Highlights from the 2026 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is a free public event held annually here in Los Angeles. I can’t recommend it enough. For more on why I think you should attend, check out my post on the Festival of Books and why I think it’s important.
But what did I do and enjoy at the 2026 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books? Here are my highlights:
Women in crime fiction panel - I signed up because two of the books have been on my TBR shelf (Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino and Count My Lies by Sophie Stava), but when I left, the other two books were added (El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbot and Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza).
I learned about Noema magazine (long form journalism) and became a subscriber. I think journalism is incredibly important, especially in 2026 and I want to support thoughtful quality journalism where and when I can. And $20 a year? Easy!
I also learned bout the Los Angeles Review of Books, which is a non-profit I absolutely want to join, but didn’t do in the moment. In addition to of course, reviewing books, they have events, including a book club. That’s what got my attention.
Loved the talk with Sarah Jessica Parker. I absolutely the love the way she talks about books and reading and her support of public libraries. During that session, the moderator spoke to her about her publishing career and her experience as a judge of the Booker Prize. I had no idea she was a judge for the last round, so hearing about her experience and the process in general was truly fascinating to me. On a recent visit to my local library, I checked out Flesh and still need to read it. But hearing that it was the prize winner and some of the reasons they chose it, I moved the book in my TBR immediately. Then during the second half of the session, they brought out Alexandra Oliva to discuss her brand new book The Radiant Dark, which SJP Lit has recently published. It sounds like a book I’d ignore under normal circumstances, but their discussion made me curious and when I spied the book poking out of another attendees bag and asked her about it, she raved. So I’ll definitely be checking it out.
David Duchonvy’s poetry talk. As a long long X-Files fan, I’ve supported just about every book release David’s had. I even attended one of his concerts (one was enough…). I went in entirely skeptical about his poetry, but after hearing three of the poems he read during the talk, I really wished I had a copy of the book. Another one to add to the list!
The Architecture of Self-Freedom: Self-Love, Care, and Mastery in the New Era of Self Help. I’ve read of little of Cleo Wade’s poetry before but was curious about the other authors - Devi Brown and Shaka Senghor. Their discussion was interesting. I defintely wish we’d heard more from Shaka (a key with panels is that everyone needs to remember that they really shouldn’t soak up all the time…). But I left feeling opening to checking out Cleo’s new book, definitely wanting to get Shaka’s (and track down where else he’s speaking), and to peruse Devi’s work to see if it’s up my alley.
Having it All: Women, Ambition, and Power in Fiction - I went to this based on title alone. Aside from Omid Scobie, whose Meghan Markle journalistic coverage I’m familiar with, I didn’t know any of the authors or their books, but left with If I Ruled the World by Amy Dubois Barnett, First Time, Long Time by Amy Silverberg, and The Royal Spin by Scobie and Robin Benway on my TBR.
General Angst and Mid-Life Friendship in Fiction - this one sold me right away. Relationships (friendships in particular) are something I’m doing more “study” on as part of my personal curriculum this year. I’d ordered So Old So Young by Grant Ginder already, so that caught my eye. But I left feeling like I HAD to read Emily Nemens’ Clutch and Anika Jade Levy’s Flat Earth ASAP. The discussion was really interesting and brought up a lot of things I think about when it comes to friendships at this point in my life.
Bonus (kind of): There was a screening and discussion on Hulu’s The Testaments based on Margaret Atwood’s book. It was at the same time as the friendship panel and once I learned they were screening the 5th episode and not the first (I haven’t started the series), I claimed my free book, but skipped the screening to enjoy the friendship discussion. I was able to slip back into the room in time to see the Q&A with Atwood and, even though she appeared virtually, it was great to listen in on that discussion with a literary legend and hear what she had to say.
Along the way, I learned that Patagonia sells books, that there’s a never-ending about of book stickers I want to buy, there are way more independent bookstores in SoCal than even I realized and so so much more.
Like I said, so much, yet not enough! There’s so much I missed, but I feel like I made the right choices and I had a great experience at the festival this year. My TBR grew by at least 15 books (!!). I’m already ready for the 2027 event! If you love books and reading, I can’t recommend the Festival of Books. Add it to your calendar for next year.