16th Annual Gaithersburg Book Festival

The Gaithersburg Book Festival is a free annual celebration of great books and great writing that has made its mark as one of the nation’s top literary events. This year’s Festival – celebrating its 16th year and taking place May 17 – will feature more than 100 best-selling and award-winning authors who will participate in talks and panel discussions. Authors include: 

Fiction

Louis Bayard

Jeanine Cummins

Mary Robinette Kowal

Wally Lamb

John Scalzi

Non-Fiction

David Aldridge

Rick Atkinson

Dave Barry

Evan Friss

Joe Posnanski

Judith Viorst

Alan Weisman

Mystery/Thriller/Fantasy

Olivie Blake

Djeli Clark

Jeffery Deaver

David Ellis

Sarah Pekkanen

Poetry

John Amen (2024 Susan Laughter Myers Fellowship)

Nancy Naomi Carlson (Poet Laureate of Kensington Day of the Book Festival)Holly Karapetkova (2024 Barry Spacks Poetry Prize Winner)

Steven Leyva (Cave Canem fellow)

Amuchechukwu Nwafor (2024 DC Poet Project Winner)

Children’s Picture Books

Brian Lies (Caldecott Honor Winner)

Steve Light

Laura Numeroff  

Linda Sue Park (Newbery Award Winner)

Bob Shea  

Children’s Graphic Novels

Jacqueline Davies  

Kami Garcia  

John Patrick Green

Joanna Ho (JOHO)

Hena Khan 

Middle Grade

Charles Bolden, Jr. 

Vera Brosgol (Caldecott Honor Winner)

Erin Entrada Kelly  (two Newbery Medals)

Grace Lin 

Katherine Marsh (National Book Award Finalist)

Rachel Renee Russell and Nikki Russell

Young Adult

Tracey Baptiste

Cinda Williams Chima 

Laura Elliott  (Scott O'Dell award winner for Historical Fiction)

Sharon Flake  (Coretta Scott King Award winner)

Ibi Zoboi  (Coretta Scott King Award winner)

The Festival also includes interactive writing workshops, a Children’s Village, book sales, author signings and more. Admission and shuttles from Shady Grove Metro and Montgomery County Fairgrounds are FREE.

The Gaithersburg Book Festival’s official bookseller is Politics and Prose Bookstore. The event is The Gaithersburg Book Festival is sponsored by The Carnegie at Washingtonian Center, DoubleTree by Hilton Washington DC North Gaithersburg, Montgomery County Public Libraries, Montgomery County Public Schools, Chatter on Books, RIO Washingtonian Center, Washington Independent Review of Books, C-SPAN Book TV, Maryland State Arts Council and Montgomery Community Media.