The Las Vegas Book Festival Turns 25 on Oct. 17, and It Is Free

by Ryan Rose

What Happened: The 2026 Lineup and Schedule

The City of Las Vegas announced the 2026 headline authors in an Aug. 20 news release. The festival runs Saturday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to all ages. The city's release says no tickets are needed. The festival website also asks visitors to RSVP through Eventbrite, but the event itself is still free.

Here is the headliner schedule posted on the official festival website. All of these talks happen in the Auditorium at the Historic Fifth Street School:

11 a.m.: Tony Weaver Jr., author of Weirdo.
12:30 p.m.: "Harry Reid: Then & Now," with Nevada journalist and author Jon Ralston in conversation with Steve Sebelius. Ralston's book is about the late U.S. Senator from Nevada.
2:15 p.m.: "Legends, Myths & Aliens, too," a panel with Ayana Gray, Clarence A. Haynes, Kimberly Lemming, Meghan Le Fay, Vanessa L. Torres and Yasmin Angoe, moderated by Patrick Blennerhassett.
4 p.m.: Novelist Natalie Baszile.

The city describes the 2:15 p.m. panel as a talk about supernatural secrets, fantasy worlds and comedic science fiction. In the city's words, the panel "promises a spirited look at worlds both familiar and fantastical." If you have a teen who reads fantasy, that is probably the one to plan your day around. The city also says headline authors will sell their books and sign them after their panels.

Beyond the headliners, the city's release lists panel discussions, book signings, arts and crafts for children, and read-alongs. Nevada Humanities adds readings, workshops, poetry and exhibitions to that list. The festival website has a separate "Panels & Tent Schedules" page and a "Signing Schedule" with the full day. The city said the complete schedule would be released closer to the event, so check those pages before you head out.

There is also a contest for high school students. The Spark! Youth Poetry Competition takes place at the festival's Poetry Pavilion. It is open to Clark County students in grades 9 through 12, and the top three winners get cash prizes. Registration closes Oct. 12, 2026, at nevadahumanities.org/spark, so if you have a teen poet in the house, this is a same-day-or-next-day decision.

Two young women holding books and a shopping bag chat in the tiled breezeway of the Historic Fifth Street School next to a lighted #VEGAS marquee sign during the Las Vegas Book Festival

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

Free things to do in Las Vegas are not always easy to find, especially ones that work for a whole family. A lot of what gets marketed as "Vegas fun" is built for visitors, and it comes with parking fees, cover charges or a minimum age. The book festival is the opposite. It is built for locals, it is free, and kids are part of the plan, not an afterthought. Arts and crafts and read-alongs mean younger kids have something to do while older kids and adults sit in on author talks.

It also matters because Las Vegas does not always get credit as a book town. Big literary festivals tend to live in places like Austin, Miami or Los Angeles. Having a 25-year-old festival right here, run by a statewide humanities group and the city, says something about the people who actually live in the valley. Teachers, librarians, students, retirees and young parents all show up for this one. The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and Clark County Parks & Recreation both support the event, which tells you it is aimed at residents.

For families with teens, the Spark! poetry contest is a real opportunity. A cash prize and a public stage at the state's largest literary event is a nice line on a student's resume. It is also just a good experience for a kid who writes and has never read their work out loud in front of strangers.

And for people who live in or near downtown, this is one of those days that shows off the neighborhood. The Historic Fifth Street School sits a short walk from the Fremont Street area and the government center. Events like this bring people from Summerlin, Henderson, Centennial Hills and the southwest valley into a part of town many of them only visit for jury duty or a concert. That kind of foot traffic is good for nearby restaurants, coffee shops and small businesses, and it helps more locals see downtown as a place to spend a Saturday.

Background and History

Nevada Humanities founded the Las Vegas Book Festival in 2002, and it has partnered with the City of Las Vegas to produce it each year. That makes 2026 the 25th edition. The festival describes itself as a celebration of the written, spoken and illustrated word. According to the city, past festivals have featured well-known authors, panels, readings, workshops and book signings on topics that range from history and social issues to popular fiction, cooking and science fiction.

A free event this size does not happen on its own. The festival website lists support from the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and Clark County Parks & Recreation. NV Energy is listed as the gold sponsor and Nevada Public Radio as the silver sponsor. Media sponsors include Channel 13, Audacy Radio and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The city's release says donors and sponsors also help fund it, and sponsorship runs through the Mayor's Fund. That mix of public and private support is a big reason the gate stays free year after year.

The building is a big part of the charm. The Historic Fifth Street School was built in 1936, after a 1934 fire destroyed the old Clark County High School. The federal Public Works Administration helped pay for it as part of the New Deal. According to Living New Deal, which tracks those projects, the PWA put in $85,024 toward a final cost of $217,093, and construction ran from March to October 1936. The architect was Orville L. Clark, and the style is Mission and Spanish Revival, which is why it has those tiled walkways, arches and red roof lines.

