Calling All Book Lovers, Books By the Banks Is Back

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

The 17th annual Books By the Banks Festival returns to Cincinnati this weekend in a brand new space. Dedicated to the celebration of authors, books, and the joy of reading and writing, the event is Greater Cincinnati’s premiere regional book festival.

On November 16, 125 national, regional, and local authors will be on-site, participating in panel discussions, signing their books, and meeting with attendees.It’s not just for adults, either—the Kids’ Corner will have storytimes and activities for kids, while teens can take photos at the Polaroid Frame photo booth and complete a number of craft projects in the Teen Scene area.

Previously, the festival was held at Duke Energy Center but is moving to the public library. “We are looking forward to having this festival in the new space. To switch it from Duke over to the library makes a lot of sense,” says Holbrook Sample, board member for Books By the Banks.

“Books By the Banks is actually a 501c3, so it is a nonprofit organization. It has been built up predominantly by the public library, but we have fantastic partners like the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital,” he adds. “We all work together to get the authors in, plan the activities, curate panels, and find judges for the writing contest. There is a lot of machinery that we’ve laid the groundwork for over the years that is now working quite nicely.”

Featured authors include Nita Prose, whose mystery novel The Maid was No. 1 on The New York Times best sellers list and has since been adapted into a Netflix original series starring Margret Qualley and Andie MacDowell. She will be in conversation with the library director during the festival. Additionally, Rob Sheffield, a longtime writer for Rolling Stone and author of several music books including his newest, Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music, will take part in a panel.

The first-, second-, and third-place winners of the festival’s annual writing contest will also be announced on-site. Local aspiring writers submitted prose and poetry on the theme of Movement. “Movement can be anything that they want, but it is apropos to our moving to the main library,” says Sample. “Plus, part of the renovation is this social stair and elevators that we have put in, so there’s verticality that we have not had before. It’s an excellently chosen theme for the contest.”

Sample hopes this event will bring together local book lovers of all ages and backgrounds. “Books By the Banks and the library, the combination, is just such a good news event. I hope everybody finds their way to the festival and has a great time because that is what it is meant to do.”

The 2024 Books By the Banks Festival will be held Saturday, November 16, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Main Library of the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library. This event is free to the public.