A Celebration of Books,
Writers & LIterary Excellence

Save the Date

Gaithersburg
Book Festival

May 16, 2026

10am – 6pm

Bohrer Park

Master Schedule

Printable PDF Schedules:

  • Adult Author Schedule – (coming soon)
  • Children’s and Young Adult Author Schedule – (coming soon)

The 2026 GBF Master Schedule: digital & searchable

May 16, 2026

StartEndProgramGenreLocationDescription
10:00 AM11:00 AMWorkshop: How to Catch and Keep a ReaderAdult/Teen WorkshopsAdult/Teen Workshop PavilionPresented by Eva Langston
10:00 AM11:00 AMWorkshop: Odes to Favorite ThingsChildren's WorkshopsChildren's Village - Workshops TentPresented by Nancy Arbuthnot
10:15 AM11:05 AMLacey N. Dunham, Sheri JosephFictionDashiell Hammett PavilionDunham will present "The Belles." Joseph will present "Angels at the Gate." Moderated by Holly Smith
10:15 AM11:05 AMStephanie DrayFictionF. Scott Fitzgerald PavilionDray will present "A Founding Mother." She'll be interviewed by Jeffrey Dale Lofton.
10:15 AM11:05 AMChristopher C. Gorham, Victoria JohnsonNon-ficFrederick Douglass PavilionGorham will present "Matisse at War." Johnson will present "Glorious Country." Moderated by Joshua Shannon.
10:15 AM11:05 AMStefan Merrill BlockNon-ficJames Michener PavilionBlock will present "Homeschooled: A Memoir." He'll be interviewed by Nora B Krug.
10:15 AM11:05 AMAlma Katsu, Christina HenryFictionGertrude Stein PavilionKatsu will present "Fiend." Henry will present "The Place Where They Buried Your Heart." Moderated by Mariko Hewer.
10:15 AM11:05 AMEmily MendenhallNon-ficRachel Carson PavilionMendenhall will present "Invisible Illness." She'll be interviewed by Stephanie Merry.
10:15 AM11:05 AMHigh School Poetry Contest Awards Ceremony and Open Mic ReadingPoetryEdgar Allan Poe PavilionHigh School Poetry Contest Awards announcement and Open Mic Reading
10:15 AM11:05 AMLinda Sue Park, Brian LiesChildren'sJim Henson PavilionPark will present " Just One Gift." Lies will present "Cat Nap." Moderated by Karen Cramer.
10:15 AM11:05 AMFred Bowen, Miriam Chernick, Naomi MillinerChildren'sWilla Cather PavilionBowen will present "Special Teams." Chernick will present "The Zuzu Secret." Milliner will present "The Trouble with Secrets." Moderated by Renée Chambliss.
10:15 AM11:05 AMSteve Sheinkin, Gareth HindsTeen/YAOgden Nash PavilionSheinkin will present "Diamond Fever!" Hinds will present "The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel: Deluxe Edition."
11:00 AM12:00 PMWorkshop: Comic Character CreationChildren's WorkshopsChildren's Village - Workshops TentPresented by Dave Roman and Alexis Frederick-Frost
11:00 AM12:00 PMWorkshop: Get Published: The Guide to SubmissionsAdult/Teen WorkshopsAdult/Teen Workshop PavilionPresented by Hildie S. Block
11:15 AM12:05 PMJohn Chu, Thomas ElrodSci-FiDashiell Hammett PavilionChu will present "The Subtle Art of Folding Space." Elrod will present "The Franchise." Moderated by Alyson Foster.
11:15 AM12:05 PMSadeqa JohnsonFictionF. Scott Fitzgerald PavilionJohnson will present "Keeper of Lost Children." She'll be interviewed by Morgan Menzies (Pretty Little Bookshelf).
11:15 AM12:05 PMEli Frankel, Patrick WohlNon-ficFrederick Douglass PavilionFrankel will present "Sisters in Death." Wohl will present "Something Big." Moderated by Ruben Castaneda.
11:15 AM12:05 PMCarol Leonnig, Aaron C. DavisNon-ficJames Michener PavilionLeonnig and Davis will present "Injustice." They will be interviewed by Maryland State Delegate Marc Korman.
11:15 AM12:05 PMMelanie D.G. KaplanNon-ficGertrude Stein PavilionKaplan will present "Lab Dog." She'll be interviewed by Cathy Alter.
11:15 AM12:05 PMSam Sussman, Jung YunFictionRachel Carson PavilionSussman will present " Boy from the North Country." Yun will present "All the World Can Hold." Moderated by Caroline Bock.
