Welcome to the 2025 New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University! Get ready to dive into a celebration of words and imagination. Here’s everything you need to know to make the most of the festival on Tulane’s uptown campus.

Raising the bar, The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University launches its fourth annual fest on Thursday, March 27. This year’s festival features over 200 authors, illustrators, chefs, and thought leaders participating in more than 90 panel discussions. Attendees can look forward to a diverse array of programming collaborations that bring together voices from across the literary and cultural landscape. Read more...

The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University remains free and open to the public. While registration is not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged to enhance your festival experience.

Show your registration for the fest at the info desk in the Welcome Center in Pedersen Lobby in the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life and get a free cotton tote bag (while supplies last). Register here. 

The full schedule of events is available on the festival website. All festival events are free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first come, first served basis. Please note, as is the nature of live events, some adjustments have been made to the schedule. Check the updates page for a log of major changes to the schedule and author lineup. 

Book sales and signings at the festival will be hosted by our local independent bookstore partners, including Baldwin & Co, Octavia Books, Garden District Books, as well as Barnes & Noble College. While you can bring your own book for signing, purchasing on-site supports the festival’s success, independent bookstores, and the attending authors. 

Explore the festival with our digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app. Use the app to plan your visit, then easily access helpful insights on-site. In addition to the festival, Bloomberg Connects lets you explore hundreds of museums, galleries, sculpture parks, gardens, and cultural spaces around the world, all with one free download from the App Store or Google Play.

We highly encourage festival attendees to consider alternate transportation options as parking and traffic around campus will likely be difficult to navigate during the festival. There are numerous construction projects along Broadway St. and throughout the surrounding neighborhood that may impact traffic flow during the festival. By choosing alternate transportation, you’ll help ease congestion and make the festival experience smoother for everyone.

Park & Ride Festival Shuttles: Convenient shuttles will run throughout the festival from University Square (200 Broadway St) to Tulane’s uptown campus and drop off near the Malkin Sacks Commons. Shuttles will leave from the shuttle stop at 200 Broadway on the hour and half hour from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Friday, March 28 and 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 29. Parking for shuttles at University Square is available on a first come, first served basis.

Bike: Bring your bike! Bike racks are available across the university's uptown campus.

Walk or Use Public Transit: The campus is accessible by multiple RTA bus routes and streetcars. Tulane is on the St. Charles Streetcar Line (green cars). RTA bus 57-Franklin-Freret conveniently stops in the middle of Tulane’s uptown campus. Use the RTA Plan My Trip tool or visit the website for more information. Also please note, Freret Street Fest on Saturday, March 29 may impact the service route for this line--check the RTA site for the most up to date service interruptions.  

Taxi or Ride Shares: Consider using Uber, Lyft, or similar services to drop off at 6801 Freret St.

Family Day Shuttles: Shuttles will provide free round-trip rides to Family Day at the Fest on Saturday, March 29 from city wide locations listed below. All shuttles will drop off near Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse on Freret St. Pick-ups from each location are at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Departures from Tulane back to the locations below are at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

For those who must drive, limited parking is available on campus in surface spots and the Diboll Garage:

Parking opens at 4 p.m. on Thursday and is available through the duration of the festival.

ADA parking spaces are located beside the elevators on each floor of the Diboll Garage. A state-issued placard or license plate is required to park in these spaces. The university’s interactive campus map shows ADA spaces (check the Parking box to view). 

For more information about parking and transportation at the fest, click here. 

All festival venues are nestled in the center of Tulane's uptown campus. View the festival map of venue locations and the interactive campus map for a wider view of how to navigate campus. 

Plenty of food options are available in and around Tulane during your time at the fest!

Campus Dining:
Our main university dining areas in the Malkin Sacks Commons and the Lavin-Bernick Center will be open during the festival. A full list of dining options around Tulane’s uptown campus can be found here.

Food Trucks:
Bonafried and Diva Dog food trucks will be stationed along McAlister Place near the ROTC Building on Friday and Saturday of the festival. Crepes a la Cart will be located across from McAlister Auditorium on Friday. 

Grab & Go Sandwiches with Francolini's:
Visit the fest cafe inside the Hyatt Regency Festival Tent on Friday and Saturday for grab and go sandwiches available from Francolini's starting at 11 a.m., while supplies last

Coffee:
Free PJ’s Coffee will be available in the Welcome Center in Pedersen Lobby on Friday and Saturday, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m., while supplies last. 

Free French Truck Coffee and special edition festival cups will be available in the Hyatt Regency Festival Tent on Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., while supplies last. 

Sign up for emergency text alerts and stay informed about any unexpected developments during the event. 

Text BOOKFESTTU to 888777 to opt-in to emergency notifications about the festival. 

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. 

To be respectful of those with allergies and environmental sensitivities, we ask that you please refrain from wearing strong fragrances.

Accessibility Notice: The elevator between the first and second floors of the Lavin-Bernick Center is currently out of order. To access the second-floor festival venues (Kendall Cram Lecture Hall and Stibbs), guests who require an elevator should enter through the Malkin Sacks Commons and proceed to the second floor via the elevator there. Follow the hallway that connects the two buildings to reach the venues. 

For more information about accessibility at the fest visit the website.  

The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University is funded by our generous supporters, which keeps the festival free and open to the public. Find out more about supporting the festival.