Hello Librarians!
We can't wait to see you in Chicago in June. We have tons of great events, giveaways, and signings lined up for the conference to celebrate the best and brightest of independent publishing. Below is a detailed guide to our action-packed schedule. See you there!
Find our booths:
Consortium Book Sales & Distribution: 3431
Publishers Group West: 3130
Two Rivers: 3425

Schedule at a Glance

Friday, June 26
Saturday, June 27 
Sunday, June 28
 Monday, June 29

Must-Read Memoirs: An Author Panel
Join the United For Library team for this panel about the must-read memoirs of the fall. Four writers from a variety of publishers will discuss their writing lives, their inspirations and processes, and their forthcoming titles. Advance copies will be provided to attendees and a book signing will follow. 
Featuring: Julianna Glasse, author of This Is What Happens When Women Read (Spiegel & Grau), Angelica Page, author of BOUNTIFUL: Growing Up With Geraldine Page (Three Rooms Press)
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2026
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  
Stage: Hyatt Regency McCormick, Adler ABC

Be For Real: Trust and Truth in the Age of AI 
There’s so much rampant and deliberate misinformation right now — how can you cut through the noise to help your patrons find actionable, accurate information to educate themselves? These publishers will talk about fact checking, the importance of good research, and how they create trustworthy and reliable materials for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. 
Panelists: Kat Georges (Three Rooms Press); Ren Belliveau (Medicine Wheel Publishing); Susan Marston (Albatros Books); Pauline Frommer (Frommer's); and moderated by Anne Rumberger (Haymarket Books)
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2026
Time: 2:30 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.  
Stage: Chapter One Stage (Booth #1328)

Nonfiction You Can't Put Down: An Author Panel
Join the United For Library team for this panel about the best nonfiction of the fall. Four writers from a variety of publishers will discuss their writing lives, their inspirations and processes, and their forthcoming titles. Advance copies will be provided to attendees and a book signing will follow. 
Featuring: Gwen Mayes, author of More Person Than Patient: Finding Your Purpose and Power with Chronic Illness (Mayo Clinic Press)
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2026
Time: 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  
Stage: McCormick Place, W 192 C

It's All Greek To Me: World Languages For Your Collection 
As libraries across the country have grown their collection of non-English language titles, new challenges have arrived. How do you find books in languages that aren’t reviewed by the trades? How do you navigate the need for titles in specific dialects? How can you create useful and modern resources for language learners interested? Join these publishers and translators to hear about the work they’re doing to make titles more accessible to patrons across the country.
Panelists: Nívola Uyá, author of The Soul of a Violin (Cuento de Luz); Carolina Schwarz (Albatros Books); Isabel Mendoza (Editorial Planeta); Cathy Taylor (Tuttle Publishing); and moderated by Paulina Ochoa-Figueroa (Restless Books)
Date: Sunday June 28, 2026
Time: 9:30 a.m.  – 10:20 a.m.
Stage: Diversity in Publishing Stage (Booth #5242)

Kimchi, Krautchi & Kimchi Taco Time: Flavor Remix Your Book Talks
What happens when storytime gets spicy? Join us for a high-energy author talk that turns reading into tasting, making, and brave first bites, inspired by June Jo’s new book, Kimchi Taco Time (Oct 2026). Learn how to eat like a Korean and share stories across cultures and generations. All you need is a kitchen sink. Featuring a live kimchi and krautchi demo, guided tasting, and a limited edition Kimchi Taco Time trading card. 
Featuring: June Jo Lee, author of Kimchi Taco Time (Readers to Eaters) and Philip Lee (Readers to Eaters)
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2026
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.  
Stage: What's Cooking (Booth #1320)
Food Culture Remix: Food Literacy Programming for Children, Teens, and Families
How do you run high-impact food programs with no kitchen, just a sink? Discover how food literacy programs bring multigenerational families, teens, and digital-only users into the library through tasting, storytelling, and easy food-making. From Summer Lunch activations to Fermentation pop-ups, this session includes an Awesome Sauce tasting and take-home zine activity. Moderated by award-winning children’s author, food ethnographer, and TED speaker June Jo Lee. 
Featuring: June Jo Lee, author of Kimchi Taco Time (Readers to Eaters); Joy Hariprasad, New York Public Library
Sara Jensen, King County Library System; Francesca de Vera, San Diego Public Library and Patty Wong, Santa Clara City Library (past ALA President 2021-2022)
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2026
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.  
Stage: What's Cooking (Booth #1320)

