Top 10 U.S. book festivals

Riley West / March 18, 2010

In its first year, the Tucson Festival of Books landed in the Top 10 U.S. Book Festivals of 2009.

Based on Internet research and phone conversations with various book festival organizers, the Tucson Festival of Books ranks among the elite book festivals across the nation, such as: the Miami Book Festival International, The National Book Festival and the LA Times Book Festival. These are festivals that have been celebrated for many years and draw crowds of more than 100,000.

The Top 10 Book Festivals of 2009 are ranked as follows:

1) Miami Book Festival International
250,000 attendants, 400 authors, 8 days

2) National Book Festival
130,000 attendants, 70 authors, 1 day

3) Chicago Printers Row
125,000 attendants, 200 authors, 2 days

4) LA Times Book Festival
100,000 attendants, 100 authors, 2 days

5) Decatur Book Festival
65,000 attendants, 240 authors, 3 days

6) Tucson Festival of Books
50,000 attendants, 450 authors, 2 days

7) Texas Book Festival
45,000 attendants, 200 authors, 2 days

8) Brooklyn Heights Book Festival
30,000 attendants, 220 authors, 1 day

9) Louisiana Book Festival
25,000 attendants, 190 authors, 1 day

10) Wisconsin Book Festival
10,000 attendants, 150 authors, 5 days

In its debut, the Tucson Festival of Books drew more than 50,000 attendees in just one weekend. Tucson’s festival also boasted 450 authors, the highest number of all the other book festivals in the nation!

Publisher and editor of the Arizona Daily Star, John Humenik, one of the festival’s founders, says “We knew the opportunity was huge, but I'm not sure we really understood how off-the-chart rewarding this community-wide experience would become. The wow factor of what a community can accomplish together goes beyond our initial understanding. Imagine tens of thousands of people who love reading and support community literacy all getting their way for two days against the beautiful backdrop of Tucson and the University of Arizona. That's what this festival, now among the nation's largest book festivals, accomplished by bringing together readers and the authors they most admire in the intimacy of a festival."

The third annual Tucson Festival of Books is March 12-13, 2011 again across the UA campus and on the UA Mall. The festival aspires to maintain an intimate atmosphere while attracting more attendees and authors each year.