2026: BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE PUBLIC NARRATIVE

How do books shift our viewpoints? Powerful literature has reimagined what has already been established, reframed narratives that we thought we understood, and introduced new ideas that challenge the status quo. 

Think of The Silent Spring and its role in sparking the environmental movement; The Jungle, which exposed labor conditions in the meatpacking industry; The New Jim Crow, which examined systemic mass incarceration; On the Road, which celebrated nonconformity and new mores; Grapes of Wrath, which foretold a day of reckoning against injustice; The Second Sex, which deconstructed gender roles – all part of a trove of revered books that became part of our national conversation. 

LitFest 2026 celebrates the force of literature in turning around how we see the world and our place in it.

“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.”

—Malala Yousafzai