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13th Annual Harrisburg Book Festival


  • 1302 North 3rd Street Harrisburg, PA, 17102 United States (map)

This fall, the Harrisburg Book Festival returns for its 13th year from October 15th-19th!

Proudly presented by the Midtown Scholar Bookstore and Community Reads, the Harrisburg Book Festival celebrates the written word and its power to inspire, provoke and delight. Featuring an outdoor tent sale, award-winning authors, and children’s day programming, the Harrisburg Book Festival promotes a culture of reading and community in the heart of Pennsylvania’s state capital  — all while surrounded by hundreds of books at one of the nation’s leading independent bookstores.

AUTHOR APPEARANCES

This year’s festival includes a lineup of world-renowned authors, featuring:

  • Actor and Comedian Nick Offerman (Little Woodchucks)

  • Internationally Renowned Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Dream Count)

  • NYT Bestselling Fantasy Author Marie Lu (Red City)

  • NYT Bestselling Fantasy Author Carissa Broadbent (Daughter of No Worlds)

  • Award-Winning Middle-Grade Author, John Patrick Green (Investigators)

  • Bestselling Historian, Jeffrey Rosen (The Pursuit of Liberty)

  • More authors TK!

OUTDOOR TENT SALE

The Outdoor Tent Sale will take place on Verbeke Street from the 3rd Street (in front of the Broad Street Market) to Susquehanna St (towards the back of the bookstore) from Wednesday, October 15th - Sunday, October 19th. The sale will feature over 30,000+ used books at bargain prices across all genres.

CHILDREN’S DAY

Children’s Day will take place on Saturday, October 18th from 10am-1pm. Activities include story time, face painting, bookstore scavenger hunt, build-your-own bookmark, book signings, and a performance from the Popcorn Hat Players!

SPONSORS

Over twenty community businesses, universities, and media partners have come on-board to sponsor the festival, including:

  • Community Reads

  • Messiah University School of Arts, Culture, and Society

  • Carpe Librum

  • Mid Penn Bank

  • Penn State Harrisburg

  • Tröegs Independent Brewing

  • Millersville University Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

  • Thought Catalog

  • AAUW Harrisburg

  • Susquehanna University Department of English & Creative Writing

  • Harrisburg Academy

  • Fernecrest

  • Explore HBG

  • Bucknell University Press

  • Dickinson College Department of English & Creative Writing

  • Lebanon Valley College Department of English

  • Fox Pest Control

  • WITF

  • Spotlight PA

  • The Millworks

Earlier Event: October 11
Storytime at the Scholar!
Later Event: November 8
Storytime at the Scholar!