Not long ago, I joined a book club with the goal of making friends and belonging to something beyond work and the gym. Since I love literature — having taught it, taken a stab at writing it, and then finding a late-in-life career working for a book festival — it made sense to become a member of a group of readers my age. (We’re all in our 60s.)

What fun, I thought, to share my taste for women’s literature with like-minded women. I quickly learned that generalizing about readers, even a group as homogeneous as an old-ladies book club, is foolhardy and that, as the saying goes, exceptions are always the rule.

As in many book clubs, our members take turns choosing what to read. Our meeting begins with a meal and plenty of wine, and then we engage in a sometimes-heated discussion. We’ve considered gritty and provocative debut novels whose characters bore little resemblance to us; lost track of reality in sci-fi thrillers; and even inhabited the inner thoughts of a pigeon whose narration carried us beyond the route of its flight and taught us something new about love and war. Left to my own devices, I never would’ve pulled any of these titles off the shelf, yet I’m significantly richer because of them.

Much like my job as marketing director for the annual Fall for the Book Festival, my book club has opened my eyes to literature of all genres, voices, and styles — from the episodic to the metaphorical, from the lyrical to the erudite, from the slow-burn to the fast-paced. Most importantly, I now understand more fully my role at Fall for the Book: to spread the word to our reading community — in all its forms — that, during the event, authors from every walk of life come to share their many divergent stories.

This year’s headliners are horror icon Stephen Graham Jones, whose forthcoming Off the Reservation will be available for early purchase, and renowned novelist Celeste Ng. Environmental policy meets YA in the work of Elizabeth Rusch, who is also in our esteemed lineup, and Black-TV history comes to life with “PBS NewsHour” co-anchor Geoff Bennett, another lauded speaker.

The festival will also spotlight many local authors, including novelists Caroline Bock, Lina Patton, and Diana Rojas; poets Michele Evans and Danika P. Myers; mystery writers Melanie McCabe and Aggie Blum Thompson; historians George Oberle and Nina Willner; Maryland state delegate and memoirist Lily Qi; and folklorist Brittany Warman.

Rounding out the offerings, the festival is proud to host the ninth-annual ceremony for the presentation of its Institute for Immigration Research New American Voices Award, featuring finalists Chantel Acevedo, Bindu Bansinath, and Ada Ferrer.

Last but not least, Fall for the Book is thrilled to partner with the City of Fairfax’s 50th Annual Fall Festival to offer a day of hands-on literary events to readers aged 2 to 13, featuring authors Chuchu Wang, Marcie Flinchum Atkins, Korena Di Roma Howley, Adi Rule, and Amanda Foody.

It’s true: There really is something for everyone, and this oft-used aphorism certainly applies to Fall for the Book!

Kate Lewis is marketing director for the Fall for the Book Festival, which happens Oct. 6-10, 2026, at George Mason University and other locales in Fairfax, VA. Find the full schedule here.