11:15 AM12:05 PMDorian Elizabeth Knapp, Christopher Kondrich, J.D. SmithPoetryEdgar Allan Poe PavilionKnapp will present " Causa Sui." Kondrich will present "Tread Upon." Smith will present "The Place That Is Coming to Us." Moderated by Jessica G Simon.
11:15 AM12:05 PMNick Bruel, Alan KatzChildren'sJim Henson PavilionBruel will present "Bad Kitty Gets a Job." Katz will present "The Funniest Animal Joke Book Ever."
11:15 AM12:05 PMLeland Melvin, Jonathan Roth, Leonard S. MarcusChildren'sWilla Cather PavilionMelvin will present "Space Chasers: To the Moon." Roth will present "Almost Underwear." Marcus will present "Earthrise."
11:15 AM12:05 PMSarah DessenTeen/YAOgden Nash PavilionDessen will present "Change of Plans." She'll be interviewed by Karen MacPherson.
12:00 PM1:00 PMWorkshop: Notice, Ask, Listen: Be a Reporter to Improve Your StoriesChildren's WorkshopsChildren's Village - Workshops TentPresented by Jennifer Gennari
12:00 PM1:00 PMWorkshop: Making Wildly Imaginative Characters Through AnthropomorphismAdult/Teen WorkshopsAdult/Teen Workshop PavilionPresented by Robert St. John
12:15 PM1:05 PMDan Fesperman, Nick PetrieMystery/ThrillerDashiell Hammett PavilionFesperman will present "Pariah." Petrie will present "The Dark Time." Moderated by I.S. Berry.
12:15 PM1:05 PMRabih AlameddineFictionF. Scott Fitzgerald PavilionAlameddine will present "The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother.)" He'll be interviewed by Tania James.
12:15 PM1:05 PMKeith O'BrienSportsFrederick Douglass PavilionO'Brien will present "Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird." He'll be interviewed by Cara Tallo.
12:15 PM1:05 PMReyna GrandeNon-ficJames Michener PavilionGrande will present "Migrant Heart." She'll be interviewed by Lupita Aquino (Lupita Reads).
12:15 PM1:05 PMSara Goodman Confino, Matthew NormanFictionGertrude Stein PavilionConfino will present "Good Grief." Norman will present "Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon." Moderated by Lindsay Hameroff.
12:15 PM1:05 PMMichelle Maryk, Karen WinnFictionRachel Carson PavilionMaryk will present "The Found Object Society." Winn will present "The Society." Moderated by Mariko Hewer.
12:15 PM1:05 PMSteven Ratiner, Kelly Catharine BradleyPoetryEdgar Allan Poe PavilionRatiner will present "Grief's Apostrophe." Bradley will present "a gift." Moderated by Kristin Kowalski Ferragut.
12:15 PM1:05 PMSherri Duskey Rinker, David LaRochelleChildren'sJim Henson PavilionRinker will present "Construction Site: Firefight!" LaRochelle will present "This Superhero Needs Your Help!"
12:15 PM1:05 PMJasmine Warga, Erin Entrada KellyChildren'sWilla Cather PavilionWarga will present "The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan." Kelly will present "The Second Life of Snap."
12:15 PM1:05 PMNicole Melleby, Barbara Carroll RobertsTeen/YAOgden Nash PavilionMelleby will present "Brady Mason's Perfect Fit." Roberts will present "The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter."
1:00 PM2:00 PMWorkshop: Fantasy WorldbuildingChildren's WorkshopsChildren's Village - Workshops TentPresented by Writopia Lab
1:00 PM2:00 PMWorkshop: How to Publish and Distribute Your BookAdult/Teen WorkshopsAdult/Teen Workshop PavilionPresented by Alan Abrams
1:15 PM2:05 PMSujata Massey, Kate HiltonMystery/ThrillerDashiell Hammett PavilionMassey will present "The Star from Calcutta." Hilton will present "City of the Muse." Moderated by Nicole Hertvik.
1:15 PM2:05 PMGretchen Powell Fox, Jenn LyonsFantasyF. Scott Fitzgerald PavilionFox will present "Smoke and Scar." Lyons will present "Green & Deadly Things." Moderated by Jenn Lawrence (Jenn's Bookshelves).
1:15 PM2:05 PMStefan FatsisNon-ficFrederick Douglass PavilionFatsis will present "Unabridged." He'll be interviewed by Randy Cepuch.
