05/06/2026
Rsvp here: https://acw.wildapricot.org/event-6651901
Date: 14th May, 2026
Time: 6:30 reception; 7:00-8:00 program
Location: The Arts Club.
This fireside chat will include a discussion, audience participation, food, and wine. Doors open at 6:30pm with a wine and food reception.
The series: This series is in celebration of the tenth year anniversary of the Cheuse Center. This session’s host is Eric Weiner, a NY bestselling author, journalist, keynote speaker.
Featuring in alphabetical order by first name:
Holly Smith is editor-in-chief of the Washington Independent Review of Books, as well as a college lecturer, longtime freelance writer, and proud “Jeopardy!” bronze medalist. Prior to joining the Independent in 2013, she was managing editor of Maryland Life magazine. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, CNBC.com, USA Today Travel’s 10Best, Salon, More Mirth of a Nation, Brain, Child, and elsewhere. She also co-authored the travel guide Seafood Lover’s Chesapeake Bay, which is ironic since she doesn’t eat fish. Find her on Bluesky at .
Michael Dirda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning literary journalist and the author of five collections of essays: Readings, Bound to Please, Book by Book, Classics for Pleasure and Browsings. Other works include the memoir, An Open Book, which received the Ohioana Award for nonfiction, and the Edgar Award-winning On Conan Doyle. His next book, The Great Age of Storytelling - an appreciation of popular fiction in Britain between 1880 and 1930 - will be out later this year. From 1978 until 2026, Dirda worked for The Washington Post Book World, first as an editor, then as a weekly book columnist.
Ron Charles was a book critic at The Christian Science Monitor and The Washington Post. He now writes about books on Substack. He and his wife, an English teacher, live in Bethesda. Ron Charles is now on Substack.
Sean Murphy is the founder of the non-profit 1455 Literary Arts and directs the Center for Story at Shenandoah University. He’s has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered and his writing has also been featured in Salon, The Village Voice, Washington City Paper, The Good Men Project, Writer’s Digest, and elsewhere. He’s at seanmurphy.net.
