Hundreds of Writers Set to Mark 20 Years of Literary Magic in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Book Festival, scheduled to take place Sept. 14 to Sept. 22, offers more than 130 free events honoring literature and the written word.
Hundreds of award-winning and new authors will be featured at the 20th annual Brooklyn Book Festival, which takes over New York City with nine days of literary events from Sept. 14 through Sept. 22.
Highlights include Festival Day on Sunday, Sept. 21, Children’s Day on Saturday, Sept. 20 and Virtual Festival Day, taking place online on Sunday, Sept. 14.
Award-winning novelist Marlon James will be the recipient of the 2025 Best of Brooklyn (BoBi) Award, organizers said.
“The Brooklyn Book Festival is New York City’s festival with events in neighborhoods in all five boroughs culminating with our big literary bash in Downtown Brooklyn,” said Brooklyn Book Festival Producer Liz Koch in a statement. “Brooklyn is home to the world and welcomes national and international authors, as well as reflecting the incredible writers living and being inspired in Brooklyn and throughout the city.”
The festival kicks off with its online Virtual Festival Day, a tradition that welcomes authors and audiences from around the world. Among this year’s Virtual Festival Day authors are Mozambican writer Mia Couto, horror writer Cassandra Khaw, Pulitzer Prize finalist Karen Russell, illustrator Mary Catherine Starr, award-winning Aboriginal writer Alexis Wright and others.
The flagship Festival Day and Literary Marketplace features fan favorite Joyce Carol Oates, pioneering graphic memoirist Alison Bechdel, National Book Award winner Sigrid Nunez, NYT bestselling speculative fiction author Nnedi Okorafor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Than Nguyen, and other award-winning and emerging authors.
Festival Day takes place in venues and in the parks surrounding Downtown Brooklyn’s Borough Hall, with eight indoor and outdoor stages at Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Brooklyn Law School, Center for Brooklyn History, St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, Columbus Park and the Korean War Veteran’s Park. Throughout the day from 10:00am – 6:00pm, the stages are filled with conversation and debates, as authors of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, comics, graphic novels and young adult literature come together to converse, read and sign books.
Festival Day becomes an opportunity for audiences to think through some of today’s most urgent and complex issues, be uplifted and entertained by their favorite authors, and discover new favorites. It also stages the largest book market in the Northeast with more than 250 publishers, offering readers the possibility to discover new authors, independent publishers and literary organizations in hundreds of tents set up outdoors in Columbus Park and Borough Hall Plaza.
Children’s Day will be held in its new location in Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza where families will enjoy a full day of readings, workshops, performances, book signings and art projects with favorite children’s and middle-grade authors and illustrators including Ryan T. Higgins, Grace Lin, Meg Medina and Ibi Zoboi. Kids can get creative with their favorite writers and illustrators at workshops and even get their books signed. Plus, the whole family can find new favorite books at the Children’s Marketplace of Books.
When the Brooklyn Book Festival was launched in 2006, no one knew whether it would be a one-time event or if it would become an annual celebration, according to Johnny Temple, co-chair of the Brooklyn Book Festival Literary Council.
“We most certainly had no idea, at all, that twenty years later the festival would be stronger than ever!” Temple said. “Indeed, this year’s BKBF is an embarrassment of wide-ranging literary riches, with dynamic programming for every single person, young or old, who joins us to revel in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s books, or any other genre that tickles your fancy.”
