Welcoming Kwame Alexander, Lady Brion, and many more to Columbia’s Merriweather District

Since 2017, the must-attend Books in Bloom Festival, presented by Howard Hughes Holdings and the Downtown Columbia Partnership, in Color Burst Park in Columbia’s Merriweather District, has offered attendees the chance to meet their favorite authors, discover new books, and participate in a variety of interactive experiences for all ages. HoCoPoLitSo is proud to have the opportunity to sponsor this year’s festival, on Saturday, May 10th, 2025, through funding generously received from Maryland Humanities.

We hope that you will join us for the day’s celebrations, featuring a lineup of authors including: Kwame Alexander, Eric Puchner, Laurie Frankel, Andy Shallal, Sue Fliess, Ann Marie Stephens, E. Ethelbert Miller, Howard County Poet Laureate Truth Thomas and Youth Poet Laureate Mai-Anh Nguyen, and Maryland Poet Laureate Lady Brion. The event is free and open to the public, RSVP requested.

HoCoPoLitSo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and receives funding from Howard County Government; Howard County and Maryland State Arts Councils; Community Foundation of Howard County; Maryland Humanities; Alpha Foundation of Howard County; Dr. Lillian Bauder; and generous friends of HoCoPoLitSo. The Howard County Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate programs are administered in partnership between HoCoPoLitSo, Howard County Arts Council, and the Office of the Howard County Executive.

HoCoPoLitSo’s sponsor of Books in Bloom 2025 is made possible through Maryland Humanities’ Marilyn Hatza Memorial SHINE grant, financed in part with State Funds from the Maryland Historical Trust, an agency of the Maryland Department of Planning which is an instrumentality of the State of Maryland. However, project contents or opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Maryland Historical Trust or the Maryland Department of Planning. #MDHumanities @MDHumanities