With a new home, Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books looks to expand in its 2nd year

Last year’s inaugural Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books brought 50 authors, 25 poets and more than 2,000 attendees together to celebrate the magic of literature and poetic prose.

This year, with a new location at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood, festival organizers are seeking to add more programs and increased accessibility when the festival takes place May 12-13.

“Last year we really proved that a book festival can be supported in Pittsburgh,” said founder and festival chair Marshall Cohen, 78, of Shadyside. “The new festival location this year will allow for better accessibility to the event and the ample space to host even more programming, vendors and entertainment, making it an improved experience for all in attendance.”

Last year, the festival included events such as live literary and poetry readings, panel discussions, activities for children and more. It has received support from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Duolingo, the Heinz Endowments, the state Department of Education and others.

“Pittsburgh consistently ranks in national studies as one of our country’s most literate cities,” said Andrew Medlar, president and director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. “The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books celebrates all of the benchmarks for an informed and literate community — access to books, publications, authors, robust cultural venues and strong libraries.

“The success of last year’s event is a testament to our community’s engagement in literacy and learning, and we’re delighted to help grow this important festival as it expands into its second year.”

Where last year’s festival was spread out across a host of bookstores, churches and other locations, this year it will come together in one place, and will keep the festival rooted in its East Liberty home.

“It’s an honor to partner with an organization that shares similar priorities of education and community,” said the Rev. Dr. Asa Lee, president at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. “We’re excited to bring the region’s literary community together in one place here on our campus.”

Cohen said this year’s festival will feature a children’s area that includes a Carnegie Library tent along with officials from Duolingo’s ABC program.

“We’ll also have a much bigger poetry tent than last year,” he said. “Last year, that tent was filled up from morning to night. And this year we already have about 25 poets lined up, with twice as many seats. The response we’re getting from people wanting to be involved this year has been great. We’ve had publishers, big and small, reaching out to us, and I think we’ll have a great lineup of local and regional authors.”

Cohen said festival organizers will be making announcements over the next couple of months as the full schedule begins to come together.

The festival is also seeking volunteers. For more information, see PittsburghBookFestival.org. Click here to fill out a volunteer form.