Tucson's Book Bonanza: Authors, Music & More Under the Sun

There was something for everyone at the 2024 Tucson Festival of Books held March 9-10, 2024

The Tucson Festival of Books was held last weekend at the University of Arizona. The festival began in 2009 and has been held every year since, with the exception of 2020 when it was cancelled. In 2021, it was held virtually.

Known as the “Wildcats,” Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat are the university’s mascots.

The University of Arizona Mall serves as the main corridor for the event.

There is something for everyone: 400 authors with moderated panels, nearly 200 exhibitor booths, more than 200 sponsors (making the festival free for all attendees), and over 60 musical acts. More than 125,000 people attended this year.

I thoroughly enjoyed going to the author panel discussions. With an overwhelming number of panels offered, it was difficult to narrow the choices. I chose two memoir related panels discussing writing about families, a publicity panel, and a panel featuring public figures Luke Russert and Alisyn Camerota, who have written new memoirs.

During my recent writing retreat, I started listening to “While You Were Out” by Meg Kissinger. I had checked out the book through my library app, but only got halfway through before it was time to return. I bought a copy to finish reading.

I loved hearing Meg Kissinger talk about how she turned her reporter lens inward to talk about how her family has been impacted by mental illness. It’s an excellent book I highly recommend.

I hadn’t planned on buying more books, but once I heard some of the panel discussions, I couldn’t resist. Then I stood in line to have them signed by the authors.

The Comic Bookmobile dude…aka artist Frank Powers on the mall. When I asked him what he does, he said he teaches kids how to draw cartoons, which inspires creativity and reading.

There’s an entire children’s section of the festival with activities for the entire family. The Comic Bookmobile fits the theme of the festival…a celebration of imagination, creativity, and community.

Fun figurines atop the arch in front of the Henry Koffler Chemistry and Biological Sciences building.

The National Park Service represented with the National Park Experience Pavilion, stage, and their colorful Saguaro National Park van with “Honor the people, honor the land” on the side.

Book sales were alive and doing very well. I’m standing at the back of the line that snakes around in the distance. Book sales are another reason the festival is free.

Author books are available to purchase in this UofA Bookstore tent, then tables are set up outside the tent for authors to sign their books after their panel discussions.

It’s wonderful meeting new writing friends face to face!

Photo credit: Travis Lundeen

So many tents and so little time, especially if you wanted to hear any of the author panels.

Several of the events are ticketed, but if there’s room, they’ll let people without tickets attend.

This was a Sunday afternoon panel with former NBC correspondent Luke Russert who wrote, “Look for Me There,” a book about grieving his father Tim, and CNN Anchor Alisyn Camerota talking about her memoir “Combat Love” being released on March 26, 2024.

It was very interesting to hear them discuss the challenge of being transparent and vulnerable while writing their memoirs since they are both public figures. I enjoyed their panel discussion and was grateful I could attend. Note to self: register for a ticket to interesting panels next year because they’re free.

There is something for everyone at the Tucson Festival of Books, whether you’re reader, music lover, writer, or nature enthusiast.

Mark your calendars for March 8 and 9, 2025…and see you there!