Utah Humanities Book Festival
Photo: Zadie Smith and Michael Chabon in conversation about human values at the Utah Humanities Book Festival and the Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah. Image courtesy of the Tanner Humanities Center.
The 2023 Utah Humanities Book Festival:
UPDATES COMING SOON
Our 2023 Utah Humanities Book Festival marks 26 years of improving Utah communities through reading, literature, and conversations with authors and each other. We look forward to celebrating with you!
During October, this year’s book festival will feature both virtual and in-person events.
Each year we offer categories and genres that are sure to offer engaging literary options for everyone. Plan to join us for the categories that interest you.
Book Festival Calendar and Digital Programs
Last year, we celebrated our 25th anniversary of the Utah Humanities Book Festival. The programs below are from last year's celebration, and we will update them as this year's festival comes together. Stay tuned!
As our annual statewide celebration of literature, we work with partners in many Utah communities. Organizations across the state will again host book festival events featuring both national and local authors, in both in-person and virtual formats. As always, participants will engage with authors in new, creative, and meaningful ways that are designed to connect readers, authors, and communities.
We are committed to ensuring that all people, regardless of disability, have equal and full access to our programs and events. If you require any accommodations, please submit a request to Kase Johnstun at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 801.359.9670.
Utah Humanities Book Festival:
A Lasting Legacy
The Annual Utah Humanities Book Festival is Utah’s oldest and only statewide book festival and has become Utah’s signature literary event. Each year, the festival is a chance for book lovers of all types to enjoy some great, free-of-charge literary events at locations throughout Utah.
Over the past 24 years we've inspired Utah communities by offering the state's largest annual book festival. Our inaugural festival, known then as The Great Salt Lake Book Festival, started in 1998 and was a one-day event featuring 30 authors at Westminster College. Twenty years later, our annual Utah Humanities Book Festival now spans two full months each September and October. We've grown to 122 events in 16 communities, and consistently feature over 100 authors. We've expanded our reach by partnering with libraries, community centers, cultural organizations, and more to serve upwards of 12,000 Utahns every fall.
Each year, we hear very personal stories about how an author or book has generated conversation, insight, and understanding. We hear about communities coming together and collectively immersing in books of all types - everything from historical fiction to comedy to poetry. We listen to individuals talk about how their personal or professional lives were affected in life-changing ways by talking with an author who inspired them. We hear about how we've helped to improve Utah communities through books, reading, and the resulting conversations . . . in short, through the humanities.
Many thanks to the Book Festival’s sponsors: The George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks Fund, Weber County RAMP, the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies, The King’s English Bookshop, Weller Book Works, Under the Umbrella Bookstore, The Book Bungalow, the B.W. Bastian Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, ESRR Endowments, the Salt Lake Tribune, and SLUG Magazine.
