Event Search

The Owls Are Not What They Seem

Brad Dukes

8:00 PM - Come as your favorite Twin Peaks character for a night of books, music, coffee, pie, and donuts.

Regina Anderson Andrews, Harlem Renaissance Librarian

7:00 PM - BIography of Regina Andrews, first African American to head New York Public Library branch.

As You Wish

Cary Elwes

6:30 PM - Celebrate Valentine's Day with one of the greatest love stories of our time, The Princess Bride!

The Little French Bakery Cookbook

Susan Holding

5:30 PM - A délicieux party you won't want to miss! Parisian attire encouraged!

What Burns Away

Melissa Falcon Field

7:00 PM - Melissa Falcon Field alights on the literary fiction scene with her debut novel!

Ever Your Friend

Anna Campbell

5:00 PM - Campbell discusses the images she abstracted from the collection of the Lesbian Herstory Archives

The Little Edges

Fred Moten

7:00 PM - The Festival and FELIX celebrate poetry month with Fred Moten reading from his new poetry collection

Poetry Month Celebration

Joan Murray, Cynthia Marie Hoffman

7:00 PM - The Wisconsin Book Festival celebrates National Poetry month with a joint reading.

Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Practical Pantry

Cathy Barrow

7:00 PM - Cathy Barrow introduces practical techniques, tools, and recipes for all kinds of preserving!

Novel Publication Celebration

Quan Barry, Judith Claire Mitchell

7:00 PM - Presenting the publication of two novels by University of Wisconsin creative writing professors!

The Given World

Marian Palaia

6:30 PM - A stunning debut novel from a UW MFA graduate

Beer for All Seasons

Randy Mosher

5:30 PM - Celebrate Craft Beer Week with the Wisconsin Book Festival and Wisconsin Brewing Company

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Sarah J. Maas

6:30 PM - Kick off Teen Summer Reading with a new series by bestselling author, Sarah J. Maas

Startupland

Mikkel Svane

7:30 PM - A book about three guys who risked everything to turn an idea into a global business.

Delicious!

Ruth Reichl

7:30 PM - Read with Ruth!

Dry Bones

Craig Johnson

7:00 PM - The Wisconsin Book Festival and Mystery to Me present Craig Johnson for the 13th Longmire book!

The Rainy Season

Maggie Messitt

7:00 PM - Step across the border of a former, apartheid-era homeland and into a community dealing with change.

The Jesus Cow

Michael Perry

7:00 PM - For the first time, beloved Wisconsin author, Michael Perry, turns to fiction with The Jesus Cow.

An Intimate Conversation with Sheryl WuDunn

Sheryl WuDunn

3:00 PM - Ms. WuDunn will share her experiences as a woman, journalist, author, women's rights advocate

Summerlong

Dean Bakopoulos

7:00 PM - See Dean Bakopolous, former Wisconsin Book Festival Director, read from his brand new novel!

A Beach Tail

Karen Lynn Williams

10:00 AM - During a fun day at the beach Greg loses track of his father. How will he find his way back to Dad?

The Horror Of It All

Adam Rockoff

8:00 PM - Join (Camp) Bubbler & the Wisconsin Book Festival for a thrilling night of horror, camp, and crafts

The Distance Between Us

Reyna Grande

7:00 PM - Join Centro Hispano as we present a WBF event with Reyna Grande!

Edible Memory & The Big Jones Cookbook

Jennifer Jordan, Paul Fehribach

7:00 PM - Join us for a reading celebrating the importance of cultivating and cooking with heirloom vegetables

Summer Library Carnival

10:30 AM - Celebrate reading, enjoy Miller & Mike performances and stop by for carnival games, crafts and more!

The End of All Things

John Scalzi

7:00 PM - Earth’s guardians race to reconcile with Earth and keep humanity's union intact.

Barbara the Slut and Other People

Lauren Holmes

7:00 PM - Holmes tackles eros and intimacy with a genius for revealing our most vulnerable, spirited selves.

Fall Barn Soiree with Nickolas Butler

Nickolas Butler

5:30 PM - A spectacular evening out with author Nickolas Butler and his unforgettable novel Shotgun Lovesongs.

Self-Publishing Basics Workshop

2:00 PM - Learn the basics of self-publishing – from creation to distribution of your work.

Read Local! Indie Author Showcase

9:00 AM - Meet and hear local authors in this one day indie author festival.

