If your perfect day includes browsing bookshelves, meeting authors, or discovering your next great read, there are plenty of literary events happening across Coastal Delaware this season. 

From community book sales and cookbook discussions to inspiring author conversations and one of the area's biggest history festivals, here are a few events worth adding to your calendar:

Pop-up Book Sale at South Coastal Public Library

A good library book sale is always worth a stop, especially when you never know what you might find. 

This pop-up sale at South Coastal Public Library will have a mix of previous best sellers, cookbooks, beach reads, children’s materials, and more, all at great prices. 

It is sponsored by the Friends of the South Coastal Library, so every purchase helps support the local library while giving you a chance to bring home something new for your shelf, your beach bag, or your next cozy night in.

• Date: Saturday, July 11th
• Hours: 10am to 12pm 
• Address: 43 Kent Avenue, Bethany Beach

Image Generated by AI

Milford Public Library’s Cookbook Book Club

This one is perfect for anyone who loves trying new recipes, sharing food, or finding fresh inspiration in the kitchen. 

Milford Public Library’s Cookbook Book Club brings readers and home cooks together around a featured cookbook, with each participant choosing one recipe to make and bring to the next meeting. 

The group then gets to sample the dishes, talk through the recipes, and discover new favorites with other food-loving library visitors. 

Registration is required, and participants can sign up at the circulation desk, choose a recipe from the featured cookbook, and take home a copy to prepare. 

Just keep in mind that the library cannot guarantee that food served during the program has not come into contact with nuts, soy, or other allergens.

• Dates: July 13th & August 10th
• Hours: 4:30pm to 6:30pm
• Address: 57 New Haven Avenue, Milford

Conversation with Ellen Carol DuBois at Lewes Public Library

Lewes Public Library, the History Book Festival, and Browseabout Books are bringing readers a thoughtful conversation with Ellen Carol DuBois, a leading historian of women’s suffrage and the author of Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life. 

The book takes a deeper look at Stanton as a powerful but complicated figure whose work helped shape contemporary feminism, while also exploring the controversies and contradictions that remain part of her legacy. 

DuBois brings major expertise to the conversation, with a career focused on the U.S. woman suffrage movement and several pioneering works on the subject. 

This program is part of Lewes 250 and can be attended in person or online with registration. 

Signed copies of the book will be available through Browseabout Books, with books also available for sale and signing at the event.

• Date: Tuesday, July 14th
• Hours: 5pm to 6pm 
• Address: 111 Adams Avenue, Lewes or Online

Image: Delaware Libraries

Conversation with Rachel Beanland at Lewes Public Library

If you love fiction that blends atmosphere, history, and complicated choices, this conversation with Rachel Beanland is one to have on your radar. 

Beanland will discuss The Half Life, her novel set on a remote Italian island during the Atomic Age, following a navy wife as she reckons with love, silence, loyalty, and the cost of American power. 

She will be joined in conversation by Rachel Parker, a Delaware-based writer, entrepreneur, and co-founder of The Parker Group. 

Beanland is also the author of The House Is on Fire and Florence Adler Swims Forever, which won the National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction. 

The program is available in person or online with registration, and signed copies can be purchased through Browseabout Books.

• Date: Thursday, July 16th
• Hours: 5pm to 6pm 
• Address: 111 Adams Avenue, Lewes or Online

Image: Delaware Libraries

History Book Festival in Lewes

The History Book Festival is one of those events that makes Historic Lewes feel even more special. 

It is the only book festival dedicated to history through story, bringing together historical fiction and narrative nonfiction from a wide range of subjects, eras, and voices. 

The festival draws readers from across the country and beyond, with more than 20 author presentations, book sales and signings, free Saturday programming, ticketed keynote and closing events, and an easy-to-navigate setup in the Historic District of Lewes. 

Most Saturday events are free and open to all, and the festival also makes things simple with walkable venues, a dedicated shuttle, a Festival Food Court, and plenty of time to enjoy downtown Lewes between sessions. 

It is a celebration of books, history, conversation, and community, all in one of Coastal Delaware’s most historic towns.

• Dates: September 25th-27th 
• Location: Lewes

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