Book Festivals by State

State guide

Iowa

The Iowa City Book Festival is the Iowa festival verified here. The official page is on the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature site, and the page description fetched with it says October 18–25, 2026, in Iowa City. The page title is the festival’s name, and the site says most City of Literature events are free to attend while donations help pay for them. The State Library of Iowa is the separate agency. Its site says it supports Iowa libraries and provides information services to the public, collects an annual public-library survey due October 31, and reported that libraries received more than $2.4 million in Enrich Iowa funding in fiscal year 2025.

Checked against official sources on October 11, 2026. Rules and links change; confirm with the office listed before you act.

Try a ZIP like 30303, “Travis County” or “Columbus, OH”
State library or arts office
State Library of Iowa
Festivals we verified
Iowa City Book Festival
Official program page
Official page →

The festival page is part of a UNESCO City of Literature, not a commercial fair. The fetched page features participating writers and says donations support programs like this festival. It does not, in the text used here, print a single theater address for every reading, so this guide does not invent one. The date range in the page description is the planning fact: a week in mid-to-late October 2026 in Iowa City. Readers should reopen iowacityofliterature.org/icbf/ for room locations.

The State Library’s work is year-round library development. Besides the October 31 survey and the Enrich Iowa report, the site offered grant-writing workshops, a self-paced course for new trustees on Iowa’s open-meetings and public-records laws, and a free online conference, ILOC, for the library community. Those are professional programs. They explain how Iowa libraries stay open. They are not the Book Festival schedule. If State Library of Iowa updates hours, a venue, or a deadline, the live page replaces this Iowa summary.

A visitor can care about both. The festival is the public literary week in Iowa City. The State Library is the agency that funds and trains libraries across the state, including the report on more than $2.4 million in Enrich Iowa support. No second Iowa festival was verified in this pass. Use the UNESCO City site for author events and the State Library site for library governance and funding. This Iowa note adds no crowd estimate, ticket price, or street address beyond the pages that were fetched.

Official resources in Iowa

Iowa City Book Festival

UNESCO City of Literature page for the festival, with an October 18–25, 2026 description.

Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature

Host organization for the festival and other literary programs.

State Library of Iowa

State agency page for library support, the annual survey, and Enrich Iowa funding.

Key facts for Iowa

Verified festivals and programs in Iowa

FestivalcityDetails
Iowa City Book FestivalIowa CityFestival of the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature. Page description lists October 18–25, 2026.

* Not published: the official page doesn't list it. Call the office to confirm before you rely on it.

What to do next

  1. Use the UNESCO City festival page for room-by-room times, not a reprinted list.
  2. Assume most City of Literature events are free unless a specific ticket note says otherwise.
  3. Library staff should note the October 31 survey deadline on the State Library site.
  4. Do not confuse Enrich Iowa library funding with a festival admission fee.

Not seeing your festival or county?

We list a festival only when an official government page publishes its rules. If yours isn't in the table above, it may not publish them online yet. Here's what to use instead, in order:

  1. General Start with the statewide information above. It applies across Iowa, but cities and counties can add their own steps, fees or deadlines.
  2. Closest verified Nearest places where we have verified local data outside this state (distance from Iowa's population center, for comparison only):
  3. Call to confirm Ask the official office. They have the current local rule, fee and form.
    State Library of Iowa
    Website →
    Phone not shown: use the contact page on the official website above.
    Your city or county office: Local governments →
    Not sure who handles it locally? USAGov's free help line, 1-844-872-4681, or the Iowa page on USA.gov can point you to the right office.
  4. Know the current info? Tell us and include a link to the official page. We check every tip before it goes up.

Helpful guides

Festival finder →

Do you serve Iowa? Get a featured listing for $30/month, clearly labeled as a paid placement.