Celebrate Dyslexia Awareness Month

Children's Dyslexia Center-Madison

5:30 PM - Awareness event for families featuring light dinner, film and discussion.

Pinney Mini Book Fest 2015

1:00 PM - Meet and hear local authors in this three day mini festival.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest

J. Ryan Stradal

6:30 PM - An incredible tale of how the food we eat and the people we meet shape the world around us.

2015 Charlotte Zolotow Lecture

Yuyi Morales

7:30 PM - Children's book illustrator, Yuyi Morales, will be presenting the 2015 Charlotte Zolotow Lecture.

Water Tension and the Great Lakes Compact

Peter Annin

9:00 AM - Important analysis of the future of Great Lakes water diversion management.

Indigenous Traditions, Multilingual Voices in Hip Hop Today

First Wave, Telmary Diaz, Baba Israel, J. Ivy, Frank Waln

3:30 PM - A panel discussion featuring Frank Waln, Telmary Diaz, J. Ivy, and Baba Israel

Mayakovsky's Revolver

Matthew Dickman

4:00 PM - A dazzling, award-winning young poet paints life as a celebration in the dark.

The Cherry Harvest

Lucy Sanna

5:30 PM - During WWII, an American family begins to fall apart when they take on German POWs for labor.

What We're Writing Now

Richard Keller, Caroline Levine, Scott Straus

5:30 PM - UW faculty of various fields convene to talk about their recent, field-shaping publications.

Failure: Why Science Is So Successful

Stuart Firestein

6:00 PM - Failure shows us that the scientific enterprise is riddled with errors - and that is a good thing.

All Elements Hip Hop Arts Showcase

First Wave

7:00 PM - Come hear visiting youth poetry slam champions and hip hop artists from cities across the Midwest.

Homemade for Sale: How to Set Up and Market a Food Business from Your Home Kitchen

Lisa Kivirist & John D. Ivanko

7:00 PM - Homemade for Sale provides a clear roadmap to go from idea and recipe to final product.

The Big Burn

Timothy Egan

7:00 PM - Egan pairs the stories of the 1910 forest fire and President Roosevelt’s push for conservation.

Fortune Smiles

Adam Johnson

7:30 PM - This surreal and darkly comic collection of stories gives voice to perspectives we don’t often hear.

High School Friday 2015

First Wave, David Crabb, Anthony Breznican

9:00 AM - A day of education through meaningful interaction with authors, performers, storytellers, and peers.

Whispers & Shadows

Jerry Apps

11:00 AM - Jerry Apps reminds us to slow down, turn off technology, and allow our senses to reconnect.

The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys' Club

Eileen Pollack

2:30 PM - This brazenly honest book shows the struggles female scientists face, and provides hope for change.

Wisconsin Agriculture: A History

Jerry Apps

3:30 PM - Celebrated rural historian Jerry Apps examines everything

The Mathematician's Shiva

Stuart Rojstaczer

3:30 PM - An moving and funny novel that captures humanity's drive to achieve the impossible.

First Wave Spoken Word Showcase: Indigenous Traditions, Multilingual Voices

First Wave, J. Ivy, Frank Waln, Telmary Diaz, Baba Israel

5:00 PM - First Wave poets put their unique poetic spin on the global languages of hip hop.

Strange Tools: Art and Human Nature

Alva Noë

5:30 PM - Alva Noë raises a number of questions about art, its value, and what it reveals about human nature.

Seven Bad Ideas

Jeff Madrick

5:30 PM - Explanations of economic theories-why they’re wrong, the harm they’ve done and how to improve them.

Time Salvager

Wesley Chu

5:30 PM - Criminal James Griffin-Mars is no one’s hero, but humanity must depend on him to delay its demise.

Wisconsin People & Ideas Writing Contest Reading 2015

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, & Letters

5:30 PM - Readings from this year's poetry and prose Wisconsin People & Ideas Writing Contest.

Celebrating Ten Years of OMAI

Baba Israel, First Wave

7:00 PM - A showcase featuring OMAI’s new website and an excerpt of Baba Israel’s “The Spinning Wheel

Bon Appétempt: A Coming-of-Age Story (With Recipes!)

Amelia Morris

7:30 PM - Bon Appétempt is a funny and poignant memoir about collapsing cakes and coming of age.

Baddawi

Leila Abdelrazaq

7:30 PM - A graphic novel exploring the author's father's childhood in the Baddawi refugee camp.

