(Updated 3/25/2026) Description and review of the Sacramento Book Festival, a free community event sponsored by the Sacramento Branch of the California Writers Club. NEW: New, larger location – See “Updates below.
Original Blog Post
On Saturday, the Sacramento Branch of the California Writers Club held the Sacramento Book Festival at the Shepard Garden & Arts Center in McKinley Park.
SacramentoRevealed.com – All Things Sacramento (from a personal perspective)
A Bit of Background
The Sacramento Branch of the California Writers Club was formed in 1925. The organization provides a venue for writers to meet and network with other writers in the local community.
Among other things, the organization holds twice monthly meetings which include presentations by speakers such as editors and publishers.
Sacramento Book Festival
As I entered the Sacramento Book Festival venue I was provided with a schedule of events. The schedule included the general schedule, a listing of author panels speaking in the event room and a list of when specific authors were available in the book signing area.
The Sacramento Book Festival utilized every available space inside and outside of the Shepard Garden & Arts Center including the front patio, large side patio and a small section of the parking lot. Unfortunately, that Saturday was also the hottest day – 97 degrees – so far this year!
Tables filled with books for sale were set up throughout the venue. There was also a Kids Zone with readings, balloon animals, and face painting among other attractions.
A book drive for new and gently used children’s books for the Mustard Seed School was held in conjunction with the book festival. A scavenger hunt offered attendees the chance to win prizes from Cap Stage, Broadway Sacramento, Zocalo UV and Sauced.
I enjoyed wandering throughout the venue and chatting with the authors who were manning the tables. The books on display were of all genres – sci-fi and fantasy, romance, mystery, thriller, historical, LGBTQ, self-help, poetry, plus more.
Sacramento Book Festival Author Panels
The author panels were of particular interest to me. The six panels were:
- Black Women Write
- Thrillers
- SciFi/Fantasy
- Mystery/Crime
- Historical Fiction
- Romance
Each panel had between three and six panelists. Among other things, the authors discussed their latest projects and responded to a wide variety of questions from both the moderator and the audience. The panels were very interesting and informative, and provided great insight into each of the authors and their process of writing.
James Rollins – Keynote Speaker
In between panels, James Rollins, the keynote speaker, discussed his life and his career as a Sacramento veterinarian turned full-time author. Among the insights he provided was that being a veterinarian with your own practice was much harder and time consuming than writing full-time.
Rollins (pen name) is a well-known #1 New York Times best-selling author. His novels have been described as action-adventure/thriller, mystery, and techno thrillers. He has also written a series of fantasy books under the pen name James Clemens.
Rollins, like the other Sacramento and Sacramento area authors at the event, took his turn at one of the book-signing tables later that afternoon.
To Sum Up
The Sacramento Book Festival is a great addition to the Sacramento festival event calendar. Despite the heat, the 2025 event was clearly a big success. Based on a follow-up survey of attendees, I expect that the event will move to a larger facility next year.
Sponsors of the festival included: Amatoria Fine Art Books, Avid Reader on Broadway, A Seat at the Table Books and Underground Books.
See related blog post: Sacramento Independent Bookstores
Updates
(3/25/2026) The 2026 Sacramento Book Festival will be held on April 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Scottish Rite Masonic Center, with its much larger capacity, will host the event this year.
Comments on the Sacramento Book Festival?
If you attended, what would you add? What was your favorite part of the festival?
2026 Sacramento Book Festival Snapshot:
- Scottish Rite Masonic Center
- Sunday, April 19
- 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Food & Drink: Available for purchase
- Large Parking Lot
- See the Sacramento Book Festival website for more details
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