YOUR NEXT PAGE-TURNER. Summertime for some can only mean one thing: time to catch up on all of the books you've added to that "to be read" list. Lucky for us locals, the Chippewa Valley Book Festival has unveiled its collection of regional and national authors to get ahead on, before the 2026 festival – slated for Oct. 19-24. (Photo via Unsplash)

For many, the summer season offers a much-needed intermission from busy day-to-day life, a feeling reminiscent of those June through August vacations from the classroom as a child.

Across the coming months, the Chippewa Valley Book Festival embraces this seasonal sentiment as organizers unveil a curated summer reading guide – intended to prime attendees ahead of the 2026 festival, slated for Oct. 19-24.

Going on 27 years, the local book festival has worked collaboratively with the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library (400 Eau Claire St., Eau Claire) to provide literary programming access for all residents in the region.

Once again, the festival will “celebrate the written word” with live author readings and book signings, specialty dinners and all-ages activities. Plus, additional workshops – in collaboration with the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild – for emerging writers of all disciplines will be held.

We’ve compiled a selection of books from those local, regional and acclaimed writers part of this year’s book festival so you can get ahead.

To view the complete author announcement, featured book summaries and learn more about the 2026 Chippewa Valley Book Festival, visit cvbookfest.org. Books by V.T. Bidania, Pao Lor, Rita Woods, Michael Torres, among others can be purchased online and in person at Dotters Books in Eau Claire (307 S Barstow St.).

V.T. Bidania

Featured Book: A Year Without Home and Astrid & Apollo series
Genre: Early reader and middle grade
Plot Summary: Written in evocative, poignant verse, this historical novel – A Year Without Home* – follows eleven-year-old Gao Sheng and her family as they are forced to flee their home in the highlands of Laos after the U.S. forces pull out of the Vietnam War. Making a harrowing escape on foot and by canoe across the Mekong River, they arrive at an overcrowded refugee camp in Thailand, where Gao Sheng must discover how to find her voice and rebuild a sense of home amidst displacement.

*V.T. Bidania is also the author of the Astrid & Apollo early chapter book series, which chronicles the fun, everyday adventures of two Hmong American twins.

V.T. Bidania is an award-winning children's author who was born in Laos and grew up in Saint Paul, Minn. She is the creator of the Astrid and Apollo chapter book series, which features the adventures of Hmong American twins. Bidania's work focuses on centering Hmong characters and stories, earning her recognition from the Minnesota Book Awards and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. She lives in the Twin Cities with her family.

Pao Lor

Featured Book: Bamboo Son: A Hmong Refugee's Search for Identity and the American Dream
Genre: Adult author and memoir nonfiction
Plot Summary: A stirring memoir of resilience that serves as the follow-up to the author's acclaimed book, Modern Jungles. Picking up his story as a young Hmong immigrant who survived the war-torn jungles of Laos and Thai refugee camps, Lor details his journey into adulthood in Green Bay, Wisconsin during the 1980s and 90s. The book captures his evolution from an insecure high schooler dealing with intense language barriers and trauma into a husband, educator and administrator. His search for belonging comes full circle during a emotional 2022 return trip to Southeast Asia, where he reconciles his past and redefines his American dream.

Pao Lor is a professor and the chair of the Professional Program in Education at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He arrived in the United States as a refugee following the secret war in Laos, an experience he chronicled in his memoirs. His academic work focuses on the educational journeys of Hmong American students and the impact of cultural identity on leadership.

Rita Woods

Featured Book: The Edge of Yesterday
Genre: Adult author and fiction
Plot Summary: A haunting, contemporary speculative fiction novel centered on time travel, legacy, and self-discovery. The narrative focuses on two highly accomplished individuals: Greer Coffey, a principal dancer with a renowned Harlem dance company and Sebastian Coffey, a successful architect working at a prestigious Midtown firm. The plot blends historical romance and magical realism as the characters navigate shifting timelines to uncover who they truly are.

Rita Woods writes historical novels, infused with fantasy and magic. Born and raised in Detroit, Mich., she is a board certified physician and runs the medical division of a men's maximum security prison. Twice named one of Chicago's Top 50 artists of the year, she lives outside of Chicago with her family and a cast of cats and serves as a Trustee on her local Library Board. Rita loves to travel and never misses the opportunity to visit a cemetery.

Michael Torres

Featured Book: An Incomplete List of Names
Genre: Adult author and poetry
Plot Summary: An astonishing debut poetry collection that looks back at a community of Mexican American boys growing up in Southern California. The poems grapple with the intense pressures of assimilation, the weight of others' perceptions and the creative impulse to carve out a world of their own. Torres reflects on the complex nature of identity, examining how hometowns, language and the literal names we carry shape who we become.

Michael Torres was born and brought up in Pomona, Calif. where he spent his adolescence as a graffiti artist. His debut collection of poems, An Incomplete List of Names was selected by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera for the National Poetry Series and named one of NPR's Books We Love, 2020. Currently he's an Associate Professor in the MFA program at Minnesota State University, Mankato and a teaching artist with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.

Specific program information and more Chippewa Valley Book Festival announcements will be released later this summer. The 2026 Chippewa Valley Festival is slated for Oct. 19-24, to be held at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library (400 Eau Claire St., Eau Claire).