Tucson Festival Of Books Goes Virtual In 2021

TUCSON, AZ — The 2021 Tucson Festival of Books, scheduled for March, has been turned into a virtual event due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision comes after the 2020 version of the event was canceled in early March as the virus began to make its way through the community. The annual event was set to take place at the University of Arizona as usual.

“For planning purposes and the continued safety of our festival patrons and community, it makes the most sense to plan our 2021 festival as an online event," festival executive director Melanie Morgan said in a statement. "This event allows us to pivot and provide wonderful online content in our current environment while looking to the future and bringing the full festival back and better than ever to the University of Arizona campus — as soon as it is safe.”

Now scheduled for Saturday, March 6, 2021, and Sunday, March 7, 2021, southern Arizona bibliophiles will have access to free, live author sessions for kids and adults. Select sessions will also be available to view on demand.

Since March, the festival has been busy hosting virtual conversations with different authors and just recently launched 'Imagination Fridays,' featuring talks with illustrators and children's book authors. An author podcast is also available for listening through the festival. Those offerings will continue through the end of the year.

The festival, while online, will still feature venues like the Arizona Daily Star stage, the Pima County Public Library Nuestras Raíces stage and the Western National Parks and Science stage. Volunteers will also be necessary to put the event on.