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SPIRIT OF GIVING This year’s Festival embodied a spirit of giving unlike any we’ve ever encountered. Enormous thanks to the authors and moderators who shared their wisdom, insights, humor, and hope, our hospitality partners who provided complimentary stays to all of our authors, and our business and foundation donors who contributed their expertise along with a portion of their proceeds back to the Festival. And we’d be nowhere without our volunteers, who gave their time (and how!) from 7 a.m. each morning until the last box was packed up and returned to the storage unit last week. They greeted you with a smile, helped you find your way, reprinted your lost ticket—all for the simple joy of being a part of it. As a nonprofit, we exist to engage with the entire community. This engagement is what makes it possible for SFILF to keep ticket prices accessible at $25 and to provide community-supported tickets to more than 2,000 students, teachers, librarians, and New Mexico residents who otherwise could not afford to attend. With ticket sales covering only 42% of our budget, we simply could not exist without your support and the support of the wider community. (I just tried to picture 42% of Carl Hiaasen’s savage humor or 42% of Ocean Vuong’s prophetic passion—you get the idea!) From all of us here behind the scenes to each one of you who made the 2026 Festival one for the record books, thank you! In the coming weeks, we will share more stories about the impact you made at this year’s Festival—and we’d love to hear your favorite moments, too. Please take a few minutes to fill out our attendee survey and let us know your thoughts:
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