2026 New Hampshire Book Festival
Friday, Oct. 2
10:30 AM
Children’s Keynote: Jeff Kinney (*ticketed event)
CCA
7:00 PM
Opening Keynote: Jodi Picoult with NHPR’s Rebecca Lavoie (*ticketed event)
CCA
Saturday, Oct 3
9:15-9:30
Costume Parade
Come as your favorite book character! (Meet at north festival entrance, by Constantly Pizza.)
9:30-10:25
Love and Obsession
Bonnie Friedman, Eloisa James, and Christine Pride Rebeca Pereira (mod)
CCA Authors Stage
Picturebook Showcase: Love Through Different Lenses
Winsome Bingham, Carrie Finison, and Kate Hosford Kari Allen (mod)
Kidlit Stage
10:25-10:45 book signing
10:45- 11:40
Family Dramas and Sagas
Susan Donovan Bernhard, Shannon Sanders, and Dan Simon NHPR’s Rachel Barenbaum (mod)
CCA Authors Stage
Bold Hearts, Brave Voices
Rebecca Bendheim, Valerie Bolling, Kate McGovern, and Kate Schoedinger Julie Hubble (mod)
Kidlit Stage
Poetry Reading Wyn Cooper, Meg Kearney, and Jennifer Militello intro by NH Poet Laureate
Jennifer Militello
Poetry Salon, upstairs at CCA
11:40-12:00 book signing
12:00-12:55
Spotlight Conversation: Singular Lives
Keith O’Brien and Carla Kaplan Christopher Gorham (mod)
CCA Authors Stage
Beyond the Last Page: The Power of YA
Rajani LaRocca, Mindy McGinnis, Cait Levin, and Alexandra Villasante Julie Dao (mod)
Kidlit Stage
Poetry Reading
Elaine Sexton, Maggie Dietz, and Rena Mosteirin intro by NH Poet Laureate Jennifer Militello
Poetry Salon, upstairs at CCA
12:55-1:15 book signing
1:15-2:10
The Edge of Your Seat
Jenna Blum, Christopher Golden, T. Greenwood, and Edwin Hill Sarah Stewart Taylor (mod)
CCA Authors Stage
Onward! Books that Inspire Environmental Advocacy Emilie Christie Burack, Maria Gianferrari,
Nicholas Lund Evan Griffith (mod)
Kidlit Stage
Creative Nonfiction: Excavating Identities
Hester Kaplan, Michael Lowenthal, and Lynette D’Amico Jocelyn Winn (mod)
Poetry Salon, upstairs at CCA
2:10-2:30 book signing
2:30-3:25
Women Charting Their Own Path
Lee Kelly, Lisa Borders, and Julie Carrick Dalton Lisa Williamson Rosenberg (mod)
CCA Authors Stage
Magic, Myth and Adventure
Magic, Myth and Adventure
Christine Hartman Derr, Jacquelyn Stolos, S.J. Taylor, and M.T. Anderson Lisa Stringfellow
(mod)
Kidlit Stage
3:25-3:45 book signing
3:45-4:35
Redemption at Last
Andrew Krivak, Brinda Charry, and Diane Les Becquets Jennifer Gordon (mod)
CCA Authors Stage
All in the Family: Writing Through Generations
David Elliott, Eli Elliott, Adi Rule, and Rebecca Rule Emilie Christie Burack (mod)
Kidlit Stage
4:35 – 4:55 book signing
6:30-7:30
Family Keynote Jeff Kinney *ticketed event
CCA
