The latest information from the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts
Coming to a Shelf Near You!
The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) releases a fun promo video as a reminder that Baltimore Book Festival returns September 28, 29 and 30, 2018, along the Inner Harbor Promenade, from the Inner Harbor Amphitheater to Rash Field, from 11am to 7pm daily. Admission is free and open to the public.
Author & Programming Highlights
CityLit Stage,
In Front of the Maryland
Science Center
CityLit Project’s literary community of avid readers and writers extends to Baltimore Book Festival weekend. The stage features discussions, one-on-one critiques, musical artists and a live podcast recording. This year’s programming pays homage to women writers in light of the 2017 VIDA Count, an analysis of the number of women and nonbinary writers getting published. Visit these literary experts & more:

  • Free Friday Feedback, editors and seasoned writers critique poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and scripts, and provide submission guidelines for their publications, Friday, September 28, 12pm

  • Where are all the Asian Beach Reads?, featuring Dr. Tamara Bhalla, Sunny J. Reed, Vanessa Ulrich and Keith Chow, curated by Eliza Romero, Saturday, September 29, 1pm 

  • DaMaris Hill reads and discusses A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland, Saturday, September 29, 2:30pm

DaMaris Hill.
Inner Harbor Stage,
Inside Baltimore Visitor Center
Inner Harbor Stage provides an intimate experience, bringing award-winning authors and book lovers together for a weekend of thoughtful panel discussions, readings, poetry and music performances, and quizzes and trivia games. Visit these authors & more:

  • Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Heads of the Colored People: Stories, Friday, September 28, 6pm

  • David Reichenbaugh, In Pursuit: The Hunt for the Beltway Snipers, in Conversation with Tom Mauriello, Saturday, September 29, 12pm

  • Marion Winik, First Look: The Baltimore Book of the Dead, multiple appearances

Marion Winik. 
© Maeve Secor and Jane Sartwell.
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America Stage,
Cobblestone Drive
Imaginations are boundless with Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. The stage features author appearances, book signings and panel discussions covering numerous and diverse subjects and subgenres. Visit these writers & more:

  • UNDead Genres: Marginalized Writers Reinvigorate Tired, featuring K.M. Szpara, Bill Campbell, Ruthanna Emrys, Nibedita Sen, Vivian Shaw and Na'amen Gobert Tilahun, Friday, September 28, 6pm

  • LGBTQIASFF, featuring Marianne Kirby, Kosoko Jackson, KJ Kabza, Sam J. Miller, Nibedita Sen and Kellan Szpara, Saturday, September 29, 5pm

  • From Harry Potter to the Broken Earth Trilogy: Magic Systems That Will Put You Under Their Spell, featuring Na'amen Gobert Tilahun, Zoraida Córdova, Ilana C. Myer, Jon Skovron and Sherri Cook Woosley, Sunday, September 30, 4pm

Sam J. Miller.
Staff Reads with Ryan Patterson, Public Art Administrator for BOPA 
Q. Why would you recommend the book you are currently reading to others?

A. We had given this book [ Fun Home ] to my sister-in-law as a gift. I borrowed it back from them because the book has been turned into a musical and it is coming to Baltimore Center Stage in January. I bought tickets for the family and that was a great reason to finally read the book. It’s so exciting that this production is coming to Center Stage and I’d recommend anyone read the book and go see the show while it’s here.

Q. What authors are you excited to see at this year’s Baltimore Book Festival?

A. I’m always excited to see what unexpected authors I meet or run into at the Book Festival. Some of my children’s favorite YA authors are people I’ve met working at or perusing the festival. There is so much talent that comes through, from the programmed tents to the self-published authors. If you go with an open mind, you won’t be disappointed. 

Read the Complete Interview
Family-fun Adventure
Storybook Parade
Inner Harbor South Shore Promenade
Saturday, September 29, 11am 

Children’s book characters jump from pages into the annual Storybook Parade. Families can march down the promenade with classic characters Junie B. Jones, Cookie Mouse, Peter Rabbit and Wild Thing, along with the Griots’ Circle of Maryland. Best of all, festival-goers can dress as their favorite characters, authors or playwrights.

Crafts Corridor
Inner Harbor South Shore Promenade

The imaginative adventure continues at the Crafts Corridor where children-“travelers” discover “A Wrinkle in Time”-themed crafts like DIY Galaxy Zen Jars and Tesseracts. Plus, school’s in session with Poetry in Motion, which teaches children visual theater to create visual adaptations of Shel Silverstein poetry and provides theater games that show children how to use their bodies as tools for expression.

Enoch Pratt Free Library
Children's Stage
Bicentennial Plaza

Enoch Pratt Free Library Children’s Stage provides an oasis for children amid the throngs of festival-goers. The stage features well-known children and young adult authors and illustrators, including Ricardo Cortés , Minh Lê , Tony Medina and Nisha Sharma , music and movement classes, workshops and library card sign ups.  

“A Literary Feast with Gourmet Eats” 
Food for Thought Stage

Kaufman Pavilion at Rash Field

Whether a #foodgrammer or a #bookgrammer, the Food for Thought Stage whips up a perfect mix of cooking demos and delicious samples prepared by chefs and cookbook authors. Highlights include: Happy Hour & Cooking Demo with Horseshoe Casino , A Special Day with Chef John Shields & Friends and Inclusion in the Culinary World: The Narrative of Being a Black Chef with Chef Bentley .

Food Vendors & Beverage Bars

West Shore Park Café

A visit to the Baltimore Book Festival isn’t complete without tasting the diverse, delectable selections of local food and beverage vendors. Festival producer, BOPA, continues its ban on Styrofoam materials. Vendors include: Appetizers on the Run , El Tenedor de Nacho , Farm To Face , Island Quizine , Little Italy Sausage , Charm City Pops and Zeke’s Coffee .


In the Neighborhood
Frigate ARA Libertad
Baltimore's Inner Harbor, West Wall
September 12-28, 2018

Climb aboard to explore maritime history and international culture! Sail Baltimore welcomes Argentina’s Fragata ARA Libertad to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Aboard the 1963 vessel are Argentine officers, midshipmen, petty officers and enlisted personnel, in addition to guests from different nations and military branches. Libertad has navigated more than 1.038.693 nautical miles around the world.

Maryland Fleet Week & Air Show Baltimore presented by Northrop Grumman
Baltimore's Inner Harbor
October 3-9, 2018

Maryland Fleet Week and Air Show Baltimore commemorates Maryland’s rich maritime traditions and Marylanders defense of the nation. The weeklong celebration features more than a dozen ships and vessels representing U.S., Canadian and United Kingdom.

Thank You Sponsors & Donors!
The Baltimore Book Festival is produced by the Baltimore Office of
Promotion & The Arts (BOPA), a 501 (c)(3) serving as the city's arts council,
events center and film office.