Annapolis, MD — Key School announces the 23rd annual Annapolis Book Festival line-up. The many distinguished speakers slated to join the premiere community event on Saturday, May 2 include:
- Long-serving Congressman from South Carolina and former majority whip Rep. James Clyburn
- Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia and international affairs analyst for MSNOW Michael McFaul
- Award-winning national sports columnist, commentator, and best-selling author Christine Brennan
- Emmy Award-winning host of This Old House and experienced sailor Steve Thomas
- New York Times bestselling “romantasy” novelist Brigid Kemmerer
- Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and journalists Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Tim Weiner
- Founder of Mother Untitled, thought leader, writer and speaker on parenting Neha Ruch
- Actress, activist, best-selling author and finalist for the Thurber Prize Annabelle Gurwitch
Now in its 23rd year, the Annapolis Book Festival is one of the premier community events in the region. The Festival brings together nationally renowned authors and thousands of book fans for author talks, panel discussions, book signings, and other activities. Interactive, multi-generational and free of charge, the Festival has something for book lovers of all ages. Combining entertainment, children’s activities, a literary marketplace, ComicKey! (a family-friendly comic con) and food trucks with compelling author panels, the Festival attracts more than 4,000 attendees each year.
The Annapolis Book Festival will be held on the campus of Key School at 534 Hillsmere Drive, Annapolis, MD, 21403 on Saturday, May 2, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
2026 Annapolis Book Festival Authors
We are pleased to announce the following authors are presenting at the 2026 Festival:
- Isaac Arnsdorf - 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America
- Jack Bartley - Smoke on the Water
- Kamal E. Bell - Akeem Keeps Bees!
- Ken Belson - Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the NFL into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut
- Michael Bernstein - The Nocebo Effect: When Words Make You Sick
- Christine Brennan - On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports
- Alyssa Blask Campbell - Big Kids, Bigger Feelings: Navigating Defiance, Meltdowns, and Anxiety to Raise Confident, Connected Kids
- Peter Ames Carlin - Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run
- Paula Chase - Balancing Act (The Heights, 1)
- James E. Clyburn - The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation
- Sara Goodman Confino - Good Grief
- Gus Constantellis - My Greek Mom's Recipes: She Died. I Wrote This Cookbook.
- Spring Council - Southern Roots: Recipes and Stories from Mama Dip's Daughter
- Matthew Davis - A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore
- Josh Dawsey - 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America
- Marian Dealy - Rise of the G.E.M.S.: Genetically Engineered Mice in Space
- Sarah Dennehy - Mindful with Me: Connecting with Your Child Through Daily Mindfulness
- Michelle Douglas - A Poetry & Journaling Workshop: Find Your Voice on the Page
- Charles Ferguson - Presidential Seclusion: The Power of Camp David
- Alex Finlay - The Anniversary: A Thriller
- S.M. Chris Franzblau - The Last Mob Lawyer: True Stories from the Man Who Defended Some of the Biggest Names in Organized Crime
- David Gendell - Battles at Annapolis: Two Remarkable Football Games in the Army-Navy Rivalry
- Erica L. Green - Miracle Children: Race, Education, and a True Story of False Promises
- Annabelle Gurwitch - The End of My Life Is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker
- Lindsay Hameroff - Never Planned on You
- Laura Hankin - One-Star Romance
- Rachel Hartigan - Lost: Amelia Earhart's Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life
- Akosua Harvey - Why the Birds Fly Back
- Robert Henderson - Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class
- Drew Hinshaw - Swap: A Secret History of the New Cold War
- Gregg Hurwitz - Antihero (An Orphan X Novel)
- Brigid Kemmerer - Sparking Fire Out of Fate
- Martin Kimel - The Pessimist’s Son: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope
- Iris Krasnow - Workshop: Write a Book and Get It Published!
- Jeff Kosseff - The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential Freedom
- Emily Lieb - Road to Nowhere: How a Highway Map Wrecked Baltimore
- William Lee Mapp III - Seven Brief Lessons on Computing
- Michael McFaul - Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder
- Jacob Mchangama - The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential Freedom
- Kate Myers - Salty
- Bruce H. Nagel - The Last Mob Lawyer: True Stories from the Man Who Defended Some of the Biggest Names in Organized Crime
- Tyler Pager - 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America
- Nikki Payne - The Princess and the P.I.
- Judith L. Pearson - Radical Sisters: Shirley Temple Black, Rose Kushner, Evelyn Lauder, and the Dawn of the Breast Cancer Movement
- Marica Pendjer - BRAject: ARTrageous Bras for a Cause
- Clay Risen - Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America
- Christine Rosen - The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World
- Hannah Rosenberg - Same: Poems
- Neha Ruch - The Power Pause: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids--and Come Back Stronger Than Ever
- Audry Goldberg Ruoff - Hopelessly Teavoted
- Laurie Gwen Shapiro - The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon
- Tamar Shapiro - Restitution (A Novel)
- Nancy W. Sindelar - Hemingway's Passions: His Women, His Wars, and His Writing
- Nadine Strossen - The War on Words: Ten Arguments Against Free Speech--and Why They Fail
- Manil Suri - A Room in Bombay: A Memoir
- Steve Thomas - The Last Navigator: A Young Man, an Ancient Mariner, the Secrets of the Sea
- Toni Tipton-Martin - The Taste of Country Cooking: 50th Anniversary Edition
- Mindy Uhrlaub - Last Nerve: A Memoir of Illness and the Endurance of Family
- Janelle Washington - The Heart of Our Home
- Tim Weiner - The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century
- Lauren Willig - The Girl from Greenwich Street: A Novel of Hamilton, Burr, and America’s First Murder Trial
- Thomas M. Wing - In Harm's Way (The Sea Hawkes Chronicles)
Local Annapolis & Baltimore Area Authors
If you are interested in interviewing these authors (or any of the above authors), please contact Mary MacLeod at mmacleod@keyschool.org and she will check on the author’s interest and availability.
- Paula Chase - Balancing Act (The Heights, 1)
- Michelle Douglas - A Poetry & Journaling Workshop: Find Your Voice on the Page
- David Gendell - Battles at Annapolis: Two Remarkable Football Games in the Army-Navy Rivalry
- Erica L. Green - Miracle Children: Race, Education, and a True Story of False Promises
- Laura Hankin - One-Star Romance
- Akosua Harvey - Why the Birds Fly Back
- Brigid Kemmerer - Sparking Fire Out of Fate
- Iris Krasnow - How to Get Published Workshop
- Kate Myers - Salty
- Nikki Payne - The Princess and the P.I.
- Audrey Goldberg Ruoff - Hopelessly Teavoted
Connect with the Annapolis Book Festival:
On Instagram at @annapolisbookfestival
On our website at www.keyschool.org/annapolisbookfestival
On Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AnnapolisBookFestival
