HICKORY — Hickory Public Library will host the second annual Hickory Literary Festival with featured authors Virginia Evans and Meagan Church on Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26, on the SALT Block, the City of Hickory said March 25, 2026.
Presented by Corning with Redhawk Publications, My Chapter House, and The Center for Creative & Compassionate Communities, the city said the event is free and open to all ages. Vendors, author talks, a writing workshop, poetry, entertainment, and literacy activities are listed.
Saturday talks in Drendel Auditorium, with signings after: Evans, author of the New York Times bestseller “The Correspondent” and the 2026 Hickory Reads selection, at 11 a.m.; Joy Callaway with Vanessa Miller at 12:30 p.m.; Church, author of “The Mad Wife,” “The Girls We Sent Away,” and “The Last Carolina Girl,” at 2 p.m.; and Ron Rash with David Dickson, Tim Peeler, Patty Thompson, and Rhonda Browning White at 3 p.m. Register at hickory.librarycalendar.com.
Lenoir-Rhyne professor Dale Bailey leads a 1 p.m. Saturday writing workshop. Redhawk poetry in the Keiser Room lists Joseph Bathanti, Al Maginnes, and Chris Nelson at 11:30 a.m., then Hickory Poet Laureate Scott Owens and other listed poets at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday outdoor music beside Patrick Beaver Memorial Library includes the Hickory Suzuki School at 10:30 a.m., Hickory Music Factory at noon, New Horizons Orchestra at 1 p.m., and the library Songwriting Club at 2 p.m. Sunday, 3–5 p.m., author Etaf Rum with Grace Lin Anderson and Jennifer Curtis is a ticketed program at the Hickory Choral Society Rehearsal Hall; pricing is at www.hickorync.gov/hickoryliteraryfestival.
Catawba Science Center is free Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for festival attendees. The SALT Block is in front of Patrick Beaver Memorial Library, 375 Third Street NE. Contact Library Director Sarah Greene at [email protected].
The March 25 notice does not list Saturday vendor names or Sunday ticket prices on the news page itself.
Official release from City of Hickory, March 25, 2026. https://www.hickorync.gov/hickory-public-library-host-hickory-literary-festival
