Mission & History

Be part of the story.

Our Mission:

Bookstock supports the cultural richness and diversity of Vermont and New England. Our region is home to many talented writers representing diverse genres, from national Poets Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winners to emerging young writers and those who have found their compelling voice at midlife. Bookstock encourages appreciation for good writing and other artistic endeavors by introducing residents and visitors of all ages to writers, musicians and artists in an intimate setting, at no cost.


A History Written by Volunteers:

Founded in 2009, Bookstock – The Green Mountain Festival of Words was the inspiration and labor of love of a handful of Woodstock volunteers.  To this day, from planning until showtime,  Bookstock continues to be a mainly volunteer-managed event. Around 100 individuals volunteer, most of them residents of the Woodstock area. In this way the festival continues to be free of charge, open to the public, with a program that appeals to all ages.

Every summer Woodstock welcomes approximately 1,000 attendees to the town of only about 3,000 year-round residents. This is testimony to the popularity of the festival and the breadth of local support it enjoys.

Bookstock was planned to be a quintessentially New England experience.  Once guests arrive they can park and walk everywhere. The Festival venues are located around the Village Green, which features a gigantic used & rare book sale (with typically 10,000-14,000 volumes!), entertainment, exhibits, and refreshments.

This Festival has been a “live” and “free” 3-day event every summer from 2009-2019. But it was largely suspended during the recent Covid pandemic years of 2020-2021. It returns in 2022 with 501-C3 incorporation, a formal Board of Directors, with by-laws and a renewed vitality. The history of Bookstock  is one that continues to be written by the Town of Woodstock, its guests and the gracious authors, poets and artists who share their work with all of us.


Acknowledgement of Native Land

We wish to acknowledge that Bookstock, in Woodstock, Vermont is on the unceded territory of the original inhabitants of N’Dakinna (en-dah-ken-nah), the Abenaki. These people of the Dawnland are the traditional land caretakers. Their relationship to the land calls us to learn to be better caretakers of the land ourselves. We pay our respects to their ancestors who were here for all time, their elders, and their relations, past, present and emerging. We honor with gratitude this land and all it gives us.