About
What We Believe In
The Salt Lake Book Festival started with a simple belief: that the best thing a book can do is find the right person at the right moment. We built the festival to create more of those moments — live, in person, in the heart of Salt Lake.
Every October, we bring together authors, artists, independent booksellers, community organizations, and a whole lot of curious people for a one-day celebration that’s equal parts literary event and neighborhood gathering.
This festival is a celebration of the written word and the voices that give it life.
We are warm, genuinely excited, and deeply in love with stories. But we are not just a fun weekend. We have real roots in literature and a real conviction that reading should feel attractive, achievable, and within reach for everyone. The celebration is intentional. Accessibility is the mission.
We show up for the devoted reader hunting their next obsession and the person who hasn’t finished a book in years but is quietly curious. Both are exactly who we had in mind.
The Salt Lake Book Festival was built from the ground up for this city and the people in it. We designed every part of the experience around a few things we genuinely believe:
- Reading is for everyone — every reader has a chapter one
- Reading is a celebration — we bring great stories and a real community together to enjoy the experience together
- Our community needs a space where we can debut local voices and writers
Our Partners
FAQs
Got questions? We’ve got answers — and if we missed yours, we’re just an email away.
The Salt Lake Book Festival is a literary festival coming to The Gateway in Salt Lake City on October 17, 2026. We’re built for the devoted reader, the person who hasn’t picked up a book in years but is quietly curious, and everyone in between. Think high-energy author conversations, panels, signings, a curated market, and thousands of people gathering around stories.
Saturday, October 17, 2026 at The Gateway, Salt Lake City, Utah. The Prologue is happening the night before, on Friday, Oct. 16, at the downtown library, and is ticketed.
Yes. The market and general festival festivities are free and accessible to the public. Some programming and festival areas will be ticketed, including select stage events and The Prologue. Full ticketing details are being announced on a rolling basis. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know.
We’re anticipating 4,500 attendees for the inaugural year.
Absolutely. We want reading to feel accessible and exciting for every age. This is not an exclusive literary club. Kids, tweens, families, and first-timers are very much who we had in mind.
Expect author conversations, panel discussions, book signings, and intimate sessions across multiple stages, all programmed for a general audience, not just the literary elite. We have a ~400 seat main stage, a ~200 seat stage at Kiln co-working space, and a family-focused stage with story time for young readers.
Author announcements are rolling out soon. Follow us on Instagram @saltlakebookfestival and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news.
Programming is split between ticketed and free events.
Amazing! Our 2026 program is full. Please keep an eye out for 2027 applications in early January. Keep in mind that we are only accepting authors with books that have a 2027 publication date.
The Gateway is located in downtown Salt Lake City at 400 W South Temple. The festival is easily accessible via TRAX, the city’s light rail system, as well as Salt Lake’s expanding bike lane network.
Yes. Paid parking is available at The Gateway. We strongly encourage attendees to utilize public transportation, carpooling, walking, or biking when possible.
Yes. The Gateway is an outdoor mixed use retail space with accessible pathways throughout the property. If you have specific accessibility questions or accommodations needs, please reach out to us at accessibility@saltlakebookfestival.org.
The Market is our curated vendor space, an intentional mix of booksellers, publishers, artists, makers, and food & beverage vendors who are already part of Salt Lake City’s cultural fabric. It’s a place to browse, discover, and connect.
Vendor applications closed on July 7, 2026. We hope you consider applying for next year’s festival.
Due to limited availability, we are reserving vendor booths for Salt Lake bookstores and publishers rather than individual authors. We’d love for you to apply for one of our coveted volunteer roles or come hang with us as an attendee for the day.
Subscribe to our newsletter at saltlakebookfestival.org and follow us on Instagram @saltlakebookfestival.
Drop us a line at hello@saltlakebookfestival.org.
Start Your Next Chapter With Us
Grab your tickets, explore the lineup, and start planning your perfect festival day.