Lists

YA Literary Events Across The USA For Your Bookish Road Tripping Needs

Kelly Jensen

Editor

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.

Versions of this list appeared in the “What’s Up in YA?” newsletter last year. Sign up for the biweekly newsletter dedicated to all things young adult. 

With a fresh new year comes a fresh new batch of awesome literary events throughout the USA. We’ve highlighted awesome annual literary events in each state before, but we’ve not yet focused entirely on young adult specific/heavy events. Let’s change that and talk all things YA literary events!

This list is far from comprehensive. There are events that are missing, particularly smaller events that happen at public libraries. Since not all conferences have announced dates, locations, or speakers yet for this year, some of the information you’ll find below is bare bones.

But the beauty of this is it’s a resource for you to keep returning to and planning around. Because even if you can’t actually attend one of these events, who doesn’t enjoy dreaming up a fantasy bookish trip?

I’ve stuck with specific to teen/YA lit events, except in cases which events were focused entirely on children’s literature more broadly and showed a wealth of YA events with it. If you know of other events fitting these parameters, drop a line. Know of great international YA lit–focused fests? Drop a line about those, too!

Get ready to get YA Lit across the USA.

YA Literary Events across the USA literary events | events for YA readers | young adult literature | events for young adult fans | #YALit | YA book festivals

 

YA Literary Events Across The USA

 

The African American Children’s Book Fair: February 2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

Teen Book Fest By The Bay: February 16, Corpus Christie, Texas

 

National Latino Children’s Literature Conference: February 28–March 2, San Antonio, Texas

 

Southeastern Young Adult Book Festival: March 7–9, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

 

Ontario Teen Book Fest: March 9, Ontario, California

 

Children’s Literature Festival: March 17–19, Warrensburg, Missouri (at the University of Central Missouri)

 

North Texas Teen Book Festival: March 22–23, Irving, Texas

 

New York City Teen Author Festival: March TBA, New York City, New York

 

NoVA Teen Book Festival: March 30, Arlington, Virginia

 

Teen Book Con: March 30, League City, Texas

 

Chicago Young Adult Book Festival: April TBA, Chicago, Illinois

 

Colorado Teen Literature Conference: April TBA, Denver, Colorado

 

Southern Kentucky Book Fest: April 26–27, Bowling Green, Kentucky (They hold a teen and children’s day)

 

Twin Cities Teen Lit Con: April 27, Twin Cities area, Minnesota

 

Hudson Children’s Book Festival: May 4, Hudson, New York

 

Yall West: May 3–4, Santa Monica, California

 

Lit Up Teen Book Festival: May TBA, Kansas City, Missouri

 

Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival: May 18, Rochester, New York

 

YA Fest PA: Summer, Easton, Pennsylvania

 

Bookmarks Festival: September TBA, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

 

Brooklyn Book Festival: September TBA, Brooklyn, New York

 

Pasadena Loves YA: September TBA, Pasadena, California

 

Boston Teen Book Festival: September 22, TBA, Boston, Massachusetts

Update:

 

YA-hoo Fest: September TBA, Chattanooga, Tennessee

 

Texas Teen Book Festival: October TBA, Austin, Texas

 

Southern Festival of Books: October TBA, Nashville, Tennessee

 

Sheboygan Teen Book Festival: October TBA, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

 

YAS Book Con: October TBA, Bowling Green, Kentucky

 

Anderson’s Young Adult Literature Conference: October TBA, Naperville, Illinois

 

Books By The Banks: October TBA, Cincinnati, Ohio

 

Las Vegas Book Festival: October TBA, Las Vegas, Nevada

 

Read Up, Greenville: October TBA, Greenville, South Carolina

 

Pickerington Teen Book Festival: October TBA, Pickerington, Ohio

 

Colorado Teen Book Con: November TBA, Denver, Colorado

 

Epic Fest: November TBA, Charlotte, North Carolina

 

Yall Fest: November TBA, Charleston, South Carolina

 

Portland Book Festival: November TBA, Portland, Oregon