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Contact Us About One Maryland One Book

Andrea Lewis, Program Officer

(410) 685-6161

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One Maryland One Book

What if everyone read one book at the same time?

The theme for One Maryland One Book 2019 is “Nature”

Our selection committee has been working hard to narrow down a list of over 200 suggested titles to a Top Eleven! Be sure to check out our blog post to find out the titles. Later in January the committee will meet to narrow the list down to the Top Three.

Here are the OMOB 2019 Top Eleven Titles

To learn more about the selection process or past One Maryland One Book picks, visit the One Maryland One Book FAQ page.

Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to Maryland Humanities’ e-News to be the first to hear what we’ll be discussing across our state.

Questions? Contact Andrea Lewis at alewis@mdhumanities.org.

About One Maryland One Book

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.

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

One Maryland One Book Sponsors

Additional Support

Activities in Baltimore City are funded in part by Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.

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!

“[One Maryland One Book is] excellent! I come to as many of the One Maryland One Book events and will continue to do so—always pleased!”

One Maryland One Book 2016 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
“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
“[One Maryland One Book] is wonderful; enlightening, explorative, innovative, [and] educational.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 participant
“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
“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
“The impact of this particular book was probably stronger than any other Maryland One Book due to the connections we could make with real world events and police brutality in the headlines. Many groups were reading and discussing the book at our school: Student Equity Team, Drama Club, Faculty book club, sociology and English classes. It fostered important discussions about race relations.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher
“[One Maryland One Book] brings cross curricular teachers together to the library to read, discuss topics and social issues in the book. It’s a way for students to read good books without the pressure of an assignment.”

One Maryland One Book 2015 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
“What a discussion! That what’s needed in every town, city, and every age group.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 participant
“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 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
“[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
“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
“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

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