LA's 5 Best Annual Book Festivals

The Literary Women’s Festival of Authors is held annually for one day in March at the Long Beach Convention Center. The festival began in 1982 by a committee of roughly 25 local women. Their intention was to bring balance to the attention male-versus-female authors received on high school reading lists. Guest authors range from literary fiction writers like Aimee Bender to local Long Beach writers such as Lisa Glatt. The cost is $95, in addition to a $10 parking fee. A light breakfast is available before the first panel, and lunch is served. Some of the proceeds go to the Long Beach City Library to purchase books by the authors showcased during the festival. There are a total of five presentations throughout the day, and there’s also the chance to purchase books and have them signed by the authors. Sign up for the mailing list in order to receive information on attending the next conference.
Long Beach Convention Center, 300 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA

For two days every April, book-lovers travel to the University of Southern California campus to attend The LA Times Festival of Books. It is the largest book festival in the country, bringing in up to 150,000 attendees and featuring nine outdoor performance stages, hundreds of bookseller booths and over 100 author panel discussions. Admission to the festival is free, as are all outdoor stage events. Indoor author and panel conversations are free, but to reserve a seat (and to avoid the stand-by line), you can purchase a conversation ticket in advance for a dollar each.
Expect free family friendly outdoor music and reading performances, booths by local booksellers like Skylight Books and even literary journals like the Santa Monica Review. Discussions topics include everything from author conversations with festival regulars like T.C. Boyle to the ‘Art of the Short Story’, with a panel of notable fiction writers. Catch a celebrity memoir-ist or two, such as Billy Idol or Patti Smith. The 2015 inaugural Los Angeles Times Ideas Exchange was with non-fiction author Malcolm Gladwell.