Printer's Row Lit Fest: a gathering for the bookish

Book lovers, be sure to visit the Printer’s Row Lit Fest, a two-day event on June 6–7 featuring hundreds of booksellers and top-notch authors. This book event always guarantees a happy ending.

The festival was founded in 1985 to attract visitors to the landmark Printing House Row district, an area once housing printing and publishing businesses. Today, it draws more than 125,000 book fans for two days of events.

This is a neighborhood rich in architecture — the old Polk Street train station anchors the south end of the festival. Plan on spending an entire day, if not two, visiting the fair, which  also offers food and musical entertainment.

In addition to booksellers from every genre, there are panel discussions and scheduled readings by poets and authors such as Charles Baxter, Dave Eggers, Elizabeth Berg, Sara Paretsky, Robert Olmstead and Neil Gaiman.

A Kids Quarter offers events such as storytelling, costumed characters, sing-alongs and readings. And for adults, there are a wine tasting and cooking events. All events are free, but many of the major readings require reservations. Tickets are available one hour before the event.

Fair's hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days. Authors will remain after their events to sign their books at designated areas. Admission to all events is free and available on a first-come basis. Events at Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St., (312) 747-4396 require tickets.

For a full festival program, visit the website.

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