NEWSLETTER
Children’s Book Festival Returns to Inwood Hill Park, Sunday, September 7th, 2025, 11AM - 4PM
Featured Programming Includes Beloved Local Authors and Presenters
New York, NY (August 6, 2025) — Word Up Community Bookshop is proud to present the fifth annual Uptown Kid Lit, the premier children’s book festival serving families in Uptown New York City.
DATE: Sunday, September 7, 2025
TIME: 11AM - 4PM
LOCATION: Pat’s Lawn, Inwood Hill Park (218th St. & Indian Rd.)
Young readers will have the opportunity to meet beloved local authors and illustrators as they present new books, lead story times and activities, readings and discussions, workshops, arts and crafts, games, and more. Celebrating the magic of literature, literacy, and art, along with the back-to-school season, free books and school supply giveaways will be available to all who register.
FEATURING
- Bilingual English and Spanish Drag Story Time presented by Drag Artists for Expression NYC
- Jamia Wilson (Make Good Trouble) and Alyssa Reynoso-Morris (Bold, Brilliant and Latine) in conversation on how they bring trailblazers to life
- Claribel A. Ortega and Oz Rodriguez discussing their sci-fi coming-of-age story (The Girl and the Robot)
- Edwidge Danticat (Watch Out for Falling Iguanas) and Ibi Zoboi (First Day Around the World) in a conversation moderated by tasha dougé
- Jasminne Paulino (The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez) and NASA climate scientist Allegra N. LeGrande discussing neurodivergence in science followed by a space walk in the park
- Rio Cortez (The Blue Velvet Chair) story time and observation exercise with mini-book making
- Hilda Eunice Burgos (Bodega Cats: Pawsome Pals) and The Cat Collective Team (with cats available for adoptions onsite)
- Banned Books Workshop presented by the Black & African Literature Festival
- Comedy writing workshop led by Ethan T. Berlin (A Big Bunch of Nonsense)
- Role-playing game presented by Salma Akter from CodeSpeak Labs
- More story times from Selina Alko (C is for Camp), James Kwan (I Come From Another Galaxy), Jenan Matari (Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden), Neela Vaswani (This Is My Eye), and Tanya Wright (The Great Birthday Surprise!)
Full program details found here.
Plus community tables featuring organizations including: Friends of Inwood Hill Park, Uptown Stories, HOPE, Literary Freedom Project, Sugar Hill Children's Museum, DWA/Lil Dominican Readers, Parents Supporting Parents, Family Connectors, FACE, LINC, and New York Restoration Project.
Pre-registration is encouraged to ensure a spot in workshops with limited capacity. Register here.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL: Uptown Kid Lit is a one-day children's literature festival in Uptown NYC that showcases the fun and possibilities of literature for kids and their adults! Since 2019, the festive and interactive atmosphere has invited children of all ages and backgrounds to explore books, reading, writing, and art. Meet your favorite and soon-to-be-favorite authors and illustrators, get introduced to local youth programs, pick up books and school supplies, and hang out with your neighbors in the park.
ABOUT THE BOOKSHOP: Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria is a multilingual, collectively operated bookshop and arts space in Washington Heights, New York City, committed to co-creating a place where residents support each other to live informed and expressive lives. Embracing cooperative practices, we champion books and storytelling in all forms to build and sustain a more just world where people can live with dignity and autonomy. We strive to make our neighborhood a resource-rich site for all to grow, learn, and celebrate our heritages. Founded in 2011, Word Up is operated by a collective of 60+ neighborhood residents.
Uptown Kid Lit is organized by Word Up Community Bookshop, and is made possible in part with funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corp., administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; New York Presbyterian Hospital; and all our community sponsors.
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