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23rd Annual Festival of Books Informs and Inspires

October 11, 2025

The 2025 South Dakota Festival of Books in Spearfish wrapped up two weeks ago, leaving attendees of all ages informed and inspired. Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills exhorted hundreds of third graders to follow their dreams, while adults learned from writers as diverse as Rebecca Clarren, Michael Grunwald, Eloisa James, and Chris La Tray.

Many Festival attendees shared their thoughts about why this “wonderful gathering of individuals that share a passion for reading and writing” is so meaningful to them. Here are some of their comments:

  • This festival is the only one of its kind in South Dakota that provides the level of experience that attendees can expect from similar top literary festivals around the United States. It is very important to continue holding this annual event so that South Dakotans and those who live elsewhere in the country can gather in our state to talk about literature and history and meet others from diverse backgrounds who share a love for books. It is a cultural event that South Dakotans treasure.
  • We live far from the urban centers of publishing, far from large bookstores, etc. Once a year, it is tremendous to have excellent authors brought here to interact with us!
  • I’m a firm believer in lifelong learning. I also find that, at this particular moment in history, I needed the inspiration and the civil dialogue. It was all uplifting at a time I really needed that.
  • As a South Dakotan, landlocked in a community that is very homogeneous, it is so life-giving to have authors and perspectives come that give insights that we don’t often get. The internet is one place to find enriching teachers and literature, but there is no substitute for the in-person human connection that comes with the festival. Every year I look forward to this festival as if it were my Christmas. And it fills my tank until the next one rolls around.
  • We have talented and diverse writers in South Dakota and need to promote them.
  • This is the second festival I have attended, and I absolutely love it! It’s hard narrowing down which presentations to attend because there is such a great variety of quality content. It celebrates and encourages reading. It exposes readers to authors they wouldn’t otherwise have known about. It gives a platform for authors to be discovered and promoted. Connecting with other lovers of literature is wonderful. The humanities are so important right now as an outlet for self-care and grounding amongst chaos and uncertainty. Continuing to have the book festival despite limited funding and an uncertain future was that much more important as an act of resistance that we will not let those important things be taken away from us. Thank you SO much for finding a way to continue with the festival and for making it such a rewarding weekend!!

All of us at the South Dakota Humanities Council want to express our gratitude to those who helped us make the Festival possible –  the many generous sponsors, the presenters, the exhibitors, the volunteers, and, of course, the attendees! Thank you for being a part of South Dakota’s premiere literary event!

If you still want to experience and support the Festival of Books, here are some options:

Watch Sessions Online

If you couldn’t join us in person – or if you want to catch up on sessions you missed – you can find several livestream videos archived on the SDHC Facebook page. Just click on “More” under the cover photo and select “Live” from the dropdown menu. For even more Festival videos, watch our website and social media for an announcement once we’ve posted recordings on the SDHC YouTube channel.

Share Your Feedback

To help us improve our event in the future, we would appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts by competing our Festival audience survey.

Donate to SDHC

Whether it’s promoting and providing literature for a virtual book club, attending a writing workshop, learning about civic engagement, or joining in the One Book South Dakota experience, we need your financial support to keep our efforts thriving and ensure that the humanities, including the Festival of Books, remain alive and well in South Dakota.

Join Us Next Year

Finally, watch our website and social media for the dates of our 2026 South Dakota Festival of Books in Brookings!

Learn more about humanities programming in South Dakota by signing up for SDHC e-Updates!