Join us in kicking off our 20th Festival of Books & Authors weekend with #1 New York Times bestselling author Hoda Kotb!

Bookmarks is kicking off the 20th annual Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors with an opening keynote talk from Hoda Kotb on Thursday, September 25! Hoda will join us in Winston-Salem to discuss Jump and Find Joy : Embracing Change in Every Season of Life, her first major project since exiting the Today show.

Thank you to Kilpatrick Townsend for their support for this event.

Tickets are $35 (plus taxes & fees) and include admission to the event and a signed copy of Jump and Find Joy.

Please note there is no public signing, photo opportunity, or chance to meet the author at this event.

There are a limited number of complimentary tickets available for this event. If you would like to receive a complimentary ticket, click here to fill out the request form. There are a limited number of complimentary tickets. Responses will be reviewed by Bookmarks staff, and you will be notified if you have been selected.

Venue information :
- Directions: Click here for directions to Reynolds Auditorium from I-40.
- Parking: Click here for a parking map. Parking is limited, so attendees are strongly encouraged to carpool with each other when possible. Handicap parking is limited. If you need handicap parking, please plan to arrive early to ensure a parking spot.
- Seating: There is no assigned seating at this event, though there will be a number of reserved seats for the event sponsors. The first 3-4 rows of seating have limited visibility and will be marked accordingly.
- Accessibility: The following ADA standards are in place: accessible restrooms, wheelchair accessible theatre seating, handicap car and van accessible parking spaces, curb cuts for wheelchair access from the parking lot, hearing assistance equipment for the hearing impaired, and Braille signs for the visually impaired. Service animals are permitted for the visually impaired (must remain on leash or in harness at all times).
To ask questions about accessibility or request accommodations, please contact Bookmarks at [email protected] or (336) 747-1471 x1001. At least two weeks' notice will allow us to provide the best experience possible for you and your guests.

Have any questions? Check out our Event FAQs page and email [email protected] for further inquiries.

About the Author
Hoda Kotb is the award-winning former co-anchor of NBC News’ Today and co-host of Today with Hoda & Jenna . She is also the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including I Really Needed This Today , This Just Speaks to Me . Hoda , Ten Years Later , and Where We Belong , as well as children’s books You Are My Happy and I’ve Loved You Since Forever . The four-time Emmy winner has been honored multiple times with the Alliance for Women in Media’s Gracie Award (most recently in 2019), as well as with the 2006 Peabody Award and the 2002 Edward R. Morrow Award. Kotb resides outside of New York City with her two daughters, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine. This is her first major project since her departure from Today earlier this year. You can find her on Instagram @HodaKotb.

About the Book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author and beloved former Today co-host Hoda Kotb comes her most personal, ambitious book yet—a guide to dealing with change and upheaval, even (and perhaps especially) when it’s unexpected. Hoda Kotb didn’t expect to join the Today show at age forty-four. Or to become a mother at fifty-two. Or to leave Today and embark on a new adventure at sixty! Change doesn’t always arrive when we expect it, and its effects are anything but predictable. But Hoda believes that the benefits of change can be extraordinary...if we’re willing to listen to and learn from them.In the tradition of books like Savannah Guthrie’s Mostly What God Does and Maria Shriver’s I’ve Been Thinking comes Hoda Kotb’s Jump and Find Joy —an intimate book that reveals for the first time what Hoda discovered as she started embracing change in every aspect of her life. In her quest to better understand change and how to work with (not against) it, Hoda relies on her reporting instincts to investigate HOW change works, WHO is approaching it with grace, and WHAT she can apply to her own life and share with others. Jump and Find Joy combines the wisdom of change experts, insights from the latest work on resilience, and deeply personal stories from celebrities and inspirational people in our own communities. From small shifts in daily routines to major leaps of faith, Hoda shows why change isn’t to be feared but celebrated ...and how each of us can thrive in the midst of changes we’ll inevitably face ourselves.