Fantasy & Romantasy: An Author Panel
Join the United For Library team for this panel about the most swoonworthy romance of the fall. Four writers from a variety of publishers will discuss their writing lives, their inspirations and processes, and their forthcoming titles. Advance copies will be provided to attendees and a book signing will follow. 
Featuring: E.E. Hornburg, author of The Night's Chosen and The Ocean's Queen (City Owl Press)
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2026
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.  
Stage: McCormick Place, W 193 A

Illustrate Their Lives: Diverse Illustrated Books for Your Collection 
As patron demographics change, so do the illustrations that reflect them. Join this group of picture book authors, artists, and publishers to hear about the most beautifully illustrated children and adult titles.
Panelists: Philip Lee (Readers to Eaters), Maria DesJarlait, author of I Am Not A Costume (Medicine Wheel Publishing); C. Spike Trotman (Iron Circus Books); Julian Peters (Plough Publishing House); and moderated by Sebastian Ramos (Silver Sprocket)
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2026
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. 
Stage: The Look of Books Stage (Booth #1342)

Keepin' it Creepy: Welcome to the Horror Renaissance
The horror genre is in an exciting (and long-awaited) renaissance — but in this haunted house of new books, how do you find what you’re looking for? Join this group of acclaimed horror writers and publishers to hear about the subversive, feminist, and freaky books your patrons will clamor for.
Panelists: Grace Daly, author of The Scald-Crow (Creature Publishing); Kyle Sullivan, author of Hobgoblin and the Stanky Eight (Hazy Dell Press); Daniel Wikey (Podium Publishing); C. Spike Trotman (Iron Circus Books); and moderated by Lindsay Merbaum, author of Vampires at Sea and Witches of the Wheel (Creature Publishing).
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2026
Time: 3:30 – 4:20 p.m.
Stage: Chapter One Stage (Booth #1328)

LGBTQ+ and Us: Queer Titles from Independent Publishers
Join us again for our annual celebration of the queer authors and publishers responsible for some of the most exciting books of the year. This roundtable conversation will look at the backlash to queer writing and how librarians have supported queer writers in the ongoing fight against censorship.
Panelists:  Lindsay Merbaum, author of Witches of the Wheel and Vampires at Sea (Creature Publishing); Cat Fitzpatrick (LittlePuss Press); Tobi Harper Petrie (Red Hen Press); Sage Coffey, author of Abortion Pill Zine (Silver Sprocket); and moderated by Casey Plett (LittlePuss Press)
Date: Monday, June 29, 2026
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.
Stage: Diversity in Publishing Stage (Booth #5242)

Gala Author Tea 
Enjoy tea and treats while hearing from bestselling writers about their forthcoming titles. Attendees will receive advance copies and have the opportunity to have them signed by authors.
Featuring: Tom Drury, author of West of Loveland (Grove Atlantic)
Date: Monday, June 29, 2026
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.  
Stage: McCormick Place, W 375 A Skyline

