Pune Book Festival 2026 To Be Held From December 12 To 20 At Fergusson College; Check Details
The fourth Pune Book Festival is scheduled from December 12 to 20, 2026. Here are the dates, venue, tips and highlights from the record-breaking 2025 edition.
Photo: DesiBoy101 / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pune, 29th October 2026: Mark your calendars, book lovers. The fourth Pune Book Festival is scheduled from December 12 to 20, 2026, and after last year’s turnout, the organisers are expecting another packed nine days.
Reports say the Fergusson College ground in Shivajinagar has been booked for the festival in December. Entry details, timings and the speaker list are yet to be announced. The festival was founded by Rajesh Pande.
What happened last year
The 2025 edition, held from December 13 to 21, was the biggest so far. The organisers say it recorded more than 12.5 lakh visits, with young readers making up over 60% of the crowd. More than 30 lakh books were sold, and the estimated turnover was around ₹50 crore.
There were over 250 stalls and 498 new titles were launched. Close to 400 schools sent about 30,000 students. More than 1,000 writers took part, and the literature sessions had 32 speakers, among them External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla. Over 450 students and teachers from Fergusson College and Savitribai Phule Pune University volunteered.
A new winter habit
Pune has always liked calling itself the Oxford of the East, and in just a few years the Book Festival has turned into a proper winter tradition. Marathi, English and Hindi publishers, small independent authors and school groups all end up on the same ground. Its popularity is also the reason the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav has moved to January 2027, since both events now want the Fergusson ground.
If you’re planning to go
Weekends get very crowded, so a weekday visit is much calmer. Parking around FC Road and JM Road fills up quickly; PMPML buses and the Metro are the easier option. Take a cloth bag, and keep both cash and UPI handy because some of the smaller stalls prefer one over the other.
If you have children at home, take them along. The last few editions have had a lot planned for school students and young readers. We’ll share the speaker schedule here once it is out.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Pune Book Festival 2026?
It is scheduled from December 12 to 20, 2026.
Where is the Pune Book Festival held?
At the Fergusson College ground in Shivajinagar, Pune.
How many books were sold at the 2025 festival?
According to the organisers, more than 30 lakh books were sold, with a turnover of about ₹50 crore.
Is entry free?
Entry details for 2026 have not been announced yet. We will update this article when the organisers share them.
