Author Participation Information
Join us at the Annapolis Book Festival 2027 on Saturday, May 1!
Applications for the 2027 Festival will be accepted beginning in August 2026.
The Annapolis Book Festival is a free community event hosted by Key School, a non-profit independent school in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Festival features fiction, non-fiction and children's book authors of regional and national scope whose books have been published (or issued in paperback) within the last two years.
The Festival does not provide honoraria for its participants; but will provide transportation and lodging for authors.
The Festival does not accept self-published books for presentation in our venues. If you have a self-published book to promote, consider applying to sell it at the Festival’s Literary Marketplace, which opens in November 2026.
Publicists, editors or authors may submit the online submission form and materials for the Annapolis Book Festival 2027.
Festival 2027 Interest Form Opens in August
Application & Selection Process
Participants are selected by the Annapolis Book Festival Authors’ Committee. There are generally three formats to which authors may be invited to participate:
- Solo presentations
- Panel groupings by themes the Festival deems appropriate and of interest to the audience (e.g., current affairs, history, memoirs, environment, historical fiction, science, thrillers, health and wellness)
- Workshops or demonstrations (e.g., cooking demos or writing workshops)
To be considered, authors (publicists or editors) should submit the following:
- One copy of the book to be featured. Mailing address to be made available in August.
- The online author participation submission form (see above).
- Optional: Any additional press materials the book has received from the publisher or newspaper/magazine/web coverage.
NO MATERIALS WILL BE RETURNED.
The Festival Authors' Committee will convene to consider all submitted materials in a process that takes several months; therefore, the earlier materials are submitted, the more exposure they will have to the Committee. Questions about participation can only be answered once all information is received, the form is submitted, and the Committee gives appropriate time for consideration. The author submission process will close on Friday, December 18, 2026. The Festival will contact authors no later than March 26, 2027.