Celebrate a full day of reading, writing, and connection at the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library! We’re thrilled to present the inaugural Great Big Book Festival on Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Downtown Huntsville Public Library. This exciting new all-day event brings together authors, book lovers, and anyone who enjoys all things literary. It’s the perfect opportunity to discover new stories, meet fellow readers, and connect at Your Library.
The GBBF features a robust lineup of free programming, including an author panel, book signings, and a selection of bookish vendors. Be sure to join us for our ticketed keynote event with best-selling author Ariel Lawhon, discussing her acclaimed novel The Pirate Queen, at 3:00 p.m.
For more information, please email GBBF@hmcpl.org
Sponsorship Opportunities
Vendor Applications
Keynote Event
We’re excited to welcome New York Times bestselling author Ariel Lawhon, author of The Frozen River, as the keynote speaker for HMCPL’s The Great Big Book Festival! Venture onto the high seas as we celebrate her fall release, The Pirate Queen, a sweeping historical adventure inspired by a real-life Irish folk heroine.
ARIEL LAWHON is an award-winning, critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages and have been Good Morning America, LibraryReads, and One Book One County selections. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and four sons. Ariel splits her time between the grocery store and the baseball field.
About The Pirate Queen:
A sweeping historical adventure inspired by the life of Grace O’Malley, the legendary Irish folk heroine who risked everything to defend her people.
Grace O’Malley was born to be a sea captain. But despite her natural skill on the water, Grace learns early that her dreams of a life at the helm are not compatible with the expectations of her noble family. As the only daughter of a powerful chieftain, her role is to secure a strong alliance and bear children. But when she’s sent to foster with a nearby clan, Grace falls for a clever and open-minded second son—a man she cannot have.
Married off against her will to a brutal warrior, Grace performs her duty, all the while gathering followers loyal to her and consolidating her husband’s power, only to be ousted from his lands. But this betrayal offers Grace the opportunity to return to sea, finally leading clan O’Malley’s mighty fleet. Just as she finds true independence, Queen Elizabeth’s incursions into Ireland grow bolder, and Grace must fight to defend her land, her ships, and the people she loves most against the cruel and power-hungry English deputies, who will stop at nothing to check her power.
Keenly observed and fiercely written, Ariel Lawhon’s new action-packed novel channels the untamed beauty and harsh realities of sixteenth-century Ireland, as seen through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine who rightly became “the Pirate Queen of Ireland.”
Purchase Tickets here.
We appreciate the Propst Family Foundation and the Huntsville-Madison County Library Foundation for sponsoring this event.
