About

“The Gaithersburg Book Festival is a celebration of the written word and its power to enrich the human experience. Our mission is to foster an interest in reading, writing and literary conversation.”

The Gaithersburg Book Festival (GBF) is a spectacular annual celebration of the written word, and already one of the nation’s top literary events. The event is free to attend, free to park, and open to everyone. 

The inaugural GBF in May 2010 featured appearances and signings by 56 authors, including a 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner, a National Book Award winner, a Newbery Medal winner and more than a half dozen national best-selling authors. For aspiring writers and children, the eight hands-on workshops were well attended and well received.
See last year’s lineup
See pictures and video

The second annual Gaithersburg Book Festival will be held on May 21, 2011, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on the grounds of Gaithersburg City Hall. Admission is free and, once again, there will truly be something for everyone! Highlights include:

• For readers, the Festival will feature appearances, discussions, and book signings from dozens of the world’s best-story tellers, historians, journalists and other interesting personalities.
• For writers, and those who aspire to write, there will be workshops going on throughout the day, covering a diversity of topics.
• For children of all ages, there’s a “Children’s Village,” featuring childrens’ authors, stories, activities, arts and crafts, and more.
• For poets, singer/songwriters  – and the people who love them – there’s a Coffee House where you can sit down, take a load off and have a great cup of coffee while you enjoy song and verse.
• On site book sales from Barnes & Noble (featuring the books of the Festival's presenting authors) and Friends of the Library (used books).
• Exhibitors will include local authors, publishers, book clubs, and more.
• And, of course, come enjoy food, drink, ice cream and more from local restaurants.

Bring the family, come meet some of your favorite authors, discover new ones, learn about the craft of writing, pick up books for your summer reading, and enjoy the arts in Olde Towne Gaithersburg.

Gaithersburg Book Festival Committee

Originally conceived and introduced by Gaithersburg Council Member Jud Ashman, with the support of the Mayor and City Council and the Cultural Arts Advisory Committee, the Gaithersburg Book Festival is the product of an enormous amount of volunteer time and effort by a stellar group of book lovers and passionate supporters of the arts.

The committee members are:

• Dee Aronson
• Joel Aronson
• Sarah Benson
• Heidi Bishop
• Sonya Burke
• Jonathan Cohen
• Robin Ferrier
• Christine Koubek
• Becky Meloan
• Bob Murphy

• Gail Norris
• Karen O’Keefe
• Laura Rowles
• William Schlossenberg
• Del. Luiz Simmons
• Danny Winborne
• Kevin Wiseman
• Dotty Wiseman
• Harold Wooten

Jud Ashman, Chair
Carolyn Crosby, Recreation Program Supervisor, City of Gaithersburg
Denise Kayser, Cultural Arts Director, City of Gaithersburg

Special thanks go to:

• Britta Monaco, Director, Community and Public Relations – PR/marketing
• The entire Parks and Recreation staff
• Vincent “Stephon” Greenfield, The Elegant Envelope LLC – graphic design and website development
• All of the volunteers