Mary Beth Tune, right, a community outreach fellow at Bates College, works with children making art at Kennedy Park in Lewiston during the third annual Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
Book lovers of all ages can celebrate their love of reading this fall at two annual book festivals that are expanding their reach this year.
The fifth annual Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival will take place from Sept. 27 to Nov. 23.
The event celebrates Black children’s books and their creators from across the African diaspora. Indigo Arts Alliance founded the festival in 2019 in partnership with I’m Your Neighbor Books and Diverse BookFinder.
The 2024 festival will include new partners and events in Portland, Lewiston, Hallowell and Rockland.
Again this year, organizers will distribute thousands of books to youth across the state. Visit beautifulblackbird.com for more details.
The Maine Lit Fest will take place from Oct. 3-13 with events across the state.
The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance launched the event in 2022 with two dozen events in Portland and Waterville. The festival will return this year with talks, workshops, readings and activities featuring local and national writers.
The schedule includes venues in Bangor, Brunswick, Farmington, Presque Isle, Portland and Waterville, as well as Zoom. For more information, visit mainewriters.org.
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