Enna Book and Reading Festival

The book festival in the heart of Sicily

The Enna Book and Reading Festival is one of the most deeply rooted cultural events in central Sicily. Every year, during the days of March, the capital of the Erei Mountains transforms into a large, widespread laboratory dedicated to reading, capable of involving thousands of children, teenagers, teachers, and families. The event is promoted by the Cultural Association APS Amici della Festa del Libro - Il sasso nello stagno, in close collaboration with the Municipality of Enna—recognized as a 'City that Reads' for the 2024-2026 triennium—along with numerous local schools and the Kore University.

A program spread throughout the city

The festival is not concentrated in a single location but is distributed across multiple venues in Enna's historic center: the Urban Center housed in the former Capuchin Convent, the heart of the event; the Teatro Francesco Paolo Neglia; the Municipal Library; the Casa di Giufà Media Library; the Al Kenisa literary café; as well as squares, gardens, and outdoor spaces. A distinctive feature is the focus on inclusion: the festival also enters correctional facilities, bringing reading and dialogue within prison walls.

Authors, exhibitions, and performances

The program weaves together different genres and languages:

• Meetings with Italian and international authors and illustrators, featuring book presentations and dialogues open to the public;
• Illustration and art exhibitions set up at the Urban Center, open for the duration of the event;
• Theatrical performances of storytelling and children's theater at the Teatro Neglia;
• Creative workshops and read-aloud sessions aimed at children, families, teachers, and educators;
• Literary trekking and outdoor activities that combine books, nature, and the local area.

A festival with a theme every year

Each edition revolves around a theme that serves as a common thread for meetings and workshops, often linked to the environment, sustainability, and the relationship between words and the world. This is how the festival manages to combine the promotion of reading with civic education, giving a voice to a community that uses books as a tool for collective growth.

Enna and its festival

Situated at an altitude of nearly a thousand meters, Enna is the highest provincial capital in Italy and dominates the heart of Sicily from above. In this evocative setting, the Book and Reading Festival has become an eagerly awaited appointment for schools and families from across the province of Enna and neighboring territories, helping to make the city a point of reference for culture in the center of the island.