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The 11th annual Fox Cities Book Festival is hosting 60 authors participating in over 70 events from October 8-14. Connecting readers to the writers they love, the festival focuses on a wide range of genres for everyone. Vice President of the Board of the Fox Cities Book Festival Ashley Thiem-Menning says, “We try to make sure that we can connect at least one person somehow with the festival.” 

Headlining this year’s festival is author Linda Castillo who writes the New York Times bestselling Kate Burkholder mystery series set in Amish country. Her most recent novel, “A Gathering of Secrets,” was released on July 10 and is the 10th book of the series. Castillo will be speaking at three events during the festival.

Authors Sarah Read, Richard Thomas, Chris Welch, James Lowder and Kathrin Köhler will be discussing writing in the horror genre at the Horror Writers Panel. The festival’s second panel, Diverse Voices in Youth Literature, will have young adult authors Lori M. Lee, Crystal Chan and Kurtis Scaletta discussing the importance of diverse voices in youth literature. 

A new feature added to the festival this year is spoken word poetry. This type of poetry is both read and performed. Milwaukee poets Dasha Kelly Hamilton, Amanda Reavey, Matt Cook and De’Shawn Ewing will be presenting their poems as well as talking about how spoken word poetry works.

Attendees will be able to engage with writers at free events throughout the week at different locations spread across the Fox Cities from The Draw to public libraries. “It’s really an awesome week of celebrating authors and the written word,” Thiem-Menning says. 

For more information, go to foxcitiesbookfestival.org or follow the festival on Facebook at Fox Cities Book Festival, on Instagram @fcbookfest and Twitter @FCBookFestival.