Baltimore bookworms, mark your calendars. The Baltimore Book Festival is scheduled to return in 2024, taking place along Waverly’s main street Sept. 27-29.

City leaders unveiled dates Monday for what will be the event’s 25th anniversary, following a four-year hiatus that began with the COVID-19 pandemic. Baltimore’s Office of Promotion & the Arts last held the book fest in 2019. The three-day literary festival features live readings and panel discussions as well as hometown and national authors.

“We are coming back better than ever,” Mayor Brandon Scott said during a news conference Monday. “This is a special event for everyone in Baltimore. Whether they’re a young person who has found reading as a window to the rest of the world that you’re excited to experience, a parent sharing their love of reading with their kids or just a lifelong book lover, there’s something for everyone.”

Scott said he took solace in the library while he was growing up and, as an adult, he’s begun reading with his own son Charm, who was born Dec. 26. Baltimore is a “book town,” Scott said.

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Former Mayor Kurt Schmoke’s administration notably declared Baltimore “the city that reads” in the 1990s. Officials confirmed in the fall that the popular festival would return in 2024. However, the event did not appear in the lineup when city leaders in December unveiled major event dates for the year.

City Councilwoman Odette Ramos, who represents the Waverly, said the neighborhood was happy to host the event. Waverly hosted its own three-day book festival in 2023, which was not organized by BOPA.

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Scott said he was confident the neighborhood could handle a large-scale event like the book festival.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Odette Ramos.

Lillian Reed

lillian.reed@thebaltimorebanner.com

Lillian Reed

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