The fifth annual Ithaca Is Books Festival is scheduled to take place in downtown Ithaca September 11-14. The Festival is produced by Autumn Leaves Books/PM Press, Buffalo Street Books/Ithaca Literary, Odyssey Books, Story House Ithaca, and Tompkins County Public Library.

The Ithaca Is Books Festival includes author panels, readings, open mics and opportunities to buy books from your favorite local authors.

The Festival’s goal is to build a connection to books and reading for a broader community, and to strengthen Ithaca’s identity as a community that values and supports reading and books. A variety of local organizations and businesses have committed to offering a weekend full of literary events in the downtown area to support that goal.

Festival highlights include events with authors Eve Ewing and Cory Doctorow, as well as a book fair on The Commons on Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14.

Eve Ewing is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, scholar, sociologist and cultural organizer. Her works include Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism, 1919, Electric Arches, and Maya and the Robot as well as Marvel comics such as Black Panther, Exceptional X-Men and Ironheart.

Cory Doctorow is a New York Times bestselling science fiction novelist, journalist and technology activist. His works include Picks and Shovels, The Bezzle, The Lost Cause and Little Brother. He also co-founded the open source peer-to-peer software company OpenCola and is part of Cornell University’s Andrew D. White Professors-at-Large Program.

The Ithaca Is Books Festival is made possible in part with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and NYS Legislature, administered by the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County. Additional sponsors include Cinemapolis, the City of Ithaca, Downtown Ithaca Alliance, Park Center for Independent Media, Project Censored, The Censored Press, WRFI Community Radio, and WSKG. 

To learn more and view a list of events, visit https://www.ithacaisbooks.org/.

Questions? Contact Lisa Swayze at lisa@buffalostreetbooks.com.