# Tucson Festival of Books

The Tucson Festival of Books is a free annual book fair held in Tucson, Arizona during the second weekend in March. It was established in 2009 by Bill Viner, Frank Farias, John M. Humenik, Bruce Beach, and Brenda Viner. The event is primarily sponsored by the University of Arizona, which hosts the festival, and the Arizona Daily Star.
The first annual festival featured around 450 authors and welcomed over 50,000 regional visitors. The largest Festivals in 2018 and 2019 reached an estimated attendance of 140,000, and the most recent iteration almost returned to pre-pandemic levels with an estimated 130,000 visitors in 2024.

## Purpose and history

The event typically includes special programming for children and teens, panels by best-selling and emerging authors, a literary circus, culturally diverse programs, a poetry venue, exhibitor booths and two food courts. The Festival's mission is to improve literacy rates among children and adults in Southern Arizona. Since its creation, the Festival has donated over $2.36 million to agencies that improve literacy in the community such as Reading Seed, Literacy Connects, and University of Arizona Literacy Outreach Programs.
In addition to aiding the fight against illiteracy, the festival also helps the local community tremendously. In a study by a students at the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, the festival was found to pump an estimated $4 million into Tucson’s economy annually. The festival has also been covered by C-SPAN, with over 120 videos in the C-SPAN Video Library.
The 2020 edition of the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was held virtually in 2021.

## Festivals by year

Each year, the Festival appoints an animal native to the Sonoran Desert as its mascot. In 2011, the Founders Award was established to recognize "literary achievement that captivated [the] imagination and whose body of work will be an inspiration to readers, writers, and booklovers".
| Year | Estimated Attendance | Mascot | Founders Award |
| 2009 | 50,000 | gila monster | not awarded |
| 2010 | 80,000 | hummingbird | not awarded |
| 2011 | 100,000 | tarantula | Elmore Leonard |
| 2012 | 120,000 | Sonoran green toad | Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana |
| 2013 | 120,000 | butterfly | R. L. Stine |
| 2014 | 130,000 | quail | Richard Russo |
| 2015 | 130,000 | bobcat | The Rock Bottom Remainders |
| 2016 | 135,000 | jackrabbit | J. A. Jance |
| 2017 | 135,000 | roadrunner | T. C. Boyle |
| 2018 | 140,000 | coyote | Billy Collins |
| 2019 | 140,000 | javelina | Luís Alberto Urrea |
| 2020 | festival canceled due to COVID-19 | festival canceled due to COVID-19 | festival canceled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 | unknown (online) | owl | Lisa See |
| 2022 | 100,000 | prairie dog | Annette Gordon-Reed |
| 2023 | 125,000 | raccoon | Thomas Perry |
| 2024 | 130,000 | coatimundi | T. Jefferson Parker |
| 2025 | TBD | Mexican free-tailed bat | TBA |

## Gallery

* 2009 Tucson Festival of Books
* 2010 Tucson Festival of Books
* 2010 Tucson Festival of Books Event
* 2013 Tucson Festival of Books
* PaperWorks Exhibit at 2013 Tucson Festival of Books
* 2015 Festival of Books