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Rochester Reads

Community Experience

A Citywide Tradition

Founded in 2001, Rochester Reads began with a simple but powerful idea: What if an entire city read the same book?

 

For 25 years, the program has brought nationally and internationally acclaimed authors to Rochester, including Russell Banks, Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, Ann Patchett, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and most recently, Camille Dungy.

Upcoming Celebration

Omar El Akkad & Sonja Livingston
Keynote Address & Conversation

Tuesday, November 10 | 7 PM
St. John Fisher University, Cleary Family Auditorium

RSVP to be notified when tickets become available

25th Anniversary

Celebrating 25 Years

To mark this milestone, Writers & Books welcomes back two beloved Rochester Reads authors:

· Omar El Akkad (Rochester Reads 2019, American War)
· Sonja Livingston (Rochester Reads 2016, Queen of the Fall)

This year’s spotlight titles:

· One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This (El Akkad, 2025 National Book Award winner)
· Ghostbread (Livingston, AWP Award–winning memoir)

Together, these works explore memory, justice, belonging, and whose stories endure.

  1. 2001 - A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines
  2. 2002 - The Sweet Hereafter, by Russell Banks
  3. 2003 - Kindred, by Octavia Butler
  4. 2004 - Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger
  5. 2005 - Servants of the Map, by Andrea Barrett
  6. 2006 - Name All the Animals, by Alison Smith
  7. 2007 - The Buffalo Soldier, by Chris Bohjalian
  8. 2008 - Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, by Laila Lalami
  9. 2009 - Jim the Boy, by Tony Early
  10. 2010 - Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett
  11. 2011 - The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti
  12. 2012 - The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Deba Dean
  13. 2013 - Into the Beautiful North, by Luis Alberto Urrea
  14. 2014 - The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey
  15. 2015 - The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker
  16. 2016 - Queen of the Fall, by Sonja Livingston
  17. 2017 - The Enchanted, by Rene Denfeld
  18. 2018 - The Distance Between Us, by Reyna Grande
  19. 2019 - American War, by Omar El Akkad
  20. 2021 - Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  21. 2022 - Hell of a Book, by Jason Mott
  22. 2023 - The City We Became, by N.K. Jemisin
  23. 2024 - Olga Dies Dreaming, by Xochitl Gonzalez
  24. 2025 - Soil: the Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, by Camille Dungy
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