Scrapper

Matt Bell

7:30 PM - In the ruins of Detroit Kelly avenges an unsolved kidnapping and is forced to confront his own past.

Bad Kid

David Crabb

9:00 PM - David Crabb memoir tells a resonant story about growing up gay and Goth in San Antonio in the 80s.

Friends of the CCBC Fall Book Sale

Friends of the CCBC

9:00 AM - Tons of exciting, diverse titles will be available for sale.

Friends of the Madison Public Library Book Sale

Friends of Madison Public Library

9:00 AM - Join us for a book sale during the Wisconsin Book Festival at Central Library!

Folks, This Ain't Normal

Joel Salatin

9:00 AM - A farmer’s advice for happier hens, healthier people and a better world.

The Man Who Painted the Universe: The Story of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North Woods

Avi Lank, Ron Legro

10:00 AM - The story of a stargazer from Wisconsin's North and the Kovac Planetarium.

This Wonderful Year: The Adventures of Mr. Edward Pamprill

Mark Benno

10:30 AM - Young Mr. Pamprill is forced to leave behind London and experience the life of the common sailor.

2015 Friends of UW-Madison Libraries Book Sale

Friends of UW Libraries

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

Local Food Solutions

Ali Berlow, Alan Guebert & Mary Grace Foxwell

10:30 AM - A discussion of how we can all engage with the food we eat.

Part of Our Lives: A People's History of the American Public Library

Wayne Wiegand

10:30 AM - Discover why Americans love their libraries.

Waiting

Kevin Henkes

10:30 AM - Five animals wait for marvelous things to happen in this irresistible picture book.

Little Author in the Big Woods

Yona McDonough

10:30 AM - This biography details Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life as a young pioneer homesteading with her family.

Dickey Chapelle Under Fire

John Garofolo

11:00 AM - The remarkable story of the first female American war correspondent to be killed in action.

The Man Who Wasn't There

Anil Ananthaswamy

11:00 AM - Anil Ananthaswamy explores the fascinating minds of individuals with complex neurological disorders.

Kate Walden Directs: Bride of Slug Man

Julie Mata

12:00 PM - Kate and Tristan are both making films and classmates eager to join the cast and crew are divided.

Meet Me Halfway: Milwaukee Stories

Jennifer Morales

12:00 PM - With humor and compassion Morales raises questions about a “postracial” society and how to get there

Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen

Mary Norris

12:00 PM - With humor and wit, Norris expertly guides readers through common and confusing grammatical issues.

2015 CWW Winners Reading

Council of Wisconsin Writers

12:00 PM - Readings from a variety of genres featuring this year’s Council for Wisconsin Writers Winners.

Another Time and Place

Jennifer Chiaverini, Mary McNear

12:00 PM - Authors read from books that transport the reader to worlds with a particularly deep sense of place

The League of Outsider Baseball

Gary Cieradkowski

1:30 PM - A truly unique look at the players that exist in the obscure corners of baseball’s history.

Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story

David Maraniss

1:30 PM - Maraniss shows that the shadows of collapse were evident in Detroit even when it was at its peak.

Beneath the Bonfire

Nickolas Butler

1:30 PM - This collection of stories captures memorable characters of the back roads and highways of America.

Brutal Youth

Anthony Breznican

1:30 PM - Three freshmen join forces to survive high school bullies and a faculty that's worse.

Bird

Crystal Chan

1:30 PM - Secrets, mysterious spirits, and friendship weave together in this story about loss and moving on.

Music for Wartime

Rebecca Makkai

3:00 PM - Makkai brings together a collection of sweeping, powerful, spellbinding stories.

Cold War on Maplewood Street

Gayle Rosengren

3:00 PM - A powerful and hopeful story about what it means to grow up in a world full of uncertainty.

Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice

Adam Benforado

3:00 PM - Unfair reveals the hidden forces that distort our criminal justice system and offers solutions.

Picto-Poems

Kimberly Blaeser

3:00 PM - Blaeser’s “Picto-Poems,” intersecting layers of text/image inspired by Native American pictographs

Love, Always: Partners of Trans People on Intimacy, Challenge and Resilience

Helen Boyd, Miriam Hall, Shawnee Parens

3:00 PM - Witty, and moving essays, letters, and poems from the partners of transgender people

The Limits of Truth

Matthew Gavin Frank, B. J. Hollars

4:30 PM - How far can a writer stretch a fact before it becomes a fiction?

