The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books faced a crisis last year. The annual gathering of authors for panel discussions, signings and writing contests had always relied on its host and sponsor, UWM-Waukesha to make the event viable. So when the campus announced that it was shuttering in 2025, the popular, free festival looked like it was going with it.
“You know, we have an awful lot of art fairs, and I believe writers need fairs as well,” says co-founder Laraine O’Brien. “It’s important for people to know that people in their community write. We have to think about younger people and expose them to this kind of activity so that we have writers in the future.”
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O’Brien and her fellow organizers set out to save the festival, searching for both a new host and a sponsor. First, they found the location – Carroll University in Waukesha – and then the Waukesha County Community Foundation stepped in and took the festival under its organization.
With that, the celebration of all things literary will live to see its 16th year, from Nov. 7-8. Christina Clancy, author of bestselling novel Shoulder Season, will deliver the keynote, and over 50 authors will be featured in presentations and discussion.
“A lot of people think of writing as just the printed word, but it’s much more – it has to do with every kind of communication we have today,” O’Brien says. “It’s so important. We want to make sure we’re promoting a vibrant community where people talk together and write together.”
Find the festival’s full schedule at sewibookfest.com.
