Past Festivals

2016 — Our inaugural festival where “The English Patient” author Michael Ondaatje anchored the Unbound Book Festival with a keynote speech.

2017 — Our keynote speaker was internationally recognized author Sir Salman Rushdie.

2018 — Zadie Smith was the keynote speaker for the third annual Unbound Book festival in 2018. Among the changes to the festival in 2018 was the addition of Thursday to what had been just a two-day festival.

2019 — Fifty-seven authors — including keynote speaker George Saunders — came to Columbia to share their wisdom and written pieces.

2020 — With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Unbound canceled the festival and set new dates for the 2021 festival.

2021 — In 2021, the Unbound Book Festival went virtual, launching early in the year and running from January through April.

2022 - 2022 was the year Unbound came back in person with a new location: Downtown Columbia, Missouri.

2023 - Unbound Book Festival introduced Ross Gay and Patrick Rosal as co-keynote speakers.

2024 - Unbound Book Festival welcomed Emily St. John Mandel to Columbia as the keynote speaker.