The Desert Foothills Book Festival grew from the desire of a group of local authors to personally connect with book lovers and to promote an appreciation of reading and the literary arts. With the Tucson Book Festival to the south and the Payson and Prescott Book Festivals to the north, this small group felt the greater Phoenix, Scottsdale, Cave Creek, and Carefree areas were missing a valuable opportunity to meet and engage with local authors from all genres. 2022 marks the first year of the festival, with many, many more years to come.