Join us for the 2026 Edward F. Prichard Lecture, featuring Dr. Evan Friss, professor of history and author of The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore.

Friss will discuss how the now “endangered species” of the independent bookstore has long influenced peoples’ reading tastes, fostered community, and shaped political views. Along the way he’ll weave vivid stories from his wide-ranging research, drawn from archives and paper records to oral history interviews and visits to over 100 bookstores around the country. 

Friss currently teaches US urban and public history at James Madison University.

The Prichard Lecture is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow the lecture. RSVPs are appreciated.

Since its inception in 1977, the Edward F. Prichard Lecture Series has featured nationally acclaimed authors, journalists, historians, and public figures. The Prichard Lecture is made possible by an endowment created by Edward F. Prichard, Jr., a New Deal activist who later championed educational change in Kentucky.