the Twentynine palms book Festival

The third edition of the Twentynine Palms Book Festival has marked a turning point in the event’s evolution, establishing the foundation for what is set to become one of the city’s signature annual gatherings.
Held over three full days, this year’s festival confirmed that Twentynine Palms can successfully host a full weekend literary event—an essential step toward drawing more visitors who stay longer and engage deeper with the city’s creative and cultural life. While ambitious for a rural community, organizers emphasized that a true “signature event” cannot exist on a smaller scale. The success of this expanded format now provides a strong foundation for future growth.
More than 800 attendees—including 94 authors and 15 independent presses, specialty bookstores, and writers’ organizations—participated in this year’s festival. Of these, 512 visitors registered through Eventbrite, underscoring a growing interest from both residents and out-of-town authors, publishers, and entertainment professionals. Authors hailed from across California, as well as Massachusetts, Arizona, Texas, Hawaii, New York, France, and Belgium.
Participating organizations included Written by Veterans, Desert Writers Guild, Mojave Sage Writers, Starlite Pulp, Brown Bag Books, Kiwanis Club of 29 Palms, Joshua Tree National Park Association, ITNA Press, Great Oak Press, P.O. Box Outer Space, 20th Century Print, Quiet Quail Books, 29 Loaves, Mojave Mercantile, and Desert General.
In addition to the festival’s bustling book fair and 17 live sessions at the Twentynine Palms Community Center, five offsite events brought more than 300 attendees to iconic Twentynine Palms venues such as the Old Schoolhouse Museum, 29 Palms Inn, The Palms in Wonder Valley, Out There Bar, and the Twentynine Palms Public Cemetery.
Festival highlights included tributes to the city’s legendary figures and California's 1970s underground comix movement, celebrations of Indigenous storytelling, explorations of the Mojave Desert as both fragile ecosystem and creative muse, and lively discussions on pulp fiction, memoir, heritage stories, and contemporary literary journalism.
Among these highlights was an early morning two-hour workshop, Paths to Publishing, designed for up-and-coming authors. The session was fully attended and generated a lively exchange of ideas, underscoring the creative dynamism of the Hi-Desert literary community and the strong appetite for professional development among local writers.
Dates for the 2026 Twentynine Palms Book Festival will be announced soon.

CONTACT
Patrick Zuchowicki Jucaud, Festival Director pz@thedesertgeneralstore.com
The book festival is organized by DESERT GENERAL, with the support of VISIT 29 PALMS and local businesses.

Learn more about the 2025 program.

A woman with gray hair and glasses speaking into a microphone while holding a book at a panel event. She is standing in front of seated panelists and near a sign that says "Desert Literary Showcase."

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.

A man with glasses, wearing a light gray blazer and a blue shirt, holding a microphone and speaking. Next to him, a woman with glasses, wearing a black outfit with gold leopard print sleeves, holding a green folder, standing on a stage in front of bl

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.