New Dark Summer Book Fest Brightens Boston's Literary Calendar

by Jessica A. Kent | July 31, 2026

A bright spot on the local literary calendar this Summer will be the new Dark Summer Book Fest, happening at the Framingham Public Library on Saturday, August 8, 2026, from 11:00am to 5:00pm. As the event page reads, “This one's for all the dark fiction lovers, whether your particular interest is crime fiction, horror, fantasy, paranormal romance, weird westerns, literary fiction, or any number of other things!”

I caught up with John Garrigan, Supervisor of Teen Services and organizer of Dark Summer, to learn how the festival came together, what attendees can expect, and why discovery is at the heart of the event.

Creating the Dark Summer Book Fest

First, what exactly is dark fiction and how do you build a book festival around it? According to Garrigan, “Dark fiction is anything that's not so bright and sunny.” Not just horror — dark fiction can apply to crime fiction, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, and other genres and subgenres, too. “Part of the reason that I really like this festival and the authors we ended up booking is because we have everything, from picture book authors — where the dark part of it is maybe there's a ghost in it, baby's first dark fiction — and up through monster romance and transgressive fiction.”

That broad definition is exactly what makes dark fiction well suited to a book festival. Garrigan sees Dark Summer slotting in between book festivals that are hyper-focused on one genre or so broad they include everything for everyone, with little curation. “I wanted to do something that was a little broader than a very narrow focus, but had some broader umbrella that could bring people in. … We can get crime fiction, we can get fantasy, we can do a whole bunch of stuff.”

The programming also spans all ages, from children's books to adult fiction. “When putting this together, one of the stated goals was to have a little bit of everything — things specifically for kids, to please don't give this book to your kid and maybe keep this one on the top shelf!” Garrigan said.

And there’s going to be a lot to experience.

Experiencing the Dark Summer Book Fest

The first thing attendees will find on arriving to the Framingham Public Library will be food trucks and a Mighty Squirrel Brewing Company beer garden outside, where attendees can grab a drink and a snack throughout the day.

“Once they walk in the building, the first thing they're going to see is An Unlikely Story. The bookstore is going to have a table where they are selling the majority of the author's books … and you can then take them to various parts of the library to meet the authors and have them signed.”

Also on the main floor will be an Indie Publishers’ alley, which will feature Soho Press, CLASH Books, Ninepin Press and Phantom Mill Games run by sci-fi/fantasy author Jedediah Berry, and Questward Press, the new venture from Side Quest Books & Games.

“We're running a small Zine Pavilion, too,” said Garrigan, which will feature Massachusetts zine creators working in various subject matter, from lesbian vampire romance, to gaming, to comics, all right next to the library’s permanent Zine Collection.

Children’s programming will be downstairs in the Children’s Room, including picture book, chapter book, and middle grade authors, as well as story times and an all-day family scavenger hunt activity. Upstairs in the teen space and library classrooms will be the YA and adult fiction authors.

Authors and Panels

Planning began last year with brainstorming panels and potential programming, and invitations were sent out to authors and publicists to bring in the right line-up to make that vision a reality. “We know we want to do a romance panel and a crime fiction panel and things like that. So who can we reach out to in these different areas?” Garrigan explained. “Then once we had everybody, we were like, ‘All right, so here are the ideas we had. How can we form these into panel discussions?’”

Those ideas ultimately became six panels: “A Literal Dark Summer,” “Pulp Crime for Modern Times,” “Let's Make it Weird: A Transgressive Fiction,” “Loving the Monster: A Romance Panel,” “Escaping Reality,” and “Writing Indigenous Fiction for All Ages.” The guest of honor will be Andrew Joseph White, author of the YA dystopian debut novel Hell Followed with Us (2022) and the most recent You Weren't Meant to be Human (2025). He’ll be in conversation with author Louangie Bou-Montes.

Dark Summer will also feature traditionally published/Big Five authors alongside authors published by indie presses and self-published authors selling books at their own tables. Of that mix, Garrigan explained that “I think that's a really good way to do a festival, because people might come in to meet Alaina Urquhart or Margot Douaihy or some of the bigger authors we have here. Then, as they're waiting to get a photo with [them], they'll wander through the other alleys and see some of the people selling their own books at their table and go stop by and chat with them. It's just a great way to bring in all kinds of readers,” he said, envisioning how readers who may stick to only one genre or only read authors published in one format can then discover new books or authors beyond what they may only find on the new releases or bestseller shelf.

Workshops

Dark Summer also includes hands-on workshops for kids and teens that go beyond traditional writing workshops. “You can do a writing workshop for teens, and you'll get some kids, and it'll work. But it might not bring in as many people as if you bring in a graphic novelist that they've read before. Suddenly they're teaching them how to do character design,” Garrigan said.

Workshops include “Creating Graphic Novels” and “Character Design” with Ira Marcks (who also designed the Dark Summer poster), “Personal Zines” with Robin Gow, and “World-Building/Mini-Comic Workshop” with Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb.

The Power of Discovery

Garrigan hopes the biggest takeaway from the day for attendees is discovery: finding a new book, author, or genre you haven’t encountered before. He expects that there will be plenty of attendees who come to see one author or panel, yet once they step into the library, they’ll see there’s so much more to discover. “They'll meet people waiting at the table of the author that they came to see, and they'll say, ‘Oh, did you check out this other author? They're right over here.’ You can come in and just meet whatever author you want, and that's awesome, and we can't wait to see you, and the authors can't wait to see you. But there's going to be so much stuff there that we suspect as soon as you do come in, you'll say, ‘Huh? What's that? That looks interesting.’”

At the end of the day, Garrigan hopes the day is marked not just by discovery and connection, but by having fun. “Success is walking around and seeing everybody having a great time. Seeing people in the panel room all day. Seeing people going out and grabbing a beer and getting a sandwich from the food truck. And just seeing everybody having a good time.”

Learn more about the Dark Summer Book Fest here.