Twin Cities Book Festival returns to Union Depot on November 7

By Marcus Bennett

More than 9,000 book lovers attended the 2025 Twin Cities Book Festival, according to executive director Eric Lorberer. The one-day event returns to Union Depot on November 7 for seven hours, he said.

Lorberer, also editor of Rain Taxi, said the festival brings thousands of books alongside magazines, zines, art and records. He said visitors can find something to suit their tastes. Lorberer said the festival also emphasizes reading and access to books as book bans have increased across the country.

“No other species writes books and saves them, for history and for each other. So we are doing something uniquely human by even writing books,” Lorberer said. “The freedom to do that, and the fact that all of human progress has come through that is absolutely vital.”

Two decades of growth

Lorberer said the festival has run for 26 years. He said its first event in 2001 drew about 1,500 people, beating his forecast of fewer than 1,000. “It’s sort of like, you know, we’re gonna need a bigger boat,” Lorberer said.

The first festival featured nine or 10 authors. This year’s lineup includes 10 to 12 authors from different states and “dozens and dozens” of local authors, Lorberer said. He said the scale remains secondary to his goal of access and spreading the love of reading.

“Although I do want to say that numbers and size are not our primary goal,” Lorberer said. “Our goal is access and spreading the love of reading. So those numbers are relevant in that way.”

Planning starts nine months ahead, Lorberer said. Setting up Union Depot usually takes three to four days. “All of that is from the big picture, from the bird's eye view. All that is just one big, beautiful experience,” he said.

A marketplace beyond books

The festival offers 9-plus types of media, Lorberer said. The mix includes used records, magazines, zines, comics, illustrations, visual art, posters and handmade items alongside books.

“We're trying to create an environment to show people, Look at the delight others and yourself can have. And hey, guess what? You didn't need a screen for any of this,” Lorberer said.

“I look at people going through those records and just like laughing or smiling at a funny cover or whatever. And it's like, that's not something you normally do if you're scrolling by really quickly.”

Sales estimates remain approximate, Lorberer said. He estimated around 2,000 used books and at least 1,000 used records would sell. With hundreds of vendors offering 12 to 100 books each, he speculated that “1000s and 1000s” of books would circulate throughout the festival and into homes.

“We’re pumping books and circulating them throughout the community. And the community is healthy because of that,” Lorberer said.

More than 150 vendors, booksellers, libraries, schools and other organizations will take part, Lorberer said. He called libraries “our heroes” and said the range of organizations keeps the festival from becoming a version of the same event repeated.

More than 40 authors will appear in panels, discussions and booths. The 40 listed on the festival’s website are presenting authors, Lorberer said. Many local authors will also sign books at their booths, volunteer, or attend to enjoy the festival with the community.

What changes for readers this year?

The concrete shift in emphasis is likely poetry, Lorberer said. Romance had a strong presence last year, while this year’s poetry program is tied to a panel featuring U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze. The festival offers at least six genres, although Lorberer did not set a fixed total; the mix changes with popularity and with how categories are defined.

He said visitors can find something new or unfamiliar within the festival’s seven hours. “You can just explore anything. You can explore whatever you want,” Lorberer said.

He added: “You can find like, Oh, I know that existed. It's kind of weird. I don't like that, Or, you know, when you go to another corner, Oh, I like this instead.”

Reading is usually solitary, but Lorberer said the festival shows how books can connect people. The human connection also fuels his own work.

“As awestruck as I am, about, like, what individuals do, or individual writers or individual stores or publishers or anything in the world, there's so much achievement. It's so admirable.

“But I've always had a hunger for like, What if we could all get in one room just for a day? Like, could we be together?” Lorberer said.

For readers, the practical change is more emphasis on poetry within a broader program of 9-plus media types, 40-plus authors and 150-plus participants. On November 7, the festival will test whether that breadth can turn solitary reading into a shared day of discovery.