The Downtown Columbia Partnership (DTC Partnership) and The Howard Hughes Corporation® (HHC) announced that Washington, DC-native Carl Bernstein—the author and Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter who famously broke the Watergate story—will headline the sixth annual Books in Bloom Festival. One of the region's most innovative and progressive community arts events, Books in Bloom 2022 opens in Downtown Columbia on May 15, continuing the festival’s focus on activism through literature and open dialogue surrounding race, diversity, and freedom of the press.

This year’s festival marks the 50th anniversary of Bernstein’s extraordinary break with fellow Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward of the Watergate scandal, one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history. With his unwavering commitment to investigative journalism, Bernstein will discuss his latest memoir Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom, recalling his beginnings as a young journalist in Washington, DC, with stories of the Kennedy era and the civil rights movement. Bernstein will join multiple authors discussing their featured works as well as the First Amendment and fight against censorship. This year’s festival adds a new “Banned Book Pop-Up” element for all ages, highlighting important literary works that have faced controversy and censorship.

“We are honored to welcome Carl Bernstein to the Merriweather District as the headliner of this year's Books in Bloom Festival, showcasing literature and the arts as powerful and necessary tools to enlighten and inspire audiences nationwide.” said Phillip Dodge, Executive Director of the Downtown Columbia Partnership. “Festivals and community events that allow for conversation and education around diverse topics of social importance have never been more critical as we see legislators and school boards banning books that highlight marginalized groups and progressive ideas.”

The Howard Hughes Corporation and The DTC Partnership are dedicated to advancing Downtown Columbia as a vibrant, diverse, creative, economically robust, and desirable place for living, working, learning, and enjoying world-class entertainment. Cultural initiatives such as Books in Bloom and the annual Merriweather District Artist-In-Residence (MD AIR) program enhance the vitality of the community and continue to build on James Rouse’s founding principles of inclusivity and diversity that make Columbia “a garden for growing people.”

“Our teams at HHC and The DTC Partnership share a commitment to investing in the arts that provide an

  avenue for community discourse around important topics gripping the nation and beyond,” said Vanessa Rodriguez, Vice President of Marketing at The Howard Hughes Corporation. “This year's Books in Bloom Festival will build upon past years’ discussions of race, diversity, and inclusion with a look at today’s issues of media censorship and the current political and journalistic landscape.”

Festival attendees can expect to hear again from some of the country’s top authors, shining a light on important topics facing our communities through the lens of literature and the arts. Past festivals have featured Pulitzer Prize-winning author and creator of the 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones, lead CNN anchor, Jake Tapper, author of New York Times bestseller White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo, chef José Andrés and more.

The festival and all associated events are FREE and open to the public. Additional authors and details to be announced later this month. For more information, visit: www.booksinbloommd.com.