\u201cI really wanted to create a party that celebrates books and that\u2019s what Bookfest is,\u201d Place told BridgeDetroit. \u201cIt\u2019s one big party, and we\u2019re here to inspire discovery and creativity. That\u2019s what I love most about the event. You can come to Bookfest and discover things that you never knew existed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beginning Friday, book lovers can congregate once again for Detroit Bookfest\u2019s eighth annual soiree. Now expanded into a \u201cbook-cation weekend,\u201d Place and festival organizers are hosting \u201cBookfest at the Main\u201d 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday at the main branch of the Detroit Public Library. The event will feature author talks from several Detroit natives and Michigan-based writers. Portions of the program will be featured on PBS\u2019s national program \u201cPBS Books,\u201d which is produced in Detroit.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, folks can take part in a self-guided bookstore tour and visit some of their favorite shops. Detroit Bookfest has published a list of 85 bookstores <\/a>throughout southeast Michigan and Ontario, Canada people can patronize, including local favorites John K. King, Pages Bookshop<\/a> and Next Chapter Books.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The main event takes place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday in Sheds 4, 5 and 6 at Eastern Market, featuring more than 250 vendors such as Wayne State University Press, InsideOut Literary Arts, Preservation Detroit and Book Beat. There will also be free children\u2019s activities in DTE Plaza, the space between Shed 5 and Russell Street.<\/p>\n After the festival, attendees can check out the afterparty at Detroit City Distillery and try some drinks from the book-themed cocktail menu.\u00a0<\/p>\n Place said the festival\u2019s expansion is due to the strong support he\u2019s received over the years from vendors, attendees, Eastern Market and the overall metro Detroit community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea went from my brain to a cocktail napkin,\u201d he said. \u201cI contacted a few people, things got popping and they just exploded right out of the gate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sharing their stories\u00a0<\/p>\n Two authors that will present at \u201cBookfest at the Main\u201d include Detroit native and documentary filmmaker Curtis Chin, who released his memoir, \u201cEverything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant\u201d in 2023, <\/a>and Detroit resident and cartographer Alex B. Hill, who released his latest book, \u201cGreat Lakes in 50 Maps\u201d <\/a>in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n The rest of the lineup includes: Mark Crilley, The Astro Twins, Melissa F. Kaelin, Vanessa Ivy Rose and Barbara Henning. One outlier in \u201cBookfest at the Main\u2019s\u201d Michigan-heavy lineup is Los Angeles-based author and prison activist \u201cFreeway\u201d Rick Ross, who will be in attendance to discuss his 2014 memoir, \u201cFreeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography.\u201d<\/p>\n Chin said Place reached out to him to be a part of the event after his book was selected as this year\u2019s The Great Michigan Read<\/a> through Michigan Humanities.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEverything I Learned\u201d is a critique on the social and political forces in Detroit that influenced Chin\u2019s life growing up as a gay, first-generation Chinese-American in the Motor City. That also includes his experiences inside his family\u2019s former restaurant Chung\u2019s, located in Detroit\u2019s Chinatown neighborhood. The restaurant was known for making and selling 4,000 egg rolls each week and attracting Chinese, Black and Jewish residents, even former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Place contacted Hill through Instagram, thinking the Great Lakes book, as well as his first book, \u201cDetroit in 50 Maps,\u201d would go over well with a local audience, Hill said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGreat Lakes in 50 Maps\u201d explores the five bodies of water in four categories \u2014 history and culture, ecology, infrastructure and physical. Hill\u2019s maps show the lakes\u2019 influence and confluences, from the Underground Railroad to monarch butterfly migration, as well as interesting information like how many NFL teams play on a Great Lake and where mysterious shipwrecks and Bigfoot sightings cluster.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDetroit in 50 Maps\u201d<\/a> takes a unique approach to examining the city, from maps of the new coffee shops in town, areas with the highest concentrations of pizzerias, to all of the Coney Island restaurants located in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chin, who now lives in Los Angeles, said he\u2019s happy to be home. While at Detroit Bookfest, he\u2019s looking forward to meeting former Chung\u2019s customers. The restaurant was open for 65 years before closing in 2000, serving generations of regulars. Chin said he received an email earlier this week from a man who used to live in Detroit, but now resides in Chicago. He remembered Chung\u2019s famous egg rolls and how kids at his elementary school used to sell them for profit.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m looking forward to, our customers coming up and saying hi and sharing a nice memory about our business,\u201d Chin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hill said he\u2019s looking forward to hearing the stories readers have that accompany his maps.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe different maps and print data points resonate with folks differently, but they always have stories to go with those,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s always fun to know, that that might help contextualize something for someone or brings back memories.\u201d<\/p>\n A \u2018lasting, lifelong impact\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to gathering bookworms together, another important aspect of Detroit Bookfest is collecting books for Detroit youth. This year\u2019s goal for the festival is to collect 2,000 donated children\u2019s books in conjunction with Detroit nonprofit Birdie\u2019s Bookmobile, <\/a>Place said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a variety of yellow bins strategically placed around the market, and if people have any new or gently used children\u2019s books, please bring them and put them in the bins,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cAt the end of the event, Birdie (founder Alyce Hartman) will collect those books, put them into her bookmobile, and then the next week, she\u2019s going to take those around to kids in need all over the city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Detroit](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CurtisChin.jpg\")
Detroit native Curtis Chin is an author and documentary filmmaker, who wrote his memoir, \u201cEverything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant\u201d in 2023. Credit: Courtesy photo<\/p>\n![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/AlexHill.jpg\")
Alex B. Hill is a Detroit cartographer, researcher and author of two books, \u201cGreat Lakes in 50 Maps\u201d and \u201cDetroit in 50 Maps.\u201d Credit: Courtesy photo<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Books.jpg\")
People browse a collection of books at the 2024 Detroit Festival of Books. This year\u2019s event will feature more than 250 vendors selling books, comic books, vinyl records and art. Credit: Photo credit: Debbie Maciolek<\/p>\n