One Maryland One Book

Announcing the
2025 One Maryland One Book

Kin: Rooted in Hope

by Carole Boston Weatherford
art by Jeffery boston Weatherford

Maryland Humanities is pleased to announce that the selection for the 2025 One Maryland One Book (OMOB) is Kin: Rooted in Hope by Carole Boston Weatherford with art by Jeffery Boston Weatherford. Released in 2024, the book is a work of art, history, and personal genealogy – the authors’ search into their family tree led them to ancestors who were among the founders of Maryland. Through Carole’s poetry and Jeffery’s art, Maryland Humanities will stage programming for readers to explore histories of African Americans, of Maryland, and their own families.

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Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffery Boston Weatherford will also be appearing at events for the official One Maryland One Book Author Tour, from October 6 – October 10, 2025. Details to come!

2025 Theme: WHAT WE COLLECT / WHAT WE TELL

“Every generation confronts the task of choosing its past. Inheritances are chosen as much as they are passed on. The past depends less on ‘what happened then’ than on the desires and discontents of the present. Strivings and failures shape the stories we tell.” – Saidiya Hartman, Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route.

The humanities are fundamentally an art of narrative—a complex tapestry of storytelling and recordkeeping. Whether expressed through pictures, recordings, paintings, or diaries, these materials help us interpret and reinterpret the past. In other words, they serve as a testament to what we value. The same goes for literature where writers perform acts of cultural preservation through stories they’ve taken from the research and ephemera of past lives and present them to their audiences.

As a humanities organization, we see our work as interpreting and re-interpreting materials from the past for audiences today. A book is the result of a writer choosing which stories to put forward from the experiences, research, and ephemera of the past: the diary, the photo, the recording, the heirloom. The same goes for the museum exhibit, the art show, or the conversations we have around it. In the end, what we record and save is the testament to what we value.

For this year’s One Maryland One Book, we want you to think about how we collect and use materials in order to tell and preserve the stories they hold — especially those in danger of being lost. How do we assemble them into new narratives that speak to today’s audiences?

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About One Maryland One Book

What if everyone read one book at the same time?

When we read a great book, we can’t wait to share the experience and talk about it with others. That’s one of the joys of reading.

In that spirit, Maryland Humanities created One Maryland One Book (OMOB) to bring together diverse people in communities across the state through the shared experience of reading the same book. We invite you to participate in book-centered discussions and related programs at public libraries, high schools, colleges, museums, bookstores, and community and senior centers around the state.

OMOB programs, including an author tour, take place each year in the fall. A calendar of free public events will be available online this summer.

FAQs
To learn more about the selection process or past One Maryland One Book programs, review our Frequently Asked Questions.

One Maryland One Book Lead Sponsors & Partner

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Additional Support

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This flagship program of Maryland Humanities’ Maryland Center for the Book would not be able to reach all 23 Maryland counties and Baltimore City without the continued support of our partners and sponsors. Please join us in thanking them for their generosity!

  • “The OMOB 2014 selection seemed to touch the hearts of so many teachers and students. Everyone who read the story was in awe of the struggles, the will to survive, and then the motivation to write the memoir. The Distance Between Us created such an impact on each reader that s/he handed the book to someone with the request, “you must read this story!” Plus, the selection was inter-disciplinary and ‘captured’ students in all grade and academic levels. Renya Grande captivated the readers who, “couldn’t put the book down.” It is one of the best selections. Thank you!!”

    ​One Maryland One Book 2014 teacher

  • “I distributed copies of the book and we engaged in an afterschool discussion which included students and staff. Everyone who participated was so engaged that our 45 minute planned discussion ended up stretching into an hour and a half!”

    One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher

  • “A sophomore on our school’s state-champ runner-up varsity football team was so taken by Joe’s story of the sophomore year on the boat that he got his dad (the coach) and several members of his team to read the book even though they weren’t assigned it in class. Another student described a discussion she got into with her math teacher after school about the relevance of the English curriculum and used her experience with Brown’s work and the field trip to convince her teacher that humanities are just as important as STEM. Great stuff!”

    ​One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher

  • “We had our best attendance, ever, for a book discussion, in the seven years I’ve been here.”

    One Maryland One Book 2015 participant

  • “For most of my 10th grade students, this was the first book they have read from cover to cover.”

    One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher

  • “I had two students participate who told me they’ve never finished a book before and they finished this one and want to read more!”

    ​One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher

  • “What a discussion! That what’s needed in every town, city, and every age group.”

    One Maryland One Book 2016 participant

  • “My students have been removed from their home schools. Right away, they made comments about the diction of the text, how it seemed realistic to them and they pointed out words they would have changed. We talked about word choice, slang, etc. I had 2 instances where students were excited to see me because they had events similar to the book happen to them and they needed to tell someone. They want to know how to change things. […] These kids typically failed English class or were chronic non-attenders or were removed before they came here. They are excited about reading a book! Teacher librarian win!”

    One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher

  • “This program is a gift, literally and figuratively!”

    One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher

  • “The school I am reporting on is designed as an alternative center for students who are not successful in the “regular” classrooms in our district. These students are challenged by a number of factors, including emotional problems, discipline issues, etc. This particular book was one that a number of students were able to relate to and engage with. As a consequence, students who do not normally read became active participants in both reading and discussing!”

    One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher

  • “I completed the book club with 22 students, all of them on the JV football team – so not your stereotypical group of book club attendees. On the last day of our book club experience I asked students for some feedback and also asked if they would be interested in participating in another book club. Nearly all of them said that this was the first time they had ever participated in a book club, and a few said it was the first time they had actually read an entire book. I keep hearing back from them, too, [asking] ‘When is the next book club starting up?’. The discussions we had were powerful and meaningful–this was truly one of the most moving experiences I have had as an educator.”

    One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher

  • “Left on my own, I would choose the same kind of books over and over again. Now, [participating in One Maryland One Book,] my reading experience is broader and richer and all the more enjoyable.”

    One Maryland One Book 2016 participant

  • “[One Maryland One Book taught me that] these types of book discussions that include diverse populations across the state open necessary dialogues to help solve problems. We need to have many more.”

    One Maryland One Book 2016 participant

  • “One student who has been held back several years and suffers from emotional disorders spent several minutes asking One Maryland One Book [author Daniel James Brown] questions. He very patiently listened and answered each question. He then signed her book: ‘Write with your heart not your head.’ To watch this interaction was very touching.”

    One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher

  • “The book selections offer an opportunity to read a book that is informative and engaging. It enhances our view of the world and the individuals within it. We sincerely look forward to the OMOB selections and materials each year. It is a topic of excitement and discussion among students and staff. Truly and wonderfully.”

    ​One Maryland One Book teacher
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