History Book Festival (September 25–27, 2026)

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I had the absolute pleasure of attending the History Book Festival in Lewes, Delaware, over the weekend. Of course, we were hit by a Nor’easter with gale-force winds and nonstop rain, but it actually made for a great weekend of reading and discussing historical fiction and nonfiction. The talks were spectacular!

Here was my schedule for the weekend:

Friday, September 25

History Book Festival Keynote Event: Cold War Nexus: Iran
Ben Macintyre (The Spy and the Traitor) & Scott Anderson (King of Kings), moderated by Paul Sparrow

Saturday, September 26

8:30 AM — Victoria Johnson, Glorious Country (in conversation with Molly Giordano, Executive Director of the Delaware Art Museum)
Wonderful lecture about plein air painting and 19th-century patriotism!

10:00 AM — Ada Ferrer, Keeper of My Kin
A fascinating personal account of Cuban history. This book is a memoir, but Ferrer is also the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cuba: An American History.

11:30 AM — Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, The Ballad of the Fugitive William Parker
A high-octane talk that explored the layers of the Underground Railroad.

2:00 PM — Russell Shorto, Taking Manhattan
A look at New York’s Dutch history and the Dutch-English exchange of power more than 350 years ago.

3:30 PM — Eric Jay Dolin, The Wreck of the Mentor
Maritime nonfiction about a shipwreck and the extraordinary story surrounding it.

5:00 PM — Spirited Discussion at the Lewes Public Library

Sunday, September 27

History Book Festival Closing Event: A Pair of Aces
Victoria Christopher Murray & Marie Benedict

My Notes

The authors were high-caliber: Pulitzer Prize winners, New York Times bestsellers, and Good Morning America favorites. They were captivating, and the level of detail in their writing is awe-inspiring.

I will say, the women ruled!—both in terms of the authors commanding the stage and the number of female readers in attendance. There was also such a fun mix of historical fiction and historical nonfiction. What struck me was how much research goes into both genres, even though the authors ultimately do very different things with it.

My Recommended Reading List

In order of personal preference and interest:

  1. The Personal Librarian — historical fiction (I’m currently reading it!)

  2. Dr. Mütter’s Marvels — historical nonfiction (perfect timing for spooky season)

  3. Glorious Country — historical nonfiction

  4. A Pair of Aces — historical fiction

  5. Keeper of My Kin — historical nonfiction/memoir

  6. The Ballad of the Fugitive William Parker — historical nonfiction

With this list in mind, I have a question for our Community: Should I start a World History Encyclopedia book club? :books: Anyone interested?

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Thanks for the highlights. The Personal Librarian sounds like a great book, I just looked it up as I had never heard of Belle da Costa Greene.

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That sounds like an amazing event, Heather.

And I absolutely love the idea of a WHE book club!

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Thanks for sharing Heather! I think a WHE bookclub sounds like a fab idea too!