Book lovers, authors and booksellers will reunite Aug. 17 for the second NWA Book Fest, a day-long stretch of events from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This year’s fest will take place at the Fayetteville Town Center, giving it much more room to stretch out compared to its start as a little street festival in Rogers.

Courtney Ulrich Smith, president of NWA Book Fest and co-owner of Underbrush Books in Rogers, said that while the event is much bigger, it will look familiar with a makers market, book market, 15 minute author talks followed by book signings and panel discussions. A total of 30 authors will be involved.

“We’re excited to grow and expand,” Smith said by Zoom. The main difference is that the scope expanded to include some authors from eastern Oklahoma, making it a little more regional in scope than it was before. They’ll participate in panel discussions on a variety of topics. “This year we’re exploring different genres. There will be a comics and graphic novel panels; we have a horror panel, a teen fantasy panel and nonfiction.”

Among the discussions planned is “Path to Publishing,” which will include a combination of published authors, a regional publisher and one unpublished author who is currently working on manuscripts and seeking a route to publication. Audience members can gain writing tips, tips for sending manuscripts to publishers and participate in the Q&A session at the end.

Standout speakers for Book Fest include teen, middle grade and children’s authors Ayana Gray, author of the Beast of Prey trilogy, and Andrea Rogers, who will discuss using fantasy and speculative fiction as a way for younger readers to explore reality. Rogers has published two books and has another coming in a couple of months.

Rachel Stuckey Slaton, co-owner of Two Friends Bookstore + Cafe, said she’s looking forward to hearing from author Alice Driver, an Arkansan who lives abroad. Her nonfiction book explores worker capital dynamics, particularly in the poultry industry, in the Natural State.

“Regionally it’s very relevant, but personally I think about class and those dynamics all the time, class and power,” she said. “There’s so much fertile ground in the region to explore that.”

Stuckey Slaton got involved with NWA Book Fest as it morphed from an event into a nonprofit that champions literacy and the power of books. She joined the board because those are her passions.

Smith said the response from the first Book Fest blew her away and went beyond her and co-founder Emily Walker’s wildest imagination. Before it was concluded, people were asking how they could get involved and when the next would be.

They’ve since hosted a second event, NWA Book Swap, in which readers bring old books to exchange for new-to-them titles. In it, organizers took six hours to sort 3,000 books into five or six rows of tables. They disappeared in no time at the Apollo in downtown Springdale.

Smith said she thought “‘We’ve got something here.’” They wanted to explore it more, so they took all the necessary steps for 501c3 status.

The board of directors include book professionals, as well as people working in the corporate world, University of Arkansas, Walmart, hotel management and students. They were brought together by their shared love of books and literature and represent the wide variety of readership in Arkansas. Smith hopes that shines through in the programs they turn out.

“The mission of the organization is to increase the number of people in Arkansas who consider themselves readers through celebration and gentle reading practices,” Stuckey Slaton said. “Our board embodies that.”

Right now, NWA Book Fest and its Book Swap are the two flagship events. A Book Fest Kids event was planned for the first weekend of June, which was cancelled due to the tornado damage sustained by the Peel Museum, its venue. Many of those vendors will instead set up at the Town Center on Aug. 17.

Many independent bookstores of the region will participate Saturday, including one new store making its debut. And the makers market will sell much more than books. Bakeries, confectioneries, jewelry artists and fine artists will all be present with book-themed goods.

“Seeing in one place a gathering of people from all across the region who love books was special and it felt meaningful,” Stuckey Slaton said of the first fest. She felt like it pointed to a hunger for bookish events. “On the market, it goes back to gentle reading practices and celebration. We believe you can engage with books in ways outside of holding a book. It’s fun to get into a fandom, to gush about a favorite book or author, wear merch and engage with stories outside of the covers.”