The 2026 Great Valley Bookfest returns on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley Shopping Center (Bass Pro) in Manteca, Highway 120 and Union Road. This completely free event includes author presentations, live entertainment, new book sales, a gigantic used book sale, a chalk drawing contest, and many children’s activities. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is a celebration of all things books. There are costumed characters, a Kids’ Zone with games and activities including bounce houses and a Writers’ Workshop area in the afternoon for young and old. There are many vendors as well as food trucks and concessions along with the businesses already there.

Aspiring writers can attend two panels of published authors at the Writers Nook discussing their craft and logistics of writing. At 11 a.m., children’s writers Barb Young, Linda Joy Singleton, and Claire Noland, with Moderator/Panel Chair, Bitsy Kemper will be discussing the topic Engaging Today’s Digital-Age Kids With Books, how writers can capture the shrinking attention spans of modern children.

At noon the always popular and lively mystery crime writers of Sacramento’s Sisters in Crime chapter, Capitol Crimes will be joining in at the Writers Nook. This year Michele Drier, Anne DaVigo, Mac Daly, Jessica Arden, and Rick Meredith will be sharing their favorite villains from their own work plus favorites from literature and movies.

From 1:15 p.m. to about 2:30 p.m., the Writers Nook will turn into Bigfoot’s Writers Workshop with Manteca children’s writer Debbie Saarloos presenting “The Story Starts Here.” She will be sharing readings from her book, talking about her own personal literacy journey, and giving writers young and old some ideas to spark their own writing ideas, encouraging them to write their stories. Her motto is “Start writing. Sqelling can be fixed later.” There will also be stations for children of all ages to try some nature journaling, make a couple different types of books they can use for their own stories, and get some writing materials and ideas to start that journaling.

The theme is “Celebrating the FUN of reading” and more information on the Oct. 10 event is available by visiting www.gvbookfest.org