Friends of the UD Library Annual Dinner

Each spring, the Friends of the University of Delaware Library sponsors a dinner to gather and celebrate shared interest in the humanities. All members, students, faculty, staff and the community-at-large are invited to this event, which features a prominent keynote speaker, historian or author. In the past, speakers have included Wil Haygood, Margaret MacMillan, Rick Steves, Jennet Conant and Judith “Miss Manners” Martin to name a few.

Join us for the 2025 Annual Dinner

Dark blue background with geometric border. Picture of Michael Dirda. The Friends of the University of Delaware Library presents The 2025 Annual Dinner. A Life with Books: From the Last Day of Typewriters to the Digital Era. With author Michael Dirda. Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Arsht Hall, Wilmington DE.

Register to Attend

Join us for an unforgettable evening with Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize-winning book columnist for The Washington Post. In his talk, “A Life with Books: From the Last Days of Typewriters to the Digital Era,” Dirda takes us on a journey through nearly five decades of literary journalism.

From his early days navigating typewriters and Linotype machines to the fast-paced world of digital publishing, Dirda reflects on the changing landscape of book reviewing and journalism. Hear firsthand accounts of his interactions with iconic authors like Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin and Joyce Carol Oates. Learn about the behind-the-scenes process of producing a weekly book section in the pre-internet era and the challenges and triumphs of the digital age.

Dirda’s engaging storytelling and deep love for books promise to captivate readers, writers, bibliophiles and anyone curious about the world of publishing. The evening will include a Q&A session, giving the audience a chance to ask about literary journalism, book collecting and more.

The event begins with a cocktail hour at 6 p.m. During this time, books by Dirda will be available for purchase through the UD Barnes and Noble Bookstore. Dinner will follow at 7 p.m. and the evening will conclude by 9 p.m. with a Q&A session with Dirda.

Learn more about the menu and sponsorship opportunities on the registration page.

Registration closes on Friday, March 21, 2025.

Join the Friends of the University of Delaware Library for this extraordinary event celebrating the power of books, stories and the people who bring them to life.

Michael Dirda, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post, is the author of several essay collections, including Readings, Book by Book and Classics for Pleasure. His book On Conan Doyle earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Dirda is a graduate of Oberlin College and holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Cornell University . He is also a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and The Wall Street Journal and is currently writing a book on British popular fiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dirda lives near Washington, D.C., with his wife Marian Peck Dirda, an art conservator, and their three grown sons.

Past Annual Dinners

Frederick Douglass and the Problem with American Democracy (Keynote by David W. Blight) – April 4, 2024

The Power of the Written Word (Keynote by Sara Paretsky) – April 26, 2023

The Scientist and the Soul Man: What Humanists and Empiricists Need to Learn From Each Other (Keynote by Adam Gopnik) – April 25, 2022

A Writer Tell Stories of Freedom (Keynote by Wil Haygood) – April 29, 2019

The Meaning of the First World War for Today (Keynote by Margaret MacMillan) – March 28, 2018

An Evening with Maureen Corrigan and The Great Gatsby (Keynote by Maureen Corrigan) – April 12, 2017

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania (Keynote by Erik Larson) – April 6, 2016

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition (Keynote by Daniel Okrent) – April 15, 2015

The Hammersteins: A Musical Theatre Family (Keynote by Oscar Andrew Hammerstein III) – April 10, 2014

Catherine the Great: A Woman as Well as an Empress (Keynote by Robert K. Massie) – April 17, 2013

A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS (Keynote by Jennet Conant) – April 18, 2012

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt (Keynote by T.J. Stiles) – April 12, 2011

Travel as a Political Act (Keynote by Rick Steves) – March 25, 2010