Readers of all ages gather at the Festival to celebrate the region’s rich literary community and love for reading. The free event features locally and nationally recognized authors, dozens of poets, children’s activities, bookstores, entertainment, publishers and more.

The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books: the one day of the year when the city of bridges turns into the city of books.

The Tale of a Literate City

Pittsburgh is home to many best-selling authors, budding writers, established literary organizations, university presses and publishers, making it a true destination for individuals who enjoy and value literature!

In 2024, the Festival welcomed…

In previous years, we’ve welcomed some big names to our stage, including:

Rebecca Yarros, author of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame
Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle and Hang the Moon
Billy Porter, actor, singer and author of his 2023 memoir, UNPROTECTED
Ross Gay, author of Inciting Joy and The Book of Delights
Brittany Thurman, author of Forever and Always
Karuna Riazi, author of A Bit of Earth

& a variety of genres!

Fiction

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Nonfiction

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Romance

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Thriller

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Fantasy

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History

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Memoir

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True Crime

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Mystery

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Children's and Young Adult

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Noteworthy Names

Socially Speaking

Over the last three years, the Festival has cultivated a vibrant community of Pittsburgh’s most passionate book enthusiasts across Instagram and Facebook. With 2,400+ Instagram followers, 1,300 likes and 1,700 followers on Facebook, the platforms serve as a hub for sharing information about the Festival including author and poet spotlights and programming highlights.

The Festival’s online community stems further than its own accounts through our official Ambassador Program, which currently includes 11 book influencers— allowing us to target over 35,000 individuals!

Combined media efforts for the 2024 Festival resulted in about 20 placements total and a potential reach of 21,343,600!

GPFB in the News