SWFL Reading Festival Frequently Asked Questions

The Southwest Florida Reading Festival is a fun, informative and entertaining event that celebrates books and the written word. The Festival began in 1999 with the following goals:
– Celebrate the importance of reading
– Bring the finest literary talent to Southwest Florida
The Festival has enjoyed great success and now attracts more than 8,000 book lovers each year.

The Festival will occur Saturday, March 7, 2026.

The festival will be held outside on the beautiful Fort Myers Regional Library Campus at 2450 First Street in Fort Myers Florida.

People of all ages from across Southwest Florida and even other parts of the country attend the Festival. The Festival is a free, public event and includes exciting author events, crafts and activities.

Yes! Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and donors all the events at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival are free.

Festival costs are supported primarily by the generous donations of individuals, corporations and the arts and literary funds in our community. Additionally, there are annual fundraisers. For more information go to our fundraising events page or contact the Festival Coordinator at 239-533-4832.

Yes. We have programs and activities geared to children, teens and adults.

Yes.

Free parking is available along the streets of downtown Fort Myers.

The Main Street garage offers parking at $1 per hour up to a maximum of $10 per day. They will accept cash or credit cards. The garage is located at 2286 Main Street, with entrances on Main Street.

Parking for those with a valid handicap placard is available at the First Presbyterian Church on Second Street, directly across the street from the festival.

The Festival goes on rain or shine. We have a great time! The activities and presentation are under tents. An umbrella is recommended to move from activity to activity.

Most activities take place outdoors so dress accordingly, wear comfortable shoes and bring a hat or visor, sunscreen, an umbrella, a camera, and a tote bag for books, t-shirts and other Festival goodies.

Yes, we have tasty lunch options, including vegetarian choices. Jason’s Deli will be on site with their popular box lunches and a variety of food trucks will be located on First Street.

Yes, one is located at 2201 Second Street, Fort Myers, FL 33901; across the street from City Hall.

No, pets are not allowed unless they are service dogs. Emotional support animals are not permitted.

The Evening with the Authors is our way of thanking the many writers, panelists and sponsors who contribute their talents and resources to make the Festival possible. They’ve all been invited as our honored guests and we invite you to join them. The evening affair includes cocktails, recognition of the Southwest Florida Reading Festival’s Distinguished Author Recipient and, most importantly, great company! Tickets are available beginning in December and ending February 1. Not all authors may be available due to unavoidable travel delays.

Yes. Books-A-Million, the official bookseller will be selling books for all of the featured authors at the Festival. They donate 20% of sales to the Reading Festival.

Generally we have a mix of panels and individual author presentations. Each author is free to communicate directly and intimately with the audience, regardless of their presentation format.

A book signing is scheduled for the authors at the end of their program and at one other time during the day. The book signings occur near the Books-A-Million store. It is setup so that you may purchase your books, and then walk over to the author’s table to have them signed. You may have up to three books signed at once. Check the schedule for signing times.

Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors we provide one free book for every child and teen that attends the Festival. There are thousands of age appropriate books from which to choose. We cannot give out books for children and teens who are not at the Festival.

There is something for all ages to experience at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival. Everyone enjoys the multiple stages with the celebrity authors who share ‘inside scoop’ about their latest books or what makes a story idea click for them. You will be able to buy books and have the authors personalize and sign them too! Kids will be mesmerized by the storytellers.

There’s also an abundance of family fun activities such as crafts, readings, drawings and so much more. It’ll be a day you will thoroughly enjoy and one you will want to repeat every year!

A program schedule will be available in early February on  the ATTEND page. It will contain a full schedule of programming. It will also be available at the information booths at the Festival.

Most of our adult programs are 60 minutes including time for Questions and Answers. The children and teen programs are scheduled in 45 minute time periods. Book signings, are generally scheduled at the end of their program near the Books–A-Million books sales area unless otherwise indicated.

There is an Author Committee who works year round to recruit nationally acclaimed authors to attend the Southwest Florida Reading Festival. The Festival does not pay an honorarium, however it may pay for their airfare, hotel and ground transportation to and from the Festival. The authors that usually choose to participate at the Festival are those who have recently released a new title and the date fits with their book tour schedule. The benefit of the weather in southwest Florida in March is a bonus. The committee contacts over 100 authors each year being careful to invite authors representing all genres, age ranges and ethnicities.

You can support the Festival in two important ways: By volunteering or by donating.

The Festival welcomes and appreciates your donations, which help ensure that everything at the event remains free and open to the public. If you would like to support the event, please click here. Please share your enthusiasm for the Festival with your friends.

The success of the Festival is largely due to the contributions of its volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering for the Festival, please visit http://leelibrary.net/volunteer. If you need further assistance, contact Jami Browder jbrowder@leegov.com.

The marketplace will feature festival sponsors and local authors and writers’ organizations.

The Festival Author Committee invites select nationally recognized authors to participate in presentations and panel discussions.

We make adjustments to the event every year in order to ensure attendee, sponsor and author experiences are continuously improved. New for 2026 is a Virtual Queue for author book signings.

It is a text-based line management tool used to manage long wait times for book signings.

Books signings for adult authors will be managed using the Virtual Queue system. Signings for youth and teen authors will use the virtual queue process as needed, whenever lines become long.

This way fans can keep enjoying author presentations and other festival activities while they wait.

On festival day attendees can scan a QR code printed at the signing tent or access the link directly through the mobile app schedule to get a place in line.

Fans will only be allowed to sign up for virtual queues during the scheduled book signing times.

Once added to the virtual queue, text alerts will tell you when it is your turn to head over to the signing tent to have your books signed.

Staff in the Book Signing Assistance tent can sign you up and give you an appointment time to line up.

It takes nearly 175 Lee County Library System staff and community members to put on the Southwest Florida Reading Festival. There are people devoted to the following areas: Adult and children’s Author Recruitment, Festival Books Sales, Event Evaluation (surveys), Volunteer Coordinator, Festival Volunteer Hospitality, Festival Store, Fundraising, Author Hospitality, Evening with the Authors, Information Booths, Operations, Publicity, Book Signing, e-Library, Aspiring Authors Writing Contest, A Book for Every Child and Teen and Kids and Teen Activities and Crafts.

Visit the Book Signing Assistance tent on festival day for any extra help or assistance needed.