Bookfest Keynote Speakers
June 8, 2021
*All times are listed in ET
9:00
Real Talk: In Conversation with Tayari Jones
Join New York Times best-selling author and 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, Tayari Jones, in a candid discussion about writing, books that matter, and life in the publishing industry with Linda A. Duggins.
5:00
Imagining Other Worlds: TJ Klune and L. Penelope
Award-winning fantasy writers TJ Klune and L. Penelope come together for a conversation with Jenn Northington about the magical power of love and found family, writing with hope and optimism, and sending characters on complex journeys of self-discovery.
June 9, 2021
9:00
It’s About Black Baby Joy!
Authors and artists discuss why books, art, writers and artists are integral in the creation of Black joy for young readers with Denene Millner, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Natasha Tarpley, Regis Bethencourt and Kahran Bethencourt, moderated by Stacey Barney.
5:00
Lifting Lives with the Book: In Conversation with Anthony Doerr
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a #1 New York Times bestseller Anthony Doerr in conversation with Seija Rankin (Entertainment Weekly) about his new novel Cloud Cuckoo Land and the power of stories to comfort us in difficult moments across time and space.
Check out the list of amazing speakers and panelists here!