Lovers of the written word, mark your calendars — the Paper Plains Literary Festival has set dates for 2022 events, which will be hybrid.

In-person events for the “collaborative, cross-media, diverse and inclusive literary festival celebrating authors and artists from the Plains and beyond” will be held on Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9, 2022, at Lawrence’s Liberty Hall. Events will be livestreamed, too.

Three “really, really exciting” authors will deliver keynote events — one on Friday and two on Saturday, said Festival Director Danny Caine. Look to find out who they are in January, as the festival begins to announce the full lineup.

Paper Plains “nurtures and showcases the literary landscapes” of Lawrence and the surrounding region through free programming for all ages, according to its website. Its first year was 2020 — in-person events had been set to start about a month after the COVID-19 pandemic reached Kansas and halted those plans.

Instead, various Paper Plains virtual events have featured authors and poets such as Patricia Lockwood, Hanif Abdurraqib, Sara Paretsky, Rebekah Taussig, Grady Hendrix, Sara Henning and more. But board members are excited to welcome attendees in person for the first time.

The festival has aimed to be coalition-based and community-minded, Caine said, so it’s a collaboration between numerous local organizations. The big partners for 2022 are the Commons at KU and Lawrence Public Library.

Caine, who also owns Raven Book Store in Lawrence, said Paper Plains is also very excited to partner with Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St.

“It’s a dream space. Some of the best events we’ve ever done for the Raven have been at Liberty Hall, and Paper Plains is certainly thrilled that it worked out with them.”

Follow the festival on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for updates, and see more on its website, paperplains.org.

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