F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival
The 30th annual F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival celebrates the literary legacy of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Montgomery County, and the broader American literary tradition. This year’s festival honors author and PEN/Faulkner Award winner Tobias Wolff with the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement in American Literature.
The full-day program includes film, conversations, readings, a keynote presentation, a tour of Fitzgerald-related sites in Rockville, and writing workshops. The festival was founded in 1996 to mark the centenary of Fitzgerald’s birth and honor the city where Fitzgerald, his wife, and his daughter are buried. It is co-sponsored by the City of Rockville and Montgomery College.
When: October 24, 2026
Showtimes: The festival runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Program: The Saturday schedule includes a screening of *This Boy’s Life*, based on Tobias Wolff’s memoir, followed by a question-and-answer session with Wolff. Other highlights include Deborah Tannen’s keynote, “Can We Talk: How Ways of Talking Can Make or Break Relationships”; a conversation between Wolff and special guest Richard Bausch about “The Art of Fiction”; a reading by Wolff; a bus tour of Fitzgerald’s Rockville haunts; and writing workshops led by Fred Bowen, Nate Brown, Ron Charles, Hannah Grieco, E. Ethelbert Miller, and Margaret Talbot.
Additional Events: Related programming listed for September and October includes an afternoon tea with live jazz at Strathmore Mansion on September 22 and 23 in celebration of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 130th birthday; an October 8 ceremony at Rockville Memorial Library recognizing the winners of the festival’s two short-story contests; and “Readings in Honor of Tobias Wolff” at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda on October 18, featuring Richard Bausch with a response by Tobias Wolff.
Tickets: General admission is $30–$35. Each writing workshop is a separate $25 purchase, and attendees may select only one workshop in each time block.
Presented by: F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference, Inc.
Venue: Montgomery College: Rockville Campus, 51 Mannakee Street, Rockville, MD 20850
Ages: Not specified.
Accessibility: No accessibility information is currently available for this event.
Contact: fscottfestival1@gmail.com
Website: https://fitzgeraldfestival.com