More than 70 authors are scheduled to speak about their latest published works at the Wisconsin Book Festival’s 24th annual Fall Celebration October 23–26 at Central Library and downtown Madison partner venues. While the majority of events will take place at the library, others will be hosted at partner sites such as Arts + Literature Laboratory, UW-Madison’s Discovery Building, and the Wisconsin Historical Society. Throughout the four days, visitors can enjoy events featuring award-winning fiction authors, inspiring poetry, heartfelt memoir, and plenty of nonfiction books about food, music, politics, and science.
"Madison Public Library is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, so it feels extra special to have Central Library as the beating heart of the festival’s annual Fall Celebration," Wisconsin Book Festival director Jane Rotonda shared. "We can't wait to welcome our community to the library and other downtown venues to enjoy more than 55 free and open to the public events featuring impressive authors and outstanding books."
Fall Celebration Highlights:
Thursday, October 23, 2025
- New York Times bestselling author and 1988 Hemingway Foundation/PEN award winner Jane Hamilton for The Phoebe Variations, 7 p.m., Central Library, Community Room 301
Friday, October 24, 2025
- Mineral Point Excellence in Education Foundation board chair Kristin Mitchell for The Wisconsin Whey: Cheesemaking In The Driftless, 4:30 p.m., Central Library, Community Room 302
- Moroccan-American novelist, essayist, and professor Laila Lalami for The Dream Hotel, 6 p.m., Central Library, Community Room 301
- Wisconsin-based author David Wroblewski for Familiaris, 7:30 p.m. Central Library, Community Room 301
Saturday, October 25, 2025
- 2022 Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism Melissa Febos for The Dry Season, 1:30 p.m., Central Library, Community Room 301
- Award-winning novelist, editor, and translator Caro De Robertis for So Many Stars: An Oral History Of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, And Two-Spirit People Of Color, 4:30 p.m., Central Library, Community Rooms 301 & 302
- MacDowell Fellow and Whiting Award recipient Lily King for Heart The Lover, 6 p.m., Central Library, Community Rooms 301 & 302
- Winner of the 2007 Lambda Literary Award, writer, and professor André Aciman for Roman Year, 7:30 p.m., Central Library, Community Rooms 301 & 302
- Poet and academic Donika Kelly, poet and naturalist Elizabeth Bradfield, and writer and editor Keetje Kuipers for "Eco-Intimacy: Poems Queering Kinship, Desire, And The More-than-human World” Poetry Panel, 7:30 p.m., Arts + Literature Laboratory
Sunday, October 26
- Radio host and writer Martha Barnette and American lexicographer and dictionary editor Grant Barrett for Friends with Words: Adventures In Languageland, 12 p.m., Central Library, Community Rooms 301 & 302
- New York Times bestselling popular science and humor writer Mary Roach for Replaceable You: Adventures In Human Anatomy, 1:30 p.m., Central Library, Community Rooms 301 & 302
For the full schedule, and the most up-to-date information, visit the Wisconsin Book Festival website!
Presented by Madison Public Library in partnership with Madison Public Library Foundation, the Wisconsin Book Festival offers free year-round events that spark conversations and critical thinking. Inclusion in the author lineup, book selections, and audience is a key component of festival programming.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
The festival is funded with generous lead support from Signature Sponsor Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, with additional donations from many other businesses, organizations, and individuals. Madison Public Library Foundation privately raises nearly $200,000 per year to support authors’ travel and lodging expenses, and operations.
Find sponsors and read more about funding for the festival at wisconsinbookfestival.org/give.