The 2021 Tucson Festival of Books will be completely virtual, organizers announced Monday.
Scheduled for Saturday, March 6, 2021, and Sunday, March 7, 2021, book lovers will be able to join free, live author sessions for kids and adults with select sessions on demand.
The 2020 Tucson Festival of Books — scheduled to take place at the University of Arizona as it does every year — was canceled in early March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Since then, the festival has been hosting virtual author events through its Authors in Conversation series and the recently launched Imagination Fridays with children's book authors and illustrators. Both series will continue through the end of 2020, according to the festival.
“We value the safety of the Tucson community and are excited to share this immersive, virtual experience with all book lovers and fans of the Tucson Festival of Books,” festival executive director Melanie Morgan said in a statement. “For planning purposes and the continued safety of our festival patrons and community, it makes the most sense to plan our 2021 festival as an online event. This event allows us to pivot and provide wonderful online content in our current environment while looking to the future and bringing the full festival back and better than ever to the University of Arizona campus — as soon as it is safe.”
The virtual event will still feature venues such as the Arizona Daily Star stage, Pima County Public Library's Nuestras Raíces stage and the Western National Parks and Science stage. Events will span many genres and categories.
For more information, visit tucsonfestivalofbooks.org.
