Humboldt County

Children's

Author Festival

Celebrating 50 Years!

October 17-19, 2024

To see a list of Author Festival author's books that will be available at the book sale, go to our Book Sale page.

Author Festival Book Sale

Saturday, October 19

10 am - 2 pm

1313 3rd Street, Eureka, CA

Mark your calendars for the Author Festival Autographing Session and Book Sale at the Humboldt County Main Library in Eureka!

The Authors are Coming!

School visits will be happening on October 17 & 18. To learn more about individual authors, see our Authors/Websites page. To see which author is coming to your school, check our Author's School Assignments page.

Festival Exhibition

Morris Graves Museum of Art

636 F Street, Eureka

September 7 through October 27, 2024

Visit the Humboldt Arts Council’s exhibition of select works from participating authors and illustrators. Displayed in the Youth Gallery on the ground floor of the Morris Graves Museum of Art, the exhibit demonstrates the processes of illustration in children’s literature.

Also on display, “Celebrating 50 Years! Humboldt County Children’s Author Festival!” a lively display of all twenty-four Festival posters from 1975-2024!

If you'd like to contribute to the Author Festival, you can send a payment through our online Square account:

Winner of the LWV Award for Civic Contribution

The League of Women Voters of Humboldt County, a non-partisan organization dedicated to informed citizenry, presented their Award for Civic Contribution to The Humboldt County Children’s Author Festival at their 2023 State of the Community luncheon. Each year the LWV requests recommendations from the public and selects honorees after considering many nominations. A recent League newsletter states that “Our community is full of hard working people and organizations with similar missions to that of the LWV, making democracy work.”

Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2022 Author Festival such a success!

Starting in 1975, the Humboldt County Children’s Author Festival has brought 25 authors from all around the country to Humboldt County every two years. These authors inspire, delight, and encourage a love for books and reading for thousands of children while visiting approximately 60 schools during their four days in Humboldt County. In addition to providing the school visits, the Author Festival hosts a popular book sale and author event at the main library on Saturday, where students and their families can meet the authors and have books signed. The library buzzes with excitement as students interact with the author celebrities.

Funded primarily by the generous support of local businesses and organizations, the biennial festival is produced by a dedicated group of librarians, educators, and community members who volunteer their time, talent, and energies to bring this fun, upbeat event to enrich our local schools.