Midwest Bookish Fest 2026
Event Activities
June 19th, 20th, & 21st, 2026
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bloomington - Minneapolis South | 7800 Normandale Blvd., Minneapolis, MN 55439
Want to learn more about our Pitch & Pair, Panels, and Trivia Activities? Read below!
Pitch & Pair
Pitch & Pair is a fun activity open to All Attendees where they get a chance to sit at a table with one of our Attending Authors. That Attending Author will Pitch their book to the Attendees, and the Attendees will Pair it to their TBR! These activities occur before the Signing Sessions on Saturday & Sunday so you have a chance to take note of that book and buy it during the Signing Session!
Saturday, June 20th Time Slots & Authors:
9:00am - 9:10am — April Gaisford, Mary E. Roach, Sloan Spencer, Aiyana McCoy
9:20am - 9:30am — April Gaisford, Mary E. Roach, Emersyn Park, Sloan Spencer, Aiyana McCoy
10:00am - 10:10am — Meredith R. Lyons, Mahan Fatemi, Natalie Wright
10:20m - 10:30am — Markelle Grabo, Maham Fatemi, Skyla Arndt
10:40am - 10:50am — Markelle Grabo, Maham Fatemi, Natalie Wright
Sunday, June 21st Time Slots & Authors:
9:20am - 9:30am — April Gaisford, Sloan Spencer, Skyla Arndt
10:00am - 10:10am — Tilly Bramley, Meredith R. Lyons, Maham Fatemi, Natalie Wright
10:20m - 10:30am — Mary E. Roach, Markelle Grabo, Tilly Bramley, Maham Fatemi, Emersyn Park
10:40am - 10:50am — Mary E. Roach, Markelle Grabo, Tilly Bramley, Maham Fatemi, Allison Carr Waechter
Panels
Panels are open to All Attendees! They are a great way to learn about various topics and also have fun with the Authors that are Panelists! Authors that have their name in Bold means they are the moderator for that Panel.
Saturday, June 20th Panels & Authors:
9:00am - 9:45am - The UnCanny Valley: Adding Speculative Elements to the Real World — Panel Room A — Event Room: Bloomington —
Participants: Lauren Thoman | L.R. Friedman | Judy Liu | Kris K. Haines | Shelly Page | Cassandra Medcalf
9:00am - 9:45am - This or That: bookish Tropes, Genres, & Boyfriends — Panel Room B — Event Room: Edina
Participants: Meredith R. Lyons | Jillian Witt | Ava Rani | Cara Bastone | Melissa R. Collings | Anthony Scott
9:00am - 9:45am - Rise of the Horrormance Genre: Pairing the Romantic with the Grotesque — Panel Room C — Event Room: Atrium 4
Participants: Skyla Arndt | Sylvia Morrow | Allison Carr Waechter | Markelle Grabo | Sarah Rees Brennan | Adam Sass
10:00am - 10:45am - Writing Authentic Queer Characters — Panel Room A — Event Room: Bloomington
Participants: Mary E. Roach | Aiyana McCoy | Sloan Spencer | Brian D. Kennedy | Shelly Page | Rocio Carranza
10:00am - 10:45am - Life Cycle of an Audiobook — Panel Room B — Event Room: Edina
Participants: Audiobook Director, Colette Feehan, PhD
10:00am - 10:45am - Good Girl: Why We Love A Villain — Panel Room C — Event Room: Atrium 4
Participants: L.R. Friedman | T.M. Witko | V.B. Lacey | Adalyn Grace | Jocelyn Bleu | Emersyn Park
5:00pm - 6:00pm — How To Get Away With Writing Murder — Panel Room A — Event Room: Bloomington
Participants: Tony Wirt | Ashleigh T. Logan | Judy Liu | A.W. Powers | Ashley Winstead | Lauren Thoman
