New Book Festival party taps into fall’s buzziest new aesthetic

Saratoga Book Festival launches a brand-new event that has all the feels of this viral new vibe.

Sep 10, 2025

This fall’s buzziest new aesthetic — call it a “core,” a “vibe,” or just plain cozy — is making its way to Saratoga.

It’s called “bookish,” after romanticized rituals such as snuggling up in a chunky sweater to journal while sipping artisan coffee from a handmade clay mug. Think candles, yummy self-care, nostalgia, curated bookshelves, and following literary trends of all kinds online or at your favorite bookstore.

And the Saratoga Book Festival is channeling all of this into a new kind of party — which is a grade more festive than its name, Literary Night Market, suggests — this October 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. at UPH.

“To kick off the weekend festival, we’re doing something new,” says the festival’s co-chair, Jennifer Allen, executive director of Friends of Saratoga Springs Public Library. “We’re celebrating the joy of reading during a really fun evening — all while supporting our favorite local authors.”

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The festival-within-a-festival will offer wine samples from Keuka Spring Vineyards, charcuterie samples (and boards) from Date & Olive Grazing Co., live music, a cash bar, photo ops, live podcast interviews, permanent jewelry, vendors selling “bookish” items such as journals and candles — and a marketplace of about 60 local authors eager to talk about their writing. New vendors (Allen’s on the lookout for a palm reader or tarot card reader) are still being added, too.

“Buy a charcuterie board, grab a drink, and sit down with your friends for a chat,” Allen says. “Then browse the local authors, dive into the bookish vibe, and go home with some great new reads.”

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Providing the ambiance: the Mostly Modern Festival, which rocks Saratoga every June. Amanda Kengor, a Mostly Modern alum and Juilliard grad, will be on the harp, and J.J. Johnson and Gary Adler will play the viola and piano, respectively.

Discover Saratoga and its producers at Bright Sighted will be there, too, doing interviews for their popular Destination Saratoga podcast.

“It’s going to be really fun and vibrant,” Allen says. “Reading a book written by someone you connected with in a settling like this is a totally different experience than a one-click online. Come for the music, come for the food and drinks, come for the activities, bring your friends — and then meet local authors and buy their books.”