List of literary festivals

A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city. A literary festival usually features a variety of presentations and readings by authors, as well as other events, delivered over a period of several days, with the primary objectives of promoting the authors' books and fostering a love of literature and writing.

Writers' conferences are sometimes designed to provide an intellectual and academic focus for groups of writers without the involvement of the general public.

There are many literary festivals held around the world. Notable literary festivals include:

Africa

Nigeria

Port Harcourt Book Festival, October
Chinua Achebe Literary Festival, November

Asia

Bangladesh

Hay Festival Dhaka, November

China

Shanghai International Literary Festival

Hong Kong

Hong Kong International Literary Festival, March

India

Chandigarh Literati, November
Dehradun Literature Festival, February
Delhi Poetry Festival, January
Gateway Litfest, February/March
Guntur International Poetry Festival (GIPF), July
Jaipur Literary Festival, January
Jashn-e-Rekhta, Urdu literary festival held annually in New Delhi
Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF), July
Lit for Life, January/February
Lucknow Literary Festival, February/March
Ma Literature Festival, January/February
Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters
Queer LitFest, Chennai (QLF), July/September
Wayanad Literature Festival (WLF), Biennale, December

Indonesia

Jakarta International Literary Festival (JILF), August
Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF), held annually at Ubud, Bali
Makassar International Writers Festival (MIWF), held annually at Makassar

Malaysia

George Town Literary Festival
Kuala Lumpur International Literary Festival, July

Nepal

Nepal Literature Festival

Pakistan

Islamabad Literature Festival, April
Karachi Literature Festival, February
Lahore Literary Festival, February
Sindh Literature Festival, January/February/March

Singapore

Singapore Writers Festival, October/November

Sri Lanka

Galle Literary Festival, January

Middle East

Israel

Hebrew Book Week
The Jerusalem International Writers Festival

United Arab Emirates

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, held annually in Dubai

Australasia

Australia

Adelaide Writers' Week, March
Newcastle, New South Wales National Young Writers' Festival, September/October
Perth Writers' Festival, February/March
Sydney Writers' Festival, May

New Zealand

Auckland Writers Festival, May

Europe

Austria

Festival of German-Language Literature, Klagenfurt

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo Poetry Days, Sarajevo

Czech Republic

Authors' Reading Month, July (held in Brno, Wroclaw, Kosice, Lviv, Ostrava)
Prague Writers Festival, June

Denmark

Louisiana Literature, August

England

Black British Book Festival, October
Bradford Literature Festival, June/July
Bridport Literary Festival, November
Cheltenham Literature Festival, October
Chester Literature Festival, October
The Children's Bookshow, autumn
Creative Folkestone Book Festival, November
Hay Festival, May to June
Harrogate International Festivals Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, July
Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival, April
Jewish Book Week, February/March
Lancaster Literature Festival, March and October
Liverpool Literary Festival, October
Manchester Literature Festival
The North London Literary Festival, March/April
Oxford Literary Festival, Spring
Peak Literary Festival, October/November or May/June

Finland

Lahti International Writers' Reunion LIWRE, June

France

FestivalandCo, held in Paris at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore
Rencontres aubrac, Aveyron

Germany

Berlin International Literature Festival, September

Ireland

Cúirt International Festival of Literature, Galway, April

Italy

Festivaletteratura, held in Mantua, at the beginning of September

Norway

Norwegian Festival of Literature, Lillehammer, is the largest literature festival in the Scandinavian countries since 1996

Poland

Conrad Festival, Kraków, October. The largest literary festival in Central Europe.

Scotland

Edinburgh International Book Festival, August, coinciding with the annual Edinburgh Festival
Wigtown Book Festival

Sweden

Göteborg Book Fair, Gothenburg, Sept
WALTIC, Stockholm
The Stockholm Writers Festival (Entering its ninth year)

Switzerland

Openair Literatur Festival Zürich, Zürich, held annually since 2013

Turkey

Istanbul Tanpınar Literature Festival, held in Istanbul, at the beginning of May

Wales

The Hay Festival, May/June

North America

Canada

Banff Mountain Book Festival, October/November
Eden Mills Writers' Festival, Eden Mills/Guelph, Ontario
Festival of Literary Diversity, Brampton, Ontario
The Frye Festival, Moncton, New Brunswick, April
Toronto International Festival of Authors, October/November
Whistler Writers Festival, Whistler, British Columbia, November
Winnipeg International Writers Festival, September
The Word on the Street, several cities
Wordfest, Calgary, Alberta, October

Mexico

Guadalajara International Book Fair, November/December

United States

Boston Book Festival, October
Brooklyn Book Festival, September
Burlington Book Festival, September
Children's Literature Festival at the University of Central Missouri, March
The Curwood Festival, Owosso, Michigan, June
Hollywood Book Festival, July
Kentucky Women Writers Conference, Lexington, Kentucky, September
Litquake, San Francisco, October
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, California, April
Miami Book Fair International, Miami, Florida, November
National Book Festival, September
New Orleans Poetry Festival, New Orleans, April
Printers Row Lit Fest, Chicago, Illinois, September
OC Book Fair, Tustin, California, November
Tennessee Williams/ New Orleans Literary Festival, New Orleans, March
Texas Book Festival, Austin, Texas, fall
Tucson Festival of Books, Tucson, Arizona, March