Special event, one week from today! Join the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival for a virtual panel event on book banning, featuring Ron Charles and Maureen Corrigan. “Unfit for Shelves? A Love Letter to Banned Books” is this year’s spring special presentation.
This event is free and open to the public. We hope you can make it. And feel free to share the event info with all your book-loving friends!
Unfit for Shelves? A Love Letter to Banned Books
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
6 p.m.
Virtual
Click here to join the Zoom meeting
Meeting ID: 814 4950 7302
Passcode: 864402
As we mourn the news that book reading (not to mention book reviewing!) is in decline across America, some books, particularly books on certain topics, are being removed from shelves. Are these books really unfit for our libraries, public schools, and centers of higher education? If not, why are the people of America being prevented from reading them?
Ron Charles and Maureen Corrigan will lead a discussion of this unfortunately timely topic—and offer a love letter to banned books everywhere.
Ron Charles was formerly a full-time writer for The Washington Post. He covered books and produced the weekly Book Club newsletter. He is now continuing to do great literary criticism on Substack.
Maureen Corrigan is The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism in the Department of English at Georgetown University. For the past 35 years, Corrigan has been the weekly book critic on the Peabody Award-winning NPR program, ”Fresh Air.”
And here are some other exciting spring 2026 events and opportunities we want to share. . . .
2026 Annual Meeting
If you are a member of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival, we invite you to attend our annual meeting. In this virtual meeting, we will discuss activities and events in 2026.
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
5:30 p.m.
Virtual
Click here to join the Zoom meeting
Meeting ID: 890 1685 3336
Passcode: 936626
If you are not yet a member . . . there’s no time like the present! Become a member here. Members get rewards such as a waiver of the entrance fee to the Short Story Contest, a signed copy of the Honoree’s book, or an ad on our website (depending on the level of support). But the best reward is knowing that you supported the literary community of Montgomery County, MD. We are a nonprofit organization. Your donation is tax deductible.
Gaithersburg Book Festival
Find our booth at the Gaithersburg Book Festival and say hi! We’ll be giving out bookmarks and information and talking about all things literary. The Gaithersburg Book Festival is this Saturday, May 16, 10am-6pm. Here’s where you can learn more.
Short Story Contests
We are running two contests, one for adult residents of the DMV and one for students attending a high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. We are accepting submissions through June 30. Click here to view the guidelines and submit your short story.
