NAEF Signature Program

One Book One Norristown

Arts · Literacy · Community

OBON is NAEF’s annual arts and literacy festival — a community-wide celebration built around a shared book and the author who wrote it.

Donate to OBON
Past festivals

How OBON works

A festival the whole town takes part in

A shared read

The community reads the same book together — copies are given out free.

Meet the author

We host prominent authors for free public readings and conversations.

Events for all ages

Storytelling projects, open mics, and performances tied to each book’s themes.

Always free

Community members never pay for books or admission — ever.

Share Your Story

OBON 2027 welcomes acclaimed writer and memoirist Carmen Maria Machado in April 2027 for another exciting season of community reading and events.

Each year, the entire Norristown community reads the same book, meets its featured author, and takes part in events, projects, and performances inspired by the book’s themes. OBON builds enthusiasm for reading and brings people together through great stories—and it’s always free.

Support OBON 2027
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A look back

Past festivals

A few of the authors and themes our community has shared over the years.

2026 Our Natural World

Sam J. Miller

Blackfish City · The Art of Starving

An American science fiction, fantasy, and horror author and Nebula Award winner.

2025 Beyond the Binary

candice iloh

Salt the Water · Every Body Looking

Queer, Nigerian-American National Book Award finalist candice iloh anchored a year of activities across the district.

2024 Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead

Warren C. Longmire

Open Source · Bird/Diz

Poet, musician, technologist, and teacher — celebrated at Theatre Horizon with an Open Mic Night in November 2024.

2023 Fantastic Arts & Letters

Daniel José Older

OBON welcomed the New York Times best-selling author for a community-wide read.
2022 Our Shared Experience

Lorene Cary

Philadelphia author Lorene Cary; educator Pam Margolis shared how she used Free! with students during summer camp.


Photos

Scenes from the festival


We’ll help you navigate it

Support arts and literacy in Norristown

Since 2022, OBON has given our community the chance to read great books, meet renowned authors, and take part in arts-and-literacy programming — all completely free. We buy 500–1000 copies of each book to share, and we always pay our authors fairly for their work. Your gift keeps it free.
Donate to OBON