Author Meet & Greet
Friday, June 26th
June Jo Lee | Kimchi Taco Time (Readers to Eaters) | 3229C | 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Kari-Lynn Winters | Double-Up Day! (Pajama Press Inc) | IPS Booth | 6:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 27th
Pauline Frommer | Frommer's New York City 2026 (FrommerMedia LLC) | ILS Booth | 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Nathan Weidman | Thirty-Six Fighting Holes (Tortoise Books) | ILS Booth | 10:00 - 10:30 a.m
June Jo Lee | Kimchi Taco Time (Readers to Eaters) | 3229C | 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
David Lee Csicsko | Iconic Artists (Trope Publishing) | IPS Booth | 10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Kathy Stinson & Mark Hoffman | Boogy & Tee and Twinkle & Hew (Groundwood Books) | 3123 | 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Kari-Lynn Winters | Double-Up Day! (Pajama Press Inc) | IPS Booth | 11:00 - 11:30 a.m
Sid Sharp | Bog Myrtle (Annick Press) | 3126 | 11:00 - 11:30 a.m
Matthew Loux | My Journey to Japan (Tuttle Publishing) | 3127 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Gwen Mayes | More Person Than Patient: Finding Your Purpose and Power with Chronic Illness (Pajama Press Inc) | ILS Booth | 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m
Nívola Uyá | ¡Bonita es la Vida! (CUENTO DE LUZ) | IPS Booth | 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m
Lisl H. Detlefsen | My Mom is Like a Kite (Groundwood Books) | 3123 | 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Colleen Nelson | How to Save A Library (Pajama Press Inc) | ILS Booth | 12:00 - 12:30 p.m
Phil Cousineau | Wisdom of the Odyssey: Twenty-four Life Lessons from Homer's Epic (New World Library) | ILS Booth | 12:30 - 1:00 p.m.
Ariana Koulourides | Platypus and Puggle: Unusual Animals Big and Small (Annick Press) | 3126 | 1:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Jane Hamilton | The Phoebe Variations (Zibby Publishing) | ILS Booth | 1:00 - 1:30 p.m
Misael Osorio-Conde | some were just the Fragments // es que fueron solo los Fragmentos (Baobab Press) | IPS Booth | 1:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Kari-Lynn Winters | Double-Up Day! (Pajama Press Inc) | ILS Booth | 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.
Tanya Konerman | Mud to the Rescue! How Animals Use Mud to Thrive and Survive (Web of Life) | IPS Booth | 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.
Maria DesJarlait | I Am Not a Costume (Medicine Wheel Publishing) | 3129 | 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Dorothy Lazard | Behind the Desk at the Main: A Librarian's Memoir (Hey Day Books) | IPS Booth | 2:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Diane Abele | Purple Space Chickens (Diane Alber) | 3423 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Simon Knaphus | Seahorses: Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender-Expansive Pregnancy (PM Press) | IPS Booth | 2:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Colleen Nelson | How to Save A Library (Pajama Press Inc) | IPS Booth | 3:00 - 3:30 p.m
Michael Gebert | The Chicago Way: An Oral History of Chicago Dining (Agate Press) | IPS Booth | 3:30 - 4:00 p.m
Michelle Kadarusman | Listening for Tigers / Music for Tigers (Pajama Press) | IPS Booth | 4:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 28th 
E.E. Hornburg | The Night's Chosen (City Owl Press) | IPS Booth | 9:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Ann D. Koffsky | What Emma Wrote: The Woman Behind the Words on the Statue of Liberty (Apples & Honey Press) | ILS Booth | 10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Keli Christiansen | After the End: A Postwar Novel (Sibylline Press) | IPS Booth | 10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Naseem Hrab | Every Space Between (Groundwood Books) | 3123 | 10:00 - 11:00 a.m
June Jo Lee | Kimchi Taco Time (Readers to Eaters) | 3229C | 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Kathleen Reidy | Engineering a Love Story: A Novel (Sibylline Press) | IPS Booth | 10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Laura Stanfill | The Neighborhood Dames (Ooligan Press) | IPS Booth | 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Michelle Kadarusman | Listening for Tigers / Music for Tigers (Pajama Press) | ILS Booth | 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Angelica Page | BOUNTIFUL: Growing Up With Geraldine Page (Three Rooms Press) | ILS Booth | 1:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Colleen Delaney | The Hedge Witch (City Owl Press) | IPS Booth | 1:30 - 2:00 p.m
June Jo Lee | Kimchi Taco Time (Readers to Eaters) | 3229C | 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Robert A. Pape | Our Own Worst Enemies (The New Press) | ILS Booth | 2:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Grace Daly | The Scald-Crow (Creature Publishing) | IPS Booth | 2:30 - 3:00 p.m
Kyle Sullivan | Hobgoblin and the Stanky Eight (Hazy Dell Press) | ILS Booth | 2:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Julian Peters | Nature Poems to See By (Plough Publishing House) | ILS Booth | 3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Monday, June 29th
Lindsay Merbaum | Witches of the Wheel (Creature Publishing) | IPS Booth | 10:30 - 11:00 a.m.