Jeff Kinney: NHBF’s 2026 Children’s Keynote

Wimpy Kid author comes to Concord in October!

The New Hampshire Book Festival is thrilled to announce that the phenomenal Jeff Kinney, author of 31 Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, will be the festival’s 2026 Keynote for Schoolchildren. Kinney will appear at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord on Friday, October 2. This schoolday event has become a highlight of the festival, attracting over 1,000 children, their teachers, and parent chaperones.

In January 1998, Kinney conceived the idea of a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley, who writes illustrated stories about his personal life. The online version of the story appeared in May of 2004, with daily ‘diary’ entries appearing until June of 2005. The first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book arrived in 2007. Since then, to the delight of countless kids, more than 300 million copies of Diary of a Wimpy Kid books have sold. 

Kinney lives with his wife and two sons in Massachusetts, where they founded and own an independent bookstore, An Unlikely Story.

“We are honored to bring such a beloved children’s author to Concord,” said NH Book Festival co-founder Emilie Burack. “We can’t wait for New Hampshire’s schoolkids to see him in person!”

Mark your calendar! Tickets to this event go on sale to schools on Monday, April 20 and to the public on April 21. Last year tickets to keynote speaker Tui Sutherland sold out and event organizers predict the same for Kinney.

–Elaine Loft