1:15 PM2:05 PMPeter Cozzens, Megan Kate NelsonNon-ficJames Michener PavilionCozzens will present "Deadwood." Nelson will present "The Westerners." Moderated by David A. Taylor.
1:15 PM2:05 PMJason MottFictionGertrude Stein PavilionMott will present "People Like Us" in an interview with Torie Clarke (Chatter on Books podcast).
1:15 PM2:05 PMBeth Ann FennellyNon-ficRachel Carson PavilionFennelly will present "The Irish Goodbye." She'll be interviewed by Michelle Brafman.
1:15 PM2:05 PMElizabeth Hazen, Majda GamaPoetryEdgar Allan Poe PavilionHazen will present "The Sky Will Hold." Gama will present "In the House of Modern Upbringing for Girls." Moderated by Naomi Thiers
1:15 PM2:05 PMKatie Yamasaki, Carole Boston Weatherford, Katie CotugnoChildren'sJim Henson PavilionYamasaki will present "Mural Island." Weatherford will present "Fourteen Ways of Looking at Jellyfish." Cotugno will present "Penelope Positano Sees It All."
1:15 PM2:05 PMLily Dodd, Corey Ann HayduChildren'sWilla Cather PavilionDodd will present "The Last Ember." Haydu will present "The Ordinary and Extraordinary Auden Greene."
1:15 PM2:05 PMTony Keith Jr., Alexandra VillasanteTeen/YAOgden Nash PavilionKeith will present "How the Boogeyman Became a Poet." Villasante will present "Fireblooms."
2:00 PM3:00 PMWorkshop: Nature Art and Poetry Fun!Children's WorkshopsChildren's Village - Workshops TentPresented by Jenny Klein
2:00 PM3:00 PMWorkshop: Artifacts: The Craft of Descriptive WritingAdult/Teen WorkshopsAdult/Teen Workshop PavilionPresented by Caroline Block
2:15 PM3:05 PMGeorge PackerMystery/ThrillerDashiell Hammett PavilionPacker will present "The Emergency." He'll be interviewed by Samuel Ashworth.
2:15 PM3:05 PMLaurie FrankelFictionF. Scott Fitzgerald PavilionFrankel will present "Enormous Wings." She will be interviewed by Becky Meloan.
2:15 PM3:05 PMSteve VogelNon-ficFrederick Douglass PavilionVogel will present "A Task Force Called Faith." He'll be interviewed by Todd Kushner.
2:15 PM3:05 PMElizabeth Evitts Dickinson, Mary Lisa GavenasNon-ficJames Michener PavilionDickinson will present "Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free." Gavenas will present "Selling Opportunity: The Story of Mary Kay." Moderated by Diana Parsell.
2:15 PM3:05 PMAudrey Ingram, Sarah AdlerRomanceGertrude Stein PavilionIngram will present "The Summer We Ran." Adler will present "Finders Keepers." Moderated by Andie Burke.
2:15 PM3:05 PMCharles FergusonNon-ficRachel Carson PavilionFerguson will present "Presidential Seclusion." He'll be interviewed by Paula Tarnapol Whitacre.
2:15 PM3:05 PMIain Haley Pollock, Cynthia ManickPoetryEdgar Allan Poe PavilionPollock will present "All the Possible Bodies." Manick will present "No Sweet Without Brine." Moderated by Sierra A. Fisher.
2:15 PM3:05 PMDerrick Barnes, G. NeriChildren'sJim Henson PavilionBarnes will present "Seven Million Steps." Neri will present "My Bicentennial Summer."
2:15 PM3:05 PMCraig Kofi Farmer, Tracey BaptisteChildren'sWilla Cather PavilionFarmer will present "A Method for Magic and Misfortune." Baptiste will present "Moko Magic: Museum Mayhem."
2:15 PM3:05 PMAmanda McCrina, Darlene P. Campos, Carolyn MacklerTeen/YAOgden Nash PavilionMcCrina will present "Beyond Seven Forests." Campos will present "The Center of the Earth." Mackler will present "Right Back at You."
3:00 PM4:00 PMWorkshop: Epistolary WritingChildren's WorkshopsChildren's Village - Workshops TentPresented by Writopia Lab
3:00 PM4:00 PMWorkshop: SongwritingAdult/Teen WorkshopsAdult/Teen Workshop PavilionPresented by Jay Keating
3:15 PM4:05 PMJennifer van der Kleut, Alex FinlayMystery/ThrillerDashiell Hammett PavilionVan Der Kleut will present "The Better Mother." Finlay will present "The Anniversary." Moderated by K.T. Nguyen.
