The Fox Cities Book Festival board of directors announces it will take a hiatus from hosting a 2023 book festival. Typically, the organization holds a festival in the fall. Instead, the event will return in spring 2024 and combine with the Fox Cities Reads community read event.
The Fox Cities Book Festival has gone through many cycles of change since former Wisconsin Poet Laureate Ellen Kort started the event more than 15 years ago. The 2023-2024 festival season is no exception.
The Fox Cities Book Festival board is taking extra time in 2023 to reinvest in the festival by exploring new avenues that promise to improve the overall structure of the book festival.
Diminished attendance alerted board members of the need for improvement. Team members representing the festival board, six public libraries, and the local community at large are working to strengthen the impact that the Fox Cities Book Festival can deliver to the greater community. This includes improving the overall quality of the experience.
“Look for the festival to return as bold and bright as ever in the spring of 2024, when the book festival will once again combine with the community read to connect readers and writers across our diverse communities,” says Holly Selwitschka, Fox Cities Book Festival board president.
Fox Cities Book Festival’s 2023 community read is business as usual. Save the date for the Fox Cities Reads book selection reveal event. It will take place from 5-8 p.m. Feb. 21 at Stone Arch Brewpub in Appleton.
We’ll release more details about the 2024 festival as the time draws closer, including when we’ll begin inviting authors to participate. Thank you for your continued support!
