Mardi Gras Library Closures

ALL Mobile Public Library locations will be closed Sunday, February 15 through Tuesday, February 17, 2026, for Mardi Gras.

Branch-Specific Closures:

  • Ben May Main Library will close early at 5 p.m. on the following parade days: January 30–31 and February 5–13, 2026. 
  • Ben May Main Library and Local History & Genealogy will be closed on Saturday, February 14. 
  • Trinity Gardens Community Library will be closed Sunday, February 15 through Sunday, February 22, 2026.

Mobile Literary Festival 2026: Great Expectations

Program Type:

Special Events

Age Group:

Adults

Event Details

FREE literary festival is scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2026, at the Ben May Main Library in Mobile, Alabama.

Aspiring and accomplished writers and readers of all genres are welcome at the 2026 Mobile Literary Festival GREAT EXPECTATIONS!

This year’s festival will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Ben May Main Library (701 Government Street) on Saturday, March 7, in historic downtown Mobile, Alabama.

 Offerings include:

  • The Haunted Book Shop’s Pop-up Shop inside the library, featuring area authors, national bestsellers, writing craft books, and more
  • Panel discussions and industry chats featuring insights for character development, using poetry in prose, industry expectations of indie writers, AI in the publishing industry, and more
  • Poetry (Brown Bag) Lunch & Listen featuring Negative Capability Press poets
  • Writing Away Refuge’s Pitch War!
  • Genre expectations working groups
  • Writerspace Resource Center

New for 2026: Genre Expectations Working Groups! The 2026 festival also gives writers a new opportunity to receive feedback on their work. During Genre Expectations, attendees will select which genre working group to join. In the group, writers will read aloud up to two pages of a current work and receive feedback from two published authors in that genre. Spaces are limited in the working groups, so writers are encouraged to sign up in advance for the genre group of their choice. 

Visit the Mobile Literary Festival Facebook page to claim your spot now.

The 2026 Mobile Literary Festival is brought to you by the Mobile Public Library, The Haunted Book Shop, Writing Away Refuge, and Mobile Writers’ Guild.

To stay updated, you can follow: Mobile Literary Festival | Facebook

For more information, please email the Main Reference Desk at mainref@mplonline.org or call (251)340-1458.