Writers Conferences, Festivals, and Book Fairs in 2016

Our annual rundown of book fairs and conferences -- from New York to New Delhi and everywhere in between -- for indie authors.

Writers’ conferences, book fairs, and festivals are an important tool for indie authors looking to market their work to a wider audience. Attending these events allows authors to network with agents, publishers, and other authors, as well as to meet fans and learn more about the industry in general. We’ve rounded up a selective list of relevant conferences, book fairs, and festivals happening around the world in 2016. Events with a focus on self-publishing have been marked with an asterisk.

January

Wizard World Comic Con, New Orleans; Jan. 8–10

*ALA Midwinter Meeting, Boston; Jan. 8–12

New Delhi World Book Fair, New Delhi, India; Jan. 9–17

International Cairo Book Fair, Cairo, Egypt; Jan. 27–Feb. 10

Angoulême International Comics Festival, Angoulême, France; Jan. 28–31

February

San Miguel Writers Conference, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Feb. 10–14

*San Francisco Writers Conference, San Francisco; Feb. 11–14

Feria Internacional del Libro La Habana, Havana, Cuba; Feb. 11–21

Taipei International Book Exhibition, Taipei, Taiwan; Feb. 16–21

Brussels Book Fair, Brussels, Belgium; Feb. 18–22

Wizard World Portland Comic Con, Portland, Ore.; Feb. 19–21

Vilnius Book Fair, Vilnius, Lithuania; Feb. 25–28

*SleuthFest, Deerfield Beach, Fla.; Feb. 25–28

*Digital Author and Indie Publishing Conference, Van Nuys, Calif.; Feb. 26–28

March

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, Dubai, U.A.E.; Mar. 1–12

*Digital Book World Conference + Expo, New York City, Mar. 7–9

*South by Southwest, Austin; Mar. 11–20

Paris Book Fair (Salon du Livre), Paris, France; Mar. 17–20

Leipzig Book Fair, Leipzig, Germany; Mar. 17–20

Alexandria International Book Fair, Alexandria, Egypt; Mar. 24–Apr. 5

*Norwescon, SeaTac, Wash.; Mar. 24–27

WonderCon, Los Angeles; Mar. 25–27

Bangkok International Book Fair, Bangkok, Thailand; Mar. 29–Apr. 10

*Association of Writers and Writing Programs, Los Angeles; Mar. 30–Apr. 2

*PubSense Summit, Charleston, S.C.; TBD

April

Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Bologna, Italy; Apr. 4–7

*London Book Fair, London, England; Apr. 12–14

Quebec International Book Fair, Quebec City, Canada; Apr. 13-17

*IndieReCon, Online; Apr. 15

*UW–Madison’s 27th Annual Writers’ Institute, Madison, Wis.; Apr. 15–17

Bogota International Book Fair, Bogota, Colombia; Apr. 19–May 2

International Book Festival Budapest, Budapest, Hungary; Apr. 21–24

Buenos Aires Book Fair, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Apr. 21–May 9

*Redwood Writers 2016 Conference, Santa Rosa, Calif.; Apr. 23

Geneva Book and Press Fair, Geneva, Switzerland; Apr. 27–May 1

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.; Apr. 27–May 3

May

*Nonfiction Writers Conference, Online; May 4–6

Tehran International Book Fair, Tehran, Iran; May 5–15

*The Self-Publishing Conference, Leicester, England; May 7

Idaho Writers Guild Pitchfest, Boise; May 7

*BookExpo America (BEA), Chicago; May 11–13

Turin International Book Fair, Turin, Italy; May 12–16

Book World, Prague, Czech Republic; May 12–15

*BookCon, Chicago; May 14

Warsaw Book Fair, Warsaw, Poland; May 19–22

St. Petersburg International Book Fair, St. Petersburg, Russia; May 26–29

Thessaloniki Book Fair, Thessaloniki, Greece; TBD

June

*The Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Santa Barbara, Calif.; June 5–10

21st Century Children's Nonfiction Conference, New Rochelle, N.Y.; June 10-12

Seoul International Book Fair, Seoul, South Korea; June 15–19

Wizard World Comic Con Sacramento, Sacramento; June 17–19

*ALA Annual Conference, Orlando; June 23–28

*The Writers’ League of Texas 2016 Agents & Editors Conference, Austin; June 24–26

July

*ThrillerFest X, New York City; July 5–9

Hong Kong Book Fair, Hong Kong; July 20–26

*Comic-Con International, San Diego, Calif.; July 21–24

August

Travel Writers & Photographers Conference, Corte Madera, Calif.; Aug. 11–14

*Writer’s Digest Conference, New York City; Aug. 12–14

Writers at Woody Point, Woody Point, Canada; Aug. 16–21

Beijing International Book Fair, Beijing, China; Aug. 24–28

*Unicorn Writers Conference, Purchase, N.Y.; TBD

September

Dragon Con, Atlanta; Sept. 2–5

Open Book Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Sept. 7–11

*Kentucky Women Writers Conference, Lexington; Sept. 16–17

Göteborg Book Fair, Gothenburg, Sweden; Sept. 22–25

Tokyo International Book Fair, Tokyo, Japan; Sept. 23–25

*Word on the Street, Toronto, Canada; Sept. 25

*RomCon, Denver; Sept. 30–Oct. 1

*Chicago Writers Conference, Chicago; Sept. 23-25

October

*New York Comic Con, New York City; Oct. 6–9

Alternative Press Expo, San Jose, Calif.; Oct. 8–9

Vancouver Writers Fest, Vancouver, Canada; Oct. 18–23

*Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt, Germany; Oct. 19–23

Gourmand International World Cookbook Fair, Frankfurt, Germany; Oct. 19–23

Helsinki Book Fair, Helsinki, Finland; Oct. 27–30

International Belgrade Book Fair, Belgrade, Serbia; TBD

Liber International Book Fair, Barcelona, Spain; TBD

New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Fall Conference, Somerset, N.J.; TBD

WordFest, Calgary, Canada; TBD

November

Sharjah International Book Fair, Sharjah, U.A.E.; Nov. 2–12

Basel Book Fair, Basel, Switzerland; Nov.10–13

Istanbul Book Fair, Istanbul, Turkey; Nov. 12–20

Guadalajara International Book Fair, Guadalajara, Mexico; Nov. 26–Dec. 4

International Fair of Intellectual Literature, Moscow, Russia; Nov. 30–Dec. 4

Dublin Book Festival, Dublin; TBD

Montreal Book Fair, Montreal, Canada; TBD

* Indicates events with a focus on self-publishing