

5:30 PM - Listen to author Rachel Pastan as she shares from her evocative new novel Alena.

House of Coates Revisited: Lester B. Morrison, Little Brown Mushroom, and Other Lost Broken Men

Brad Zellar

5:30 PM -

All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr

6:00 PM - A beautiful WWII novel about the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.

Wisconsin Book Festival Arts Reception

Andy Adams, Laura Damon-Moore, Filter Photo Festival

6:30 PM - Spend the early evening on the third floor celebrating photography, art, and library programs!

The Liar's Wife

Mary Gordon

7:30 PM - Mary Gordon presents four wonderful novellas of Americans abroad and Europeans in America.

NerdNite

Jordan Ellenberg

8:00 PM - Nerds and non-nerds alike gather to meet, drink and learn something new.

OMAI’s Passing the Mic Tribute Showcase

Chinaka Hodge, Dasha Kelly

8:00 PM - Tribute showcase and tribute honoring Nakila Robinson and the children of Central America.

101 Two-Letter Words

Stephin Merritt

9:00 PM - From Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields comes a unique, witty book about 2-letter words!

PhotoBook Exhibition

Filter Photo Festival

9:00 AM - A survey exhibition of the contemporary photo book presented by FilterPhoro Festival

The FlakPhoto Booklist

Andy Adams

9:00 AM - FlakPhoto creator, Andy Adams, selects photo book highlights from the Library's collections

Perimeter: A Contemporary Portrait of Lake Michigan

Kevin Miyazaki

9:30 AM - "A contemporary portrait of Lake Michigan" from Wisconsin photographer Kevin Miyazaki.

Run for Literacy

Literacy Network

10:30 AM - Money raised from this scenic run will support Literacy Network’s programs in Dane County.

Photos From Home

Michael Forster Rothbart, Danny Wilcox Frazier, Scott Strazzante

11:00 AM - 3 documentary photographers explore home and how lives change when the home/land changes.

How Many Words is a Picture Really Worth? Writing From Photographs

Brad Zellar

11:00 AM - In this workshop, Brad Zellar will lead participants in creating their own writing/photo books.

The Scavengers

Michael Perry

11:00 AM - Check out this imaginative and hilarious middle grade novel from a NYT-bestselling Wisconsin author.

The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County

Jerry Apps

12:30 PM - The latest installation in the Ames County saga takes on the duel between preservation and progress.

The Dog Year

Ann Garvin

12:30 PM - Check out this Wisconsin author's heartwarming novel involving a four-legged friend.

2014 Friends of the Madison Public Library Book Sale

Friends of Madison Public Library

1:00 PM - The Friends of the Madison Public Library will be hosting a book sale at our Book Store at Central!

It's an Orange Aardvark

Michael Hall

1:00 PM - Michael Hall delivers a funny and suspenseful story about colors, ants, aardvarks, and rainbows!

Studying Wisconsin

Paul G. Hayes, Martha Bergland

6:30 PM - The life of Increase Lapham, early chronicler of plants, rocks, rivers, & all things Wisconsin.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Atul Gawande

7:00 PM - In Being Mortal, Atul Gawande tackles how medicine can not only improve life but also its ending.

Go Big Read Keynote Lecture

Shiza Shahid

7:00 PM - Shiza Shahid gives the Go Big Read keynote speech about I Am Malala.

2014 Madison Print & Resist

11:00 AM - Madison Print & Resist is a one-day show of posters, stickers, zines, journals, and books.

The Final Silence

Stuart Neville

7:00 PM - Northern Ireland author Stuart Neville discusses his new book, "The Final Silence" at Mystery to Me.

Created Equal: Risking Everything: The Story of Freedom Summer

Michael Edmonds

6:30 PM - The UW-Madison's Freedom Summer archives provided rich material for this book of eyewitness accounts