Linda Falkenstein
A stack of books.
Scott Simon is one of the headliners at the Wisconsin Book Festival's Fall Celebration.
This year’s Wisconsin Book Festival Fall Celebration will be celebrating more than books — this is the fest’s 25th anniversary year. Jane Rotonda, now in her fourth year as festival director, enumerated some of the milestones during a “First Look Party” on Sept. 9 at the Central Library, before unveiling this year’s Fall Celebration author lineup.
Rotonda noted that in that quarter century, the festival has “hosted more than 2,300 author events featuring more than 3,500 authors, and given away just over 25,000 books, which feels extra perfect in this 25th year.” She also noted that according to their tracking, they’ve hosted 285,000 people at these events over the years. “So, that means that we basically hosted the entire population of Madison throughout the book festival years.”
She was then joined by Conor Moran, former festival director and current executive director of the Madison Public Library Foundation, and library director Tana Elias to lead an energetic round of audience participation trivia about fest highlights over the years, including that it’s packed the house at the Orpheum Theater twice: in 2024 for Amor Towles reading from his Table for Two; and this year for George Saunders reading from Vigil. (And just for fun: What Wisconsin author has appeared at the festival the most number of times? Therese Allen, Lynda Barry or David Maraniss? Answer at the bottom!)
Some 80 authors will be in Madison this year for the fest, Oct. 15-18, with readings and discussions clustered at Madison’s Central Library with more nearby at the lecture hall at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. On the UW-Madison campus, a few events will take place at the Discovery Building and the Teacher Education Building. Rotonda tells Isthmus that there are more authors this year, but about the same number of events — as there are more paired speakers, panels, and “in discussion with” sessions.
Some of the marquee authors appearing this year include NPR host Scott Simon, whose memoir Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known published in May; cartoonist Roz Chast, whose graphic novel collaboration with Jason Adam Katzenstein, The Saddest Two Kitchens, will publish in October; novelist Deesha Philyaw, whose debut, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman, drops at the end of September; and Democratic strategist and Madison favorite son Ben Wikler, whose This is the Plan has been making waves since it came out in July.
This year’s schedule also features a large number of Wisconsin authors (54 have “Wisconsin ties,” according to the festival), including Ainehi Edoro-Glines, Tara Mulder, Ann Garvin, Inga Orth, Meghan O’Gieblyn, Melissa Faliveno, Jim DeVita, Patricia McConnell, Kevin Henkes, Jane Hamilton —- and that’s just the start.
Poetry is having a moment this year, with four discussion and reading sessions featuring sixteen poets. Former Wisconsin poet laureate Kimberly Blaeser will also read from her debut short story collection, Red Ants.
The fest will also continue a tradition of giving away the book under discussion at certain events — this year at five sessions, including the Roz Chast appearance.
View the full list of authors and book giveaways on the Wisconsin Book Festival website.
The Wisconsin Book Festival is presented by Madison Public Library in partnership with the Madison Public Library Foundation, and offers free, year-round literary events in addition to the Fall Celebration.
And now the answer to “Who has appeared the most number of times at the Wisconsin Book Festival”: Madisonian and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss.
