The Sacramento Book Festival Committee is working behind the scenes to bring you the most exciting authors in the Sacramento area! We’re planning on hosting over 200 authors at the 2026 event. Here are some names you might have heard:
General Keynote Speaker:
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is a science fiction writer who has won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards. He is the author of over twenty books, including the bestselling Mars trilogy and more recently New York 2140, Aurora, Shaman, Green Earth, 2312 (which was a New York Times bestseller nominated for all seven of the major science fiction awards—a first for any book), and Ministry of for the Future (selected as one of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2020). In 2016, he was given the Heinlein Award for lifetime achievement in science fiction, and asteroid 72432 was named “Kimrobinson.” In 2017, he was given the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society. He lives in Davis, California.
YA Keynote Speaker:
Wendelin Van Draanen
Wendelin Van Draanen has written more than thirty novels for young readers and teens. She is the author of the 18-book Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes mystery series, and wrote Flipped, which SLJ named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century and became a Warner Brothers feature film. Van Draanen’s latest novel is the YA thriller, The Steps (Holiday House 9/2025). “Secrets, lies, and danger abound in this clever, quirky thriller that explores the dark consequences of putting money before family or love.” Her stand-alone novel set in the Central Valley, The Peach Rebellion, explores the lives and loves of three young women post-WWII who join forces to change their community.
In addition, we are also featuring (among many others):
- Children’s: JaNay Brown-Wood, Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson
- Children’s Readings: JaNay Brown-Wood, Erin Dealey, Theresa Saechao Rothe, Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson, Crystel Patterson, Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Courtney Cino, Joanna Rowland
- Cookbooks: Chef Rogelio Garcia, Luci Petlack, Georgeanne Brennan, Marisa Churchill
- Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Michele Drier, Andrea Stewart, Michael R. Johnston, Jason Denzel
- Historical: Linda Ulleseit, Anne Beggs, Charity Shetanian, Katie Stine, Kathryn Pritchett
- Home Grown: Beth Ruyak, Brianna Heath, Rachel Ertassi, Archana Maniar, Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson
- Horror: Collin Armstrong, Mark Steensland, G. Allen Wilbanks, Joshua Millican, Bitter Karella
- Memoir: Eirinie Carson, Meredith May, KathyLynn Marshall, Akemi Johnson, Joan Griffin
- Middle Grade: Crystel Patterson, Laura Atkins, Lisa Moore Ramée, Lisa Frenkel Riddiough, Lisa Schmid
- Middle Grade Mysteries: Penny Warner, Karen McCoy, Linda Joy Singleton
- Mystery: Claire Booth, Terry Shames, Cindy Fazzi, Richard Meredith, Jennifer Morita
- Romance: Brenda Novak, Sheryl Lister, Anna J. Stewart, Chance Christopher
- Sacramento Murder Mysteries: Simon Wood, James L’Etoile, Cindy Sample, Karen Phillips, Kathleen Asay
- Thriller: Allison Brennan, James Rollins, Faye Snowden, Elle Marr, Robin Burcell
- Women’s Fiction: Jasmin Iolani Hakes
- Young Adult: Sarah Bresniker, Jessica Cline, Alex Brown, Ambika Vohra, Lio Min, V.S. Lawrence
Are any of your favorites on the list? You can meet them and get your books signed!*
*You can bring a maximum of three books from home per author to be signed.