Get Ready For the Queens Book Festival Summer 2016

Get ready for a major literary explosion in Queens! The Queens Book Festival, which the organizers plan as “the largest and most inclusive literary gathering in Queens,” is happening Summer 2016 at Citi Field. This is the real deal, folks! Full disclosure: I have been asked to participate in this event as the author of Food Lovers’ Guide to Queens.

As you may know, Queens is full of literary and writerly excellence. From literary journals like Newtown Literary, to events like the Oh, Bernice! Reading Series, to a strong indie bookstore presence in Astoria Bookshop, Queens is quite the center for the written word in NYC. That’s the positive, but the other side of the coin is lurking out there.

According to the Queens Book Festival, NYC is facing a “literacy crisis” and that includes Queens, especially when it comes to our borough’s youth. Additional statistics: “According to 2013-2014 English Language Arts standardized test scores, 70% of New York City’s third grade students are reading below grade level. Amongst the City’s poor, 76% are not reading on grade level.” Part of the mission of the Queens Book Festival is to make an effort to improve the literacy rate and bring reading success to all people.

More from the organizers:

Over the past decade, the borough has seen a resurgence of business activity and cultural resurgence. The Queens Book Festival continues and expands on this resurgence and institution collaboration by enhancing the literary platform of Queens, recognizing and celebrating the diversity that makes the borough unique and showcasing the talented artist residents. Don’t miss out on a fantastic event in “The World’s Borough!”

Some of the things you can look forward to at the Festival include:

• A plethora of panel discussions
• Readings for kids
• Book signings
• Entertainment, activities, and artists
• Over 200 exhibitors and booksellers (you can find more info here if you want to be an exhibitor)

They are anticipating over 10,000 attendees!

They are also running an Indiegogo campaign, with the hope to raise $100K over the next few months. Here’s their video pitch:

Some of the things they hope to implement as a result of a successful fundraising campaign is a pop-up bookstore, a literary crawl, book drives, and diverse programming with book release parties, pop-up events, and live performances.

We wish the Queens Book Festival much luck in their campaign and we look forward to the literary smorgasbord coming to Queens this summer!