Highlights of 2022 Kansas Book Festival

The 2022 Kansas Book Festival was a great success. The attendance was a grand total of 1,635, which includes the pre-festival Lawrence event, the festival itself, the post-festival poetry event, and the visits to elementary schools. The festival received lots of positive feedback, including a comment from poet Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg who said “having been to many of these festivals in the past, I found this the warmest, most inclusive, and most community-building of them all.”

At the festival itself we had a lot of attendees who had lots of feedback. The constant conversation between authors and readers formed a positive community that was seen all day. Author Nancy McCabe said “It was so well-organized with panels featuring great synchronicity among panelists, and the sessions I went to were well-attended, with lively audiences.”

There were a few children’s authors that went to elementary schools the week of the festival as well, including John Hare, Alastair Heim, and Jimmy Beason. The festival received lots of positive feedback from participating school librarians. Karin Thompson at Meadows Elementary said “Alastair Heim was just fantastic! The kids and teachers were so enamored with him, and I’ve received nothing but compliments on his session.” Alice Reinert, Media Specialist at Wanamaker Elementary, reported similarly, saying, “The author visit was awesome! Seventy-five 5th graders gathered in the library on the day of the visit! We had spent 2 library classes becoming familiar with John and his books, and the kids loved putting a face (and personality) with his name. John spent about 30 minutes explaining what his life as an illustrator/author is like, how he got started in his career, and the art techniques he uses.”

In addition to these elementary school visits, the poet Gary Jackson led a workshop for high school poets from three schools: Highland Park, Topeka High, and Topeka West. A number of the participating students then came to the Kansas Book Festival and joined a High School Poetry Slam organized by Jess Karns, Media Specialist at Topeka West.

The festival is also proud to announce that the donation goal of $2,500 for the EnvistaCares challenge was met, plus another $500 pledged! The goal of $2,500 means that Envista will match that donation to support the festival and their grant fund to help needy libraries across Kansas.

Keep your attention on the festival’s website and Facebook page. The date is set for the 12th annual Kansas Book Festival on Saturday, September 16th of 2023!