Smiling readers pose at a book signing table with an author holding a copy of a fantasy novel at the Las Vegas Book Festival

The building was officially the Las Vegas Grammar School, but people called it the Fifth Street School because Las Vegas Boulevard used to be named Fifth Street. It served as a school until 1966. After that, it was remodeled for Clark County government use as a courthouse annex. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 20, 1988. Later, the city took it over and completed a $9.5 million renovation that set the interior up for education and arts use again.

Today the school is home to the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs and the Nevada School of Arts, along with design and architecture groups. So when you walk the festival's courtyards on Oct. 17, you are walking through one of the few downtown buildings that has been part of Las Vegas for almost 90 years. In a city that is famous for tearing things down and starting over, that is worth noticing.

What Happens Next

The big date is Saturday, Oct. 17. Doors open at 10 a.m. and the day wraps at 5 p.m. The first headline talk is at 11 a.m. and the last is at 4 p.m., so you can come for one talk or stay all day. Because headliners sign books after their panels, signing lines can form right after each session. If getting a book signed is the goal, plan to head to the signing area as soon as the talk ends.

If you are bringing kids, a simple plan works best. Younger children will likely get more out of the arts and crafts and read-alongs than a long panel, so start there in the morning. Teens who read fantasy or science fiction will want the 2:15 p.m. "Legends, Myths & Aliens, too" panel, where six authors share one stage. Adults who like Nevada history may want the 12:30 p.m. conversation about the late Senator Harry Reid. And readers who love fiction can close the day with Natalie Baszile at 4 p.m. Bring water and sunscreen, since parts of the festival happen outdoors under tents, as past festival photos show.

Before that, there is one deadline. Registration for the Spark! Youth Poetry Competition closes Oct. 12, 2026. Students in grades 9 through 12 in Clark County can sign up at nevadahumanities.org/spark.

Nevada Humanities also lists two related events on its calendar the same week. On Oct. 15, there is a Las Vegas Writes book launch and conversation with the authors. On Oct. 19, culinary historian Sarah Lohman will be in conversation with Alan Deutschman for a program called "Endangered Eating." Check the Nevada Humanities events page for times, locations and any sign-up details for those two, since we could not confirm them for this post. The festival also says it will keep posting updates on its Facebook and X accounts under @VegasBookFest, and it uses the hashtag #VegasBookFest.

An author speaks into a microphone from an armchair on the auditorium stage at the Las Vegas Book Festival as a moderator listens beside a festival banner

Ryan's Take

I talk to a lot of people who are thinking about moving to Las Vegas, and one of the first things they ask is, "What is there to do if you are not into the Strip?" This festival is one of my favorite answers. It is free, it is family friendly, it has been around for 25 years, and it happens in a 1936 school building that most people do not even know exists. That is the kind of thing that makes a city feel like home and not just a place with cheap flights.

It also says something about downtown. When I work with buyers who want character, walkability or older homes, downtown and the nearby historic neighborhoods come up. Events like this one, plus places like the Arts District and the Fifth Street School, are a big part of why those areas feel different from a newer master-planned community. Whether you live in Summerlin, the southwest or right downtown, this is a great excuse to spend a Saturday in a part of town you might not see very often. Bring the kids, grab a book, and go say hi to an author.

Four friends hold up copies of the same signed novel in front of a balloon arch outside the Historic Fifth Street School during the Las Vegas Book Festival

What You Can Do

First, put Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on your calendar. Look at the headliner times above and pick the talk you care about most. Then check the official festival website, lasvegasbookfestival.com, for the "Panels & Tent Schedules," "Signing Schedule" and "Parking Map" pages before you leave home. The city said the full schedule would come out close to the event, so the website is the best place for last-minute changes. If you want, you can also RSVP through the Eventbrite link on the festival site.

Second, if you have a high school student who writes poetry, help them register for the Spark! Youth Poetry Competition at nevadahumanities.org/spark before registration closes on Oct. 12. Cash prizes go to the top three.

Third, bring a little cash or a card if you want to buy books. Headline authors will sell their books and sign them after their talks, and buying a book at a festival like this puts money right back into the authors who showed up for Las Vegas. If you already own one of their books, bring it along. Want to stay in the loop? The festival website has a newsletter signup for email and text updates, which is the easiest way to hear about next year's lineup the day it drops.

Fourth, think about pairing your day. The free Henderson Bluegrass Festival is on the same Saturday, and both events are listed in our related stories at the top of this page. A morning of author talks downtown and an afternoon of music in Henderson makes for a full, free Saturday. And if you love the idea of living close to events like this, it is worth looking at which Las Vegas neighborhoods put you within a short drive of downtown, the Arts District and the city's cultural spots.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime.