Brattleboro Literary Festival

09/03/2026

We’re thrilled to announce that bestselling author, Lily King, Author, will be joining us for the 2026 Brattleboro Literary Festival! King’s novel, Heart the Lover, was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, shortlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction, and longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.

Ruth Ozeki writes, “Time moves like memory in Heart the Lover—urgent, intimate, elusive. What does it mean to carry a story you never get to finish? With breathtaking precision, Lily King writes about love that lingers and choices that haunt. I read it in a single, breathless sitting.”

King will be joined by debut novelist Stephanie Wambugu on Saturday, October 17th at 11:30am at The Stone Church as part of a full day of author readings and book signings across town.

All events are free and open to the public! To learn more, visit the link in our bio.

Grove Atlantic

09/02/2026

We are saddened to share that our beloved friend and fellow lover of the Brattleboro Literary Festival, Stephanie Greene passed away in August. A member of the Author Committee, Stephanie was known for her insightful recruitment of presenters, her support of debut authors, her gracious introductions and interlocutions, and her generosity of spirit. She brought a level of commitment and grace to the Festival that is immeasurable. She will be greatly missed.

09/01/2026

SAVE THE DATE! Celebrate 25 years of the Brattleboro Literary Festival this October 16-17!

Stroll the charming streets of Downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, and enjoy free and accessible events featuring award-winning writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Visit brattleborolitfest.org for a full list of authors and a schedule of events, and get the latest updates by signing up for our newsletter. Link in bio.

Special thanks to Caitlin Stearns for the use of her artwork in this year’s poster! IG .art

07/10/2026

All of you Teddy Roosevelt and tennis fans, there is still time to get that link to hear Teddy Roosevelt scholar Michael Cullinane talk about his new book "Theodore Roosevelt and his Tennis Cabinet."

Do you know of the important connection of the Roosevelt family to Brattleboro ? Teddy's granddaughter Sarah Alden “Aldie” Derby Gannett was married to Windham County Senator Robert Gannett. Sarah's mother was Ethel Carow Roosevelt Derby.

Discussion starts at 5 pm, Friday, July 10

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6hp_jmBTTW6-gZ-lkgstIg

07/02/2026

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6hp_jmBTTW6-gZ-lkgstIg #/registration

The Festival will host Theodore Roosevelt scholar Michael Cullinane for a virtual cocktail hour on Friday, July 10, 2026 at 5:00pm (EST). The event is FREE and open to the public.

Michael Cullinane and Tom Bedell will be in conversation in July discussing his new book, Theodore Roosevelt and the Tennis Cabinet which was published in May. The book recounts the history of Roosevelt’s tennis partners and the influence they had on his administration.

As one reviewer has said about the book, “What the ‘team of rivals’ was to Abraham Lincoln, the ‘Tennis Cabinet’ was to Theodore Roosevelt. Michael Cullinane brings to vivid life an unusual menagerie of confidants and compatriots who met on the court to reshape a nation.”

Michael Cullinane is a historian, an award winning author, and the Walton Chair of the Theodore Roosevelt Studies at Dickinson State University. He serves as a Public Historian for the Theodore Roosevelt Association and is a contributor to the design and curation of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library due to open in 2026. He is an ardent believer that history illuminates the present and founded the popular podcast The Gilded Age and Progressive Era

06/16/2026

06/09/2026

06/05/2026

It's World Cup Futbol time--"Sibling Rivalry: How Mexico and the U.S. Built the Most Contentious, Co-Dependent Feud in World Soccer."

On Thursday June 11, 5 pm. (Note date/day change), the Brattleboro Literary Festival will host author Hal Philips who will discuss his recent book, "Sibling Rivalry: How Mexico and the U.S. Built the Most Contentious, Co-Dependent Feud in World Soccer."

Register to get your link
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/6017805759778/WN_FD55qCMtST-aohYrLy1jAg

In "Sibling Rivalry," Hal Phillips investigates the intense, complex associations between the two countries, both on and off the field. He examines the complicated border dynamics, the countries' economic and cultural realities, and the evolution of what was once a one-sided rivalry into an intensely equal, ever-escalating athletic confrontation. Phillips also draws on the stories of Mexican-American stars who opted to play for the US and those who chose to play for Mexico. Their perspectives breathe life into the story and show the impact of this rivalry on a personal level.

Hal Phillips is an author, journalist, and media executive based in southern Maine. In January 2026, Bloomsbury will publish his second book-length soccer project, "Sibling Rivalry: How Mexico and the U.S. Built the Most Contentious, Co-Dependent Feud in World Soccer. "

Dickinson-Moses Press published the first, "Generation Zero: Founding Fathers, Hidden Histories and the Making of Soccer in America," in July 2022.

Annual fall festival with award-winning and emerging authors plus many year round events. Free.

06/04/2026

After more than five decades of passengers being relegated to the old baggage area of the former Union Station, now the home of the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Amtrak will soon have a new stand-alone station right across the tracks.

Amtrak officials and local, regional, and federal leaders will preside over a ceremonial grand opening of the new station on Depot Street on Wednesday, June 24, starting at 11 a.m.

Read more of this story here:
https://www.commonsnews.org/issue/868/868new_train_station

05/04/2026

On Pulitzer Prize Monday, we are naturally reminded of John Updike, one of only 4 writers in history to win more than one Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction. Join us on Wednesday, May 13 with editor and author James Schiff, and John’s son, Michael Updike discussing the Selected Letters of John Updike from James Schiff. Free and online—register here!!

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8917767698728/WN_nepihSl-SjScJP9BmmtpYw