Being Nixon: A Man Divided

Evan Thomas, David Maraniss

4:30 PM - Thomas creates a three dimensional portrait of the complex president Nixon.

This Angel on My Chest

Leslie Pietrzyk

4:30 PM - Unconventionally linked stories, each about a different young woman whose husband dies.

Patternalia : An Unconventional History of Polka Dots, Stripes, Plaid, Camouflage, & Other Graphic Patterns

Jude Stewart

5:00 PM - Patternalia delves into the deep trove of history and culture unique to each pattern.

Secular Faith: How Culture Has Trumped Religion in American Politics

Mark Smith

6:00 PM - Demonstrations of how, in the long run, boundaries of secular and religious cultures converge.

We Are Not Ourselves

Matthew Thomas

6:00 PM - Using the Learys Thomas charts the expectation of domestic bliss and economic prosperity post WWII.

Science Cafe: Red All Over

Jennifer Angus, Jude Stewart

6:00 PM - What's in a color?

Survival of the Storied: Why Science Needs Art and Art Needs Science

Lauren Gunderson

7:00 PM - Discover the synchronicities of science and story

Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few

Robert Reich

7:30 PM - Reich gives a myth-shattering breakdown of America’s failing economic system, and how to fix it.

The Brewer's Tale : A History of the World According to Beer

William Bostwick

8:00 PM - This is the story of brewers gone by and one brave writer’s quest to bring them back to life.

Showcase Performance Celebrating 10 Years of OMAI

First Wave

8:00 PM - This event will feature J. Ivy, Telmary Diaz, Frank Wain, and First Wave artists

Nerd Nite 2015

Pupa Gilbert, B. Venkat Mani, Dietram Scheufele

8:00 PM - Be there and be square.

Hand Drawn Jokes for Smart Attractive People

Matthew Diffee

9:00 PM - Ingeniously designed sequences of funny drawings and writings from recent years with new additions.

The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books

Azar Nafisi

11:00 AM - Through three American novels, Nafisi invites us to her “Republic of Imagination.”

The Little Free Library Book

Margret Aldrich

11:00 AM - A charming history of Little Free Libraries and guide for how to best use them.

Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South

Andrew Maraniss

12:30 PM - This is the story of the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference.

Poetry and Social Justice

Ruben Medina, Peggy Rogza, Thomas Smith, Sarah Busse, Wendy Vardaman

12:30 PM - Madison’s Poets Laureate host a reading and conversation featuring three Wisconsin writer-activists

Dreams of the Hmong Kingdom: The Quest for Legitimation in French Indochina, 1850-1960

Mai Na M. Lee

12:30 PM - A pioneering history of the Hmong people in the colonial era.

The Unmapped Sea

Maryrose Wood

1:30 PM - The fifth book in the hilarious Victorian mystery series, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place

Turning Inward

Blake Bailey, Kate Christensen

2:00 PM - These brilliant authors will read and discuss why they wrote memoir after their successes.

Future Perfect

Jen Larsen

2:00 PM - A distinct, complex debut from a new voice in YA with an unforgettable main character

Go Big Read: Just Mercy

Bryan Stevenson

7:00 PM - Go Big Read presents an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice.

Bream Gives Me Hiccups

Jesse Eisenberg

7:30 PM - Eisenberg delivers a collection of forty-four hilarious, moving, and inventive stories!

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States

Sarah Vowell

7:00 PM - An insightful account of Marquis de Lafayette and a portrait of a nation’s idealism and its reality.

Mothers, Tell Your Daughters

Bonnie Jo Campbell

2:00 PM - Memorable heroines are determined to shape their futures with—or despite—the men in their lives.

Atmosphere of Hope

Tim Flannery

5:30 PM - An engaging and practical alternative plan to deal the climate crisis with achievable goals

Need

Joelle Charbonneau

6:30 PM - This chilling YA thriller examines the dark side of social media and the dark side of human nature.

Gustafer Yellowgold

Gustafer Yellowgold

1:30 PM - Join us for this very special performance for children of all ages.

The Great Forgetting

James Renner

2:00 PM - This book blends science fiction and conspiracy thrillers with a touch of pure fantasy

Of Beards and Men

Christopher Oldstone-Moore

8:00 PM - Books, music, drinks, and activities all in celebration of all things facial hair