2026 OMOB winner – Mining the Memory: No Sense in Wishing –
Lawrence Burney in conversation with Shamira Ibrahim
France Hall
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201

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Each year, more than 10,000 Marylanders read the One Maryland One Book. Leave it to cultural writer and critic Lawrence Burney, and founder of independent magazine, True Laurels, to dazzle us with the debut of his collection of essays, No Sense in Wishing: Essays on Black Music, Belonging, and Baltimore, the 2026 selection of One Maryland One Book, released by Atria Books of Simon and Schuster. The book is a deep exploration of Black Baltimore, the music scene of the global Black diaspora, and Burney’s personal traditions and investment in “ just being as vulnerable and truthful as I feel safe being.” Kiese Laymon, award-winning author of Heavy: An American Memoir, calls it, “Among the most profound and dazzling debuts I’ve ever read.” Burney will be in conversation about his lauded work with journalist Shamira Ibrahim, a Brooklyn-based culture writer by way of Harlem, Canada, and East Africa, who explores identity, cultural production, and technology as a critic, reporter, feature writer, and essayist. The OMOB was selected under the 2026 theme of “REVOLUTION, REACTION, REFORM,” seeking stories that highlight moments of change and transformation.

https://www.mdhumanities.org/2026-one-maryland-one-book-selection-announced/

Visit the News Section for detailed information.

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CityLit Project in partnership with Maryland Center for History and Culture present Bearing Witness: Literature as a Revolutionary Act. This celebration of the arts showcases a bevy of leading poets and writers on April 11, 2026. We’re talking fiction, nonfiction, poetry galore, and ways to up the ante on your craft.

Download the CityLit Festival: Bearing Witness flyer with the schedule.

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