Montana Book Festival

After two years in the digital sphere, the Montana Book Festival is partnering with the Missoula Public Library to bring back a live, in-person celebration of the written word! The program will include panels, presentations, readings, and exhibitions, with most sessions taking place in our beautiful downtown library. With over 50 authors invited from the region and from around the world, and with events scheduled for literature lovers of all ages, the Montana Book Festival has something for everyone.

Thursday, September 15th

Opening Reading
with Debra Magpie Earling
Cooper Room, 11am

Fusing Photography and Poetry as a Single Canvas
With Charles Finn, Barbara Michelman, and Rex Wilder
Cooper Room A, 12pm

The Forgotten Characters of History
With Bill Vaughn, Michael J. Ober, and Nate Schweber
Cooper Room B, 1pm

Blue Creek Press Reading
With Sam Olson and Sandy Compton
Cooper Room A, 2pm

Lisa Solod Reading
Cooper Room B, 2:30pm

Nate Schweber Reading
Cooper Room A, 3pm

Rob Chaney Reading
Cooper Room B, 3:30pm

Gwendolyn Nix Reading 
Cooper Room A, 4pm

Lauren Slaughter Reading
Cooper Room B, 4:30pm

The Write Question LIVE with Chrysti the Wordsmith
Cooper Room A, 5pm

John Reid Reading*
Cooper Room B, 6pm

Friday, September 16th

Poetry Roundtable
Cooper Room B, 9am

The Picture, or the Thousand Words?
With David Overturf, Shann Ray, and Craig Hergert
Cooper Room A, 10am

Who We Don’t Talk About in the Old West
With Michael K. Johnson and Christy Leskovar
Cooper Room B, 11am

Approaching Alzheimer’s in Literature
With Lisa Solod and Mary Moreland
Cooper Room A, 12pm

Two Tours of Montana
With Michael J. Ober and Josh Quick
Cooper Room B, 1pm

The State of Genre in 2022
With Gwendolyn Nix, Laramie Dean, and Nicole Zelniker
Cooper Room A, 2pm

Crime, True and Fictional
With Gwen Florio and Ron Francsell
Cooper Room B, 3pm

Gentrification in the Mountain West
With Ryanne Pilgeram, Kathleen McLaughlin, and Chris La Tray
Cooper Room, 4pm

Shann Ray and Craig Hergert Showing
Blackfoot Communications Boardroom, 5pm

Saturday, September 17th

Poetry Roundtable
Cooper Room B, 9am

Children’s Reading Period
With Pat Kittelson, Susan Ewing, Bruce Smith, and Bridget Farr
Library Second Floor, 10am to 12pm

Bill Vaughn Reading
Cooper Room A, 10am

Memoir: Craft, Content, and the Struggle With Self
With Keema Waterfield, Courtney Zoffness, Jamie Gehring, and Teo Lim Goh
Cooper Room B, 11am

Off the Grid
With Bridget Farr and Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield
Cooper Room A, 12pm

Poetry from Summer Writing Camp
Featuring students of the Missoula Writing Collborative
Level Two, 12pm

Dorothy Bradley Reading
With Dorothy Bradley and Rae Olson
Cooper Room B, 1pm

The Chinese Experience in Montana 
With Teo Lim Goh, Jamie Ford, and Mark T. Johnson
Cooper Room, 1:30pm

Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield Presentation – How I Built a Log Cabin
Blackfoot Communications Boardroom, 2pm

Dave Overturf Reading
Blackfoot Communications Boardroom, 4pm

An Evening with Candice Carty-Williams*
Cooper Room, 6:30pm, $5 or festival button at the door

Sunday, September 18th

Making Literary Communities in the West
With Shy Watson, Mason Parker, and Nathaniel Perkins
Cooper Room B, 12pm

Short Works Finale
Blackfoot Board room, 12:30pm

Trauma as Backbone; Strengthening Communities of Adversity with Creative Writing 
Cooper Room A, 1pm

Caylin Capra-Thomas Reading
Cooper Room B, 2pm

Grace Larson Reading
Cooper Room A, 3pm

Where Humans and Wildlife Meet
With Robert Chaney, Catherine Raven, Mike McTee, and Michael P. Branch
Cooper Room, 4pm

Dane Bahr and Gwen Florio Reading*
Cooper Room A, 5pm

Catherine Raven Reading*
Cooper Room B, 6pm

Events with an * require $5 cover or an all-access button. Entrance on Main Street only. Please visit the Montana Book Festival website for more information.