5:00pm - 6:00pm — Hear Me Out: Bookish Tropes — Panel Room B — Event Room: Edina
Participants: Megan uncmeg.reads | Kat seekingmynextread | Nene thekindlenerd | marisha marishareadsalot | Nell nells.novels | Jen preferbookstopeople
5:00pm - 6:00pm — OnlyMonsters: Monster Romance — Panel Room C — Event Room: Atrium 4
Participants: Sylvia Morrow | Holly Monroe | Ada of A.LoveUnlaced | Ginger Kane | Latrexa Nova
Sunday, June 21st Panels & Authors:
9:00am - 9:45am - Keeping Your Vision During Revision — Panel Room A — Event Room: Bloomington
Participants: Adam Sass | Markelle Grabo | Natalie Wright | Arcadia Rayne | Lauren Thoman | Rocio Carranza
9:00am - 9:45am - Processing Grief Through Writing — Panel Room B — Event Room: Edina
Participants: S.A. Heiden | Melissa Grace | K.L. Speer | Melissa R. Collings | L.R. Friedman | Cassandra Medcalf
9:00am - 9:45am - The Psychology of Suspense — Panel Room C — Event Room: Atrium 4
Participants: Tony Wirt | Aiyana McCoy | T.M. Witko | Emersyn Park | Mary E. Roach | Ashley Winstead
10:00am - 10:45am - Writing a Polyamorous/Why Choose Romance — Panel Room A — Event Room: Bloomington
Participants: Holly Monroe | Sloan Spencer | Tilly Bramley | Ada of A.LoveUnlaced | April Gaisford | Maddox Grey/Alex Frost
10:00am - 10:45am - Linguistic Stereotypes in Audiobooks and How to Avoid It — Panel Room B — Event Room: Edina
Participants: Audiobook Director, Colette Feehan, PhD
10:00am - 10:45am - But Daddy, I Love Them: Writing Love Interests in Fiction — Panel Room C — Event Room: Atrium 4
Participants: S.C. Grayson | Brian D. Kennedy | Jocelyn Bleu | Meredith R. Lyons | V.B. Lacey
5:00pm - 6:00pm — Narrative Joy: Finding Ourselves in Fiction — Panel Room A — Event Room: Bloomington
Participants: Taylor E Weston | Sarah Rees Brennan | Ashleigh Logan | A.W. Powers | Z.M. Celestaire | Melissa Grace
5:00pm - 6:00pm — Romantasy Round Table: Worldbuilding, Romance, & Magic — Panel Room B — Event Room: Edina
Participants: S.A. Heiden | V.B. Lacey | Jessa Grey | Adalyn Grace | Kathy Haan | Jillian Witt
Trivia
Trivia Games are accessible to Super Nova & North Star Attendees, however we do have two Trivia Games that are accessible only to Super Nova Attendees. Details are listed below!
Saturday, June 20th Trivia Games & Prizes:
9:00am - 9:45am - Romantasy, Fantasy, & Romance: Who Wrote What? Trivia — North Star & Super Nova Access | Event Room: Atrium 1 —
PRIZES: Books by Attending Authors & Bookish Goodies
10:00am - 10:45am - MWBF Authors: Who Wrote What? Trivia — Super Nova Attendees Only | Event Room: Atrium 1
PRIZES: 1 Kindle for each Team Member + Kindle Sleeve
5:00pm - 5:30pm - Popular Lines in What Book? Trivia — North Star & Super Nova Access | Event Room: Atrium 1
PRIZES: Books by Attending Authors & Bookish Goodies
Sunday, June 21st Trivia Games & Prizes:
9:00am - 9:45am - This Trope in That Book? Trivia — North Star & Super Nova Access | Event Room: Atrium 1
PRIZES: Books by Attending Authors & Bookish Goodies
10:00am - 10:45am - MWBF Authors: This Trope in That Book? Trivia — Super Nova Attendees Only | Event Room: Atrium 1
PRIZES: 1 Kindle for each Team Member + Kindle Sleeve