Edible Book Festival - General Information

The 19th Annual Edible Book Festival will be held Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Common Ground Co-op! Watch the University Library’s Facebook page for updates.

What is the Edible Book Festival?

Around April 1st, bibliophiles, book artists, and food lovers around the world gather to celebrate the book arts and the (literal!) ingestion of culture.  Participants create an “edible book,” which can be inspired by a favorite tale, involve a pun on a famous title, or simply be in the shape of a book (or scroll, or tablet, etc).  Photographs of all edible books will appear in the Edible Book Festival gallery.

The Champaign-Urbana Edible Book Festival is sponsored by the University Library, and supported by the generous help of campus and community volunteers and prize donors. It is a fundraiser to support the crucial work of the Wesley Food Pantry.

Information and Tentative Schedule for the 2025 Edible Book Festival

This year, per Public Health requirements, entries will not be consumed.

We will have cookies provided by Common Ground Co-op available for those who would still like to partake in snacks, and entrants can bring separate individual baked goods to share as samples of the flavor profile in prepackaged nonperishable form (think cupcakes or cookies) if they wish. For more information, see CUPHD’s guidelines for bake sales.

With this in mind, we are conscious of reducing food waste. Please be prepared to take your entries home, and/or limit the size of your entry.

Schedule of events:

10:00am: Participants may begin dropping off their entries
11:30am: Judging begins
12:00pm: Judge’s commentary and awards
12:15pm: Cookies from Common Ground Co-op will be distributed

Festival Award Categories

Starting to think about your edible creation for this year’s festival? Consider submitting your entry to one or more of these categories! Prizes will be awarded.

• Best Depiction of a Classic
• Best Visual Presentation
• Most Appetizing
• Funniest/Punniest
• Best Entry Based on Book for Children or Teens
• Best Collaborative Creation
• People’s Choice

Who can participate?

Whether you’re a professional chef or just like to play with your food, the festival is open to anyone in the U of I & Champaign-Urbana communities. For inspiration, take a look at entries in the galleries below.

If you don’t have time to make your own edible entry, join us in admiring the entries around 11:30, and stay for a cookie from Common Ground Co-op at 12:15!