The Utah Humanities Book Festival marked 27 years of improving Utah communities through reading in 2024. Photo: Utah Humanities.

PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City Library will host a two-day celebration of books and reading Sunday, Oct. 4, and Monday, Oct. 5, with activities and discussions for all ages that explore literary themes.

The events are part of the annual Utah Humanities Book Festival, presented in partnership with Utah Humanities. Summit County Library and Wasatch County Library also are participating in the festival.

Two headlining authors will appear: Brian Laidlaw on Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. and Buzzy Jackson on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.

Sunday activities for families

From 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 4, kids and parents can take part in a craft extravaganza featuring book-themed projects, including bookmarks, mini books and puppets. Elephant & Piggie, the main characters of Mo Willems’ books, will make an appearance for a meet-and-greet.

A local author meet-and-greet will run during the same hours. Visitors can explore the latest books from Wasatch Back authors, ask questions, learn about their creative processes and get a sneak peek at works in progress.

At 1:30 p.m., the Puppet Players will perform “There’s a Monster in My Bathtub.” In the show, a boy named Billy cannot take a bath because a big furry monster is taking up all the space and using all his soap. Billy tries a variety of tricks to get the creature out, but nothing works.

Laidlaw keynote

At 2 p.m., Brian Laidlaw, a Moab-based climber, poet, essayist and songwriter, will deliver one of the festival’s two keynote addresses. Maya Silver, editor in chief of Climbing magazine, will facilitate an audience question-and-answer session.

Laidlaw’s newest work is “Erratica: On Climbing, Language, and Touching Stone,” a Millions Most Anticipated 2026 selection. The book is described as part adventure narrative, part philosophical inquiry and part love letter to climbing and natural spaces.

A reception with Laidlaw and the featured local authors will follow. Attendees can buy books, have them signed and mingle with authors and fellow readers over light refreshments.

Jackson keynote

A reception begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 5, followed by Buzzy Jackson’s keynote at 7 p.m. A book signing will follow the event.

Jackson is a historical fiction novelist and the award-winning author of three books of nonfiction, as well as the novel “To Die Beautiful,” published in the U.K. and worldwide as “The Girl with the Red Hair.” She recently was a fellow of the Edith Wharton Writing Residency, holds a doctorate in history from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. She lives in Colorado.

“To Die Beautiful” won the Colorado Book Award and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and the Chautauqua Prize.

For a full list of events and details, visit www.parkcity.gov/library/.