3:15 PM4:05 PMAyana GrayFictionF. Scott Fitzgerald PavilionGray will present "I, Medusa." She'll be interviewed by Jordan Hernandez (Instagram personality: Completely Booked).
3:15 PM4:05 PMDr. Stanley AndrisseNon-ficFrederick Douglass PavilionAndrisse will present "Breaking Chains, Building Futures." He'll be interviewed by Michael Zeldin.
3:15 PM4:05 PMSusan PageNon-ficJames Michener PavilionPage will present "The Queen and Her Presidents." She'll be interviewed by Lee Horwich.
3:15 PM4:05 PMJason G. GreenNon-ficGertrude Stein PavilionGreen will present "Too Precious to Lose." He'll be interviewed by Naomi Pequette.
3:15 PM4:05 PMMilo ToddFictionRachel Carson PavilionTodd will present "The Lilac People." Interviewed by Louis Bayard.
3:15 PM4:05 PMChloe Yelena Miller, Megan Leonard, Michele EvansPoetryEdgar Allan Poe PavilionMiller will present "Perforated." Leonard will present "Larkspur Queen." Evans will present "purl." Moderated by Courtney LeBlanc.
3:15 PM4:05 PMBB Alston, Tim Probert, Andrew AuseonChildren'sJim Henson PavilionAlston will present "Amari and the Metalwork Menace." Probert will present "Lightfall: A Place Between." Auseon will present "Spellbinders: Overpowered."
3:15 PM4:05 PMShana Targosz, Sayantani DasGupta, Michelle KnudsenChildren'sWilla Cather PavilionTargosz will present "Relic of Thieves." DasGupta will present "Theft of the Ruby Lotus." Knudsen will present "Into the Wild Magic."
3:15 PM4:05 PMSJ Sindu, Alyssa ColmanTeen/YAOgden Nash PavilionSindu will present "Tall Water." Colman will present "Where Only Storms Grow."
4:00 PM5:00 PMWorkshop: Art Journaling: Stories Through Words and PicturesChildren's WorkshopsChildren's Village - Workshops TentPresented by Jennifer-NeToi Claiborne
4:00 PM5:00 PMWorkshop: The Polished Proposal: Crafting a Nonfiction Book Proposal That Gets AttentionAdult/Teen WorkshopsAdult/Teen Workshop PavilionPresented by Dr. Sherri Marie Williams
4:15 PM5:05 PMLori Rader-Day, Susan CollMystery/ThrillerDashiell Hammett PavilionRader-Day will present "Wreck Your Heart." Coll will present "The Literati." Moderated by Laura Scalzo.
4:15 PM5:05 PMChanel Cleeton, Sharon KurtzmanFictionF. Scott Fitzgerald PavilionCleeton will present "The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes." Kurtzman will present "The Lost Baker of Vienna." Moderated by Carrie Callaghan.
4:15 PM5:05 PMAdam Cohen, Julian SanctonNon-ficFrederick Douglass PavilionCohen will present "Captain's Dinner." Sancton will present "Neptune's Fortune." Moderated by Jennifer Bort Yacovissi.
4:15 PM5:05 PMLois RomanoNon-ficJames Michener PavilionRomano will present "An Inconvenient Widow." She'll be interviewed by Colleen Shogan.
4:15 PM5:05 PMMadeline Bell, Stephanie CowellFictionGertrude Stein PavilionBell will present "The Austen Affair." Cowell will present "The Man in the Stone Cottage." Moderated by Amber Lovold.
4:15 PM5:05 PMTony Medina, Kim Roberts Meikle, Piérre Ramon Thomas, Sunayna Pal, Fran Abrams, Lisa Couturier, Randall AmsterPoetryEdgar Allan Poe PavilionPresentations of the anthologies "Capital Queer", "America's Future," "Echoes Through the Stacks," and "Convergence." Moderated by Jona Colson and Eve Burton.
4:15 PM5:05 PMDave Roman, Alexis Frederick-Frost, John Patrick GreenChildren'sJim Henson PavilionRoman will present "Unicorn Boy and the Slumber Party of Doom!" Frederick-Frost will present "Team Unihorn and Wooly #4: Creatures from the Skull Cave." Green will present "Investigators: Agents of S.U.I.T.: Sew Much Trouble."
4:15 PM5:05 PMSharon G. Flake, Rebecca MorrisonChildren'sWilla Cather PavilionFlake will present "Hattie Mae Begins Again." Morrison will present "The Blue Dress."
4:15 PM5:05 PMCharlene Thomas, Jenni HowellTeen/YAOgden Nash PavilionThomas will present "It's You Every Time." Howell will present "Boys with Sharp Teeth."