the Twentynine palms book Festival

WELCOME TO BOOK LOVERS!

The Twentynine Palms Book Festival invites readers, authors, publishers, and entertainment executives to discover fresh voices and original stories in one of California’s most unexpected literary destinations—at the edge of the Mojave Desert.

Located just one hour from Palm Springs, three hours from Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and under four hours from Phoenix, Twentynine Palms is both easy to reach and refreshingly off-the-grid. The city offers 1,000+ rooms, from classic desert motels and design-forward boutique hotels to cinematic short-term rentals—ideal for festival stays, intimate meetings, book launches, and press events.

Held October 23–25, the festival takes place during one of the desert’s most beautiful seasons, with clear skies, warm days, and cool evenings—perfect for outdoor readings, conversations under the stars, and relaxed professional networking across town.

What truly sets Twentynine Palms apart is its people. More than 100 established and emerging authors and screenplatwriters live full-time or part-time in and around the city, making it a rare, year-round literary hub in the middle of the California desert and giving the festival its distinctive, discovery-driven character.

The 4th edition is shaped by the desert itself and by a broadening audience, with a focused program spanning Stargazing Literature, Native American Heritage Stories, Memoirs & Personal Narratives, and Romance Fiction, alongside crime fiction, nonfiction, children’s literature, and local voices. Authors and industry guests benefit from professional workshops, curated encounters, and a high-quality book fair bringing together presses, bookstores, and literary organizations. Launching the day before the festival, Desert Noir introduces an invitation-driven industry day spotlighting noir fiction and nonfiction with strong screen-adaptation potential—connecting authors directly with screenwriters, producers, and development executives.

Click here for more information.

Three people having a conversation indoors, with a black and white wall background. One man has gray hair and is wearing a beige jacket, another man has brown hair and is wearing a gray shirt, and a woman is wearing a black and white animal print jac

People at book tables and booths in an indoor event, with shelves of books, a digital scoreboard, and a plant in the background.

People attending a fair at a booth with a blue tablecloth that has text promoting fairness and goodwill. A woman is sitting at the booth, talking to visitors while several people are browsing displayed materials. In the background, there's a large ca

An indoor book sale event with multiple bookshelves filled with books, people browsing and shopping, and a basketball court backstop with a digital scoreboard.

View the 2024 event gallery.

Black and white poster for the Twenty9 Palms Book Festival, held November 7-9, 2025, with bold, stylized text and geometric design elements.

POSTER SPOTLIGHT

We’re proud to unveil the 2025 Twentynine Palms Book Festival poster—designed by Ana Criado Zahonero, a Joshua Tree– and Los Angeles– based artist whose work captures the desert’s spirit with striking originality.

This year’s theme draws from the visual language of books: black and white, bold, and type-driven. Reflecting the printed page, the poster celebrates typography through oversized, architectural letterforms that echo books on a shelf. The design invites viewers into a world of words, structure, and imagination.