Cultural Events Calendar

Celebrate the joy of reading and community as we come together to kick off the 2026 Community Read! Pick up a free copy Endling and connect with fellow readers. Enjoy live music, light refreshments, an exciting raffle, and an evening filled with literary fun. Don’t miss out—come and be a part of the community-wide reading adventure!

The Community Read, presented by Aspen Words and the Pitkin County Library, strives to celebrate literature, unite readers around a work of fiction, and ignite meaningful conversation on the vital social issues explored in each year's Aspen Words Literary Prize-winning novel and those nominated.

We are honored to welcome bestselling author Jonathan Franzen as the keynote speaker for Book Ball 2026.

We hope you will join a vibrant and passionate community to celebrate writers and readers, and to connect through the power of stories on July 9, 2026, at Aspen Meadows.

This special evening raises vital funds to support Aspen Words programs, including the Aspen Literary Festival, Writers in the Schools, scholarships for emerging writers, and community talks with Pulitzer Prize–winning authors.

Jonathan Franzen is the author of six novels, most recently “Crossroads” and “Purity,” and five works of nonfiction, including “The Discomfort Zone,” “Farther Away,” and “The End of the End of the Earth.”