We have a new look and a new lineup along with Festival favorites. Click here to view the 2022 authors, sponsors, and more!
Did you miss the conversation with Ayana Gray? Unable to attend the session with Mary Roach? Fear not! Most of the 2021 Six Bridges Book Festival sessions are or will be available to watch or re-watch on our YouTube channel. If the session you’re interested in isn’t there right now, it will be later this week.
Can’t wait until October, check out the highlights and panels you might have missed from the 2020 Six Bridges Book Festival. One of the (few) perks of having a virtual event is that everything was recorded for posterity, and you can experience it again and again. Check out a variety of sessions, including authors of both local and national acclaim,
Six Bridges Book Festival welcomes C. M. Waggoner, author of The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry; Nell Irvin Painter, author of Creating Black Americans; and Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Ghost Variations, for a series of author talks this spring. These virtual events are free and open to the public,
Book lovers from around the state and beyond can register for Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Six Bridges Book Festival held October 8-18. The library system’s annual festival brings thousands of attendees together each year to participate in a variety of book talks, workshops, and live poetry events. The festival is virtual this year with most sessions taking place live via Zoom.
Due to concerns regarding the COVID-19, CALS has made the decision to postpone the Fest until the fall. We hope all will understand. CALS is currently closed until at least May 11, with all public programs suspended at least through May 9.
We had a terrific event planned for April, and we certainly thank everyone for their work.
Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) presents the seventeenth annual Six Bridges Book Festival, April 23-26. More than 60 award-winning and best-selling authors, including some whose work has been adapted for the big and small screen, will discuss wide-ranging topics and genres from comedy to thrillers,
The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) will host New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean (The Library Book, The Orchid Thief) on September 28 to give the 2019 Fred K. Darragh Jr. Lecture, part of the CALS Speaker Series. Orlean will take the stage at 6:30 p.m. at CALS Ron Robinson Theater,
The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) is announcing a new name for the Arkansas Literary Festival: Six Bridges Book Festival. Named for the six bridges that connect the downtowns in Little Rock and North Little Rock, the festival will have a new focus, bridging communities and bringing people together. The library will actively solicit input from a variety of demographic groups with the goal of offering a more widely appealing festival.
Because we know you like to read, and because we imagine you might like to hear one of your favorite authors, we wanted to reach out to you. As you probably can guess, wellknown authors often have very high speaking fees, think $10,000 to $100,000+. As the Fest’s budget is very small, ordinarily the Fest does not offer speaking fees. This makes it difficult to recruit many high-profile authors. With the help of some remarkable volunteers, the Fest has had some amazing good fortune over the years, yet realistically we know that some authors we’d like to feature (and think you would like too) will never come for travel and lodging only.
That’s where you come in. Book clubs are filled with passionate readers. And some of you might be willing to help us with this goal. Chairs Susan Santa Cruz and Gael Sammartino are already “off and running” with several pledges from book club members. We hope you’ll consider donating. Donations are tax deductible. Checks should be made to CALS Foundation, and sent to 100 Rock Street, Little Rock, AR 72201. Please designate “Book Club Campaign” in your check’s memo section.
For anyone who donates, later down the line we’ll be sending a short list of authors we think might be able to be secured with funds raised. If you donate, you will get to vote on these, and possibly hear the author at the Fest. We hope you’ll consider this.
Any donation is appreciated. Thanks for your consideration and we hope to see you at the 2020 Fest (April 23-26)!
Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. Give a donation in someone’s name to mark a special occasion, honor a friend or colleague or remember a beloved family member. When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 or calsfoundation@cals.org.
Spreading your gift out through monthly contributions is a great solution for your budget and ours. Your monthly donation provides ongoing and predictable support we can count on to fund educational and cultural programming for the patrons, communities, and neighborhoods being served by CALS.
Leave your legacy with a planned gift that can help ensure quality materials, programming, and services for our libraries. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 or calsfoundation@cals.org.
Or, sign up for Kroger Rewards and a portion of your purchases at Kroger will be donated to the CALS Foundation. Simply go to krogercommunityrewards.com, click “Create an Account” to sign in, and select CALS Foundation as your organization to support.
The CALS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations made to the CALS Foundation are tax-deductible for United States federal income tax purposes. Read our Privacy Policy.
The Six Bridges Book Festival is a project of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). If you have a CALS library card and would like to preview the work of this year’s Festival authors, you may check out a book, eBook, or audiobook using the CALS catalog.
The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. Creating an account gives you access to all these features.