Bookish Bingo & Author Chat with Allie Shante at Richey Suncoast Theatre, December 13
Bookish Bingo & Author Chat with Allie Shante, Sunday, December 13, 2026 at Richey Suncoast Theatre. Doors open at 9:00 AM, event begins at 9:30 AM. Get your tickets at nprbookfest.com.
There is a word the folks at Inchstone Books like to use: inchstones. Not milestones, the big public moments everyone celebrates, but the small ones. The chapter you finally finished. The book that found you at exactly the right time. The quiet wins that matter more than anyone else knows.
On Sunday morning, December 13, 2026, New Port Richey gets to celebrate a big one. The inaugural New Port Richey Book Festival, presented by Inchstone Books, opens its day with Bookish Bingo & Author Chat with local romance author Allie Shante, right here on the stage of the historic Richey Suncoast Theatre.
It is a fitting place to start. In our 100th year, this theatre has spent a century being the room where Downtown New Port Richey gathers to hear a story told well. This time the stories come off the page.
What Bookish Bingo is (and why readers keep coming back)
Bookish Bingo is an Inchstone Books classic, a regular at the shop alongside its book clubs and reader nights. For the festival kickoff, the team is taking it to a whole new level.
The morning opens with an exclusive author chat. Allie Shante will talk about her writing journey, life as a romance author, and her latest holiday romance, Fur, Fangs & Faking Christmas. If you have ever wanted to ask an author how a story actually comes together, this is your chance to hear it straight from the source.
Then the cards come out. Bookish Bingo is friendly competition with a reader's twist: laughter, bookish surprises, and prizes awarded to game winners throughout the morning. Everyone plays. No one sits on the sidelines.
Your ticket includes
An exclusive author chat with Allie Shante
A signed copy of Fur, Fangs & Faking Christmas, included with every ticket (no need to buy the book separately)
Bookish Bingo for every guest, with all supplies provided
A chance to win bookish prizes
A pre-packed goodie bag waiting for you at check-in with your signed book and Bingo supplies
Event details
Event: Bookish Bingo & Author Chat with Allie Shante
Part of: the 2026 New Port Richey Book Festival, presented by Inchstone Books
Date: Sunday, December 13, 2026
Doors open: 9:00 AM
Event begins: 9:30 AM
Location: Richey Suncoast Theatre, 6237 Grand Blvd, New Port Richey, FL 34652
Tickets: $40 per person, or $35 early bird for the first 50 purchases
Seating: General admission, first come, first served
Capacity: approximately 200 seats
A few tips before you go
Arrive early. Doors open at 9:00 AM and seating is first come, first served. If you are coming with your book club or a group of friends and want to sit together, plan to be in line before the doors open.
Grab the early bird while it lasts. The $35 early bird price is limited to the first 50 purchases. With approximately 200 seats available, the festival recommends reserving your spot early.
Make a day of it. Bingo is just the opening chapter. After the morning at the theatre, walk out onto Grand Boulevard and into a full day of festival programming across Downtown New Port Richey: author appearances and panels, book signings, interactive workshops, a holiday bookish market filled with local makers and small businesses, a storybook corner with a visit from Santa, family-friendly activities, and sensory-friendly experiences.
Meet the festival's featured authors
Allie Shante is one of more than twenty authors the festival has announced so far, with more still to come. You can see the growing lineup on the festival's featured authors page, and the full schedule of events, festival maps and vendor spotlights are being added to nprbookfest.com as the day gets closer.
Want to be part of it? Authors, vendors, sponsors and volunteers can apply through the festival's Get Involved page. Applications close November 13, 2026, unless spots fill sooner.
About Inchstone Books
Inchstone Books is New Port Richey's newest independent bookstore, built on the belief that the smallest moments can change everything. Its shelves are curated for every kind of reader, and its calendar is full of the things that turn a bookstore into a gathering place: book clubs, blind dates with a book, murder mystery nights and, of course, Bookish Bingo. Follow along with the shop on Instagram, and keep up with festival news from NPR Book Fest on Instagram.
Festival questions can go straight to the festival team at NPRBookFest@InchstoneBooks.com.
Why Downtown New Port Richey is the right home for a book festival
A good book festival needs what a good story needs: a setting worth stepping into. Downtown New Port Richey has the river, the shops, the restaurants and a main street that already knows how to throw a community party. Organizations like New Port Richey Main Street have spent years building a downtown people want to spend a whole day in, and a festival that runs from a theatre stage to a holiday market is exactly the kind of day this neighborhood was made for.
So start your morning with coffee, a Bingo card and a signed book in your lap. Then go find your next favorite read on Grand Boulevard.
Buy your tickets the right way
Important: tickets for Bookish Bingo & Author Chat are sold ONLY through the official New Port Richey Book Festival website at nprbookfest.com. They are not sold through the Richey Suncoast Theatre box office or OvationTix. Unauthorized third-party websites sometimes list local events at inflated prices. Tickets bought anywhere else cannot be guaranteed, refunded or replaced, and those extra fees do not support the festival or the theatre. Buy direct, pay the right price, and know your seat (and your signed book) is waiting for you.
More at Richey Suncoast Theatre this holiday season
Bookish Bingo lands in the middle of a busy December on Grand Boulevard. See everything happening on our stage during our 100th year on the RST event calendar.
