Discussion Groups
Onsite Groups
Groups to Join
Membership is not required to participate in groups at the Athenaeum. All are welcome!
Several groups take summer breaks. Please check each group’s meeting times.
La Tertulia
Meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesday
2nd Tuesdays online—5:00 to 7:00 PM
4th Tuesdays in person—6:00 to 8:00 PM
La Tertulia is a group of people interested in keeping their Spanish speaking skills in practice.
Book Group
Meets the 2nd Saturday
from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM—hybrid
Sign up here for Zoom link only (Registration for in-person attendance is not required)
Open discussion meeting on a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction works, new and classics.
Check out what we’ve read over the years here:
Salem Athenaeum Book Group List 2024–2016
Upcoming 2026 Discussions
Jan. 10:
The Land of Sweet Forever by Harper Lee
Feb. 14:
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdich
Mar. 14:
This Is What It Sounds Like : What the Music You Love Says about You by Susan Rogers & Ogi Ogas
Apr. 11:
The Last Navigator: A Young Man, an Ancient Mariner, the Secrets of the Sea by Steve Thomas
May 9:
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
June 13:
The Women of Arlington Hall by Jane Healey
July 11:
The American Revolution and the Fate of the World by Richard Bell
Aug. 8:
Dancers at the End of Time: An Alien Heat by Michael Moorcock
Sep. 12:
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Oct. 10:
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
No November meeting
Dec. 13:
March by Geraldine Brooks
Reappraisal Reading Circle
Meets Bi-monthly on Third Wednesdays—hybrid at 7:00 PM
Sign up here
Open meeting discussing the works of a prolific, popular author of the past whose works are held in quantity by the Athenaeum.
Upcoming 2026 Discussions
Margaret Deland (1857–1945)
American writer of poetry, short stories, and realistic novels. Sometimes called the American Mrs. Humphry Ward.
Mar 18
Warwick Deeping (1877–1950)
English author of short stories and best sellers.
May 20
Elizabeth Goudge (1900–1984)
English writer of fiction and children’s books.
June 17
Selection meeting for 2026–27
Past Reading Circle Authors 2015-2025
2015
Arnold Bennett (1867-1931)
John Buchan (1875-1940)
Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909)
Ellen Glasgow (1873-1946)
Elizabeth Garver Jordan (1865-1947)
2016
E. Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946)
Anne Douglas Sedgewick (1873-1935)
Booth Tarkington (1869-1946)
Eden Philpotts (1862-1960)
William Dean Howells (1862-1960)
2017
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
Edna Ferber (1885-1968)
Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951)
E. M. Delafield (1890-1943)
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)
2018
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889)
George Meredith (1828-1909)
Frances Hodgson Burnett (1879-1924)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879-1958)
Hugh Walpole (1884-1941)
2019
Gilbert Parker (1862-1932)
Zane Grey (1872-1939)
Joseph Hergesheimer (1880-1950)
Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957)
Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982)
2020
Rolf Boldrewood [Thomas Alexander Browne] (1826-1915)
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
Hamlin Garland (1860-1940)
Francis Brett Young (1884-1954)
Berthold Auerbach [Moyses Baruch] (1812-1882)
2021
Eugene Sue (1804–1897)
Mrs. [Margaret] Oliphant (1828–1897)
Irving Bacheller (1859–1950)
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (1863–1944)
Frank Swinnerton (1884–1982)
2022
Berthold Auerbach (1812-1882)
Alice Brown (1857-1948)
Zona Gale (1874-1938)
George Gissing (1880-1903)
Louis Bromfield (1896-1956)
2023
Frank Stockton (1834-1902)
Francis Hopkinton Smith (1838-1915)
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844-1911)
Richard Harding Davis (1864-1916)
Elizabeth von Arnim (1895-1982)
2024-25
Honore de Balzac (1799-1850)
Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909)
Mary Augusta Ward [Mrs. Humphrey] (1851-1920)
Lucas Malet [Mary St. Leger Kingsley] (1852-1931)
Joseph C. Lincoln (187
Online Groups
Any Book Group
Sign up here
Meets bi-monthly on Third Thursdays
Next meeting: November 20 at 7:00 p.m.—online
An online book discussion group for readers of all genres.
Monday Evening Conversations
Meets the 2nd Monday at 7:00 PM—Online
Sign up here
Topics for discussion are wide open but must be amenable to good conversation.
La Tertulia
Meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesday
2nd Tuesdays online—5:00 to 7:00 PM
4th Tuesdays in person—6:00 to 8:00 PM
La Tertulia is a group of people interested in keeping their Spanish speaking skills in practice.
Book Group
Meets the 2nd Saturday
from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM—hybrid
Sign up here for Zoom link only (Registration for in-person attendance is not required)
Open discussion meeting on a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction works, new and classics.
Check out what we’ve read over the years here:
Salem Athenaeum Book Group List 2024–2016
Upcoming 2026 Discussions
Jan. 10:
The Land of Sweet Forever by Harper Lee
Feb. 14:
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdich
Mar. 14:
This Is What It Sounds Like : What the Music You Love Says about You by Susan Rogers & Ogi Ogas
Apr. 11:
The Last Navigator: A Young Man, an Ancient Mariner, the Secrets of the Sea by Steve Thomas
May 9:
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
June 13:
The Women of Arlington Hall by Jane Healey
July 11:
The American Revolution and the Fate of the World by Richard Bell
Aug. 8:
Dancers at the End of Time: An Alien Heat by Michael Moorcock
Sep. 12:
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Oct. 10:
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
No November meeting
Dec. 13:
March by Geraldine Brooks
Reappraisal Reading Circle
Meets Bi-monthly on Third Wednesdays—hybrid at 7:00 PM
Sign up here
Open meeting discussing the works of a prolific, popular author of the past whose works are held in quantity by the Athenaeum.
Upcoming 2026 Discussions
Margaret Deland (1857–1945)
American writer of poetry, short stories, and realistic novels. Sometimes called the American Mrs. Humphry Ward.
Mar 18
Warwick Deeping (1877–1950)
English author of short stories and best sellers.
May 20
Elizabeth Goudge (1900–1984)
English writer of fiction and children’s books.
June 17
Selection meeting for 2026–27
Past Reading Circle Authors 2015-2025
2015
Arnold Bennett (1867-1931)
John Buchan (1875-1940)
Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909)
Ellen Glasgow (1873-1946)
Elizabeth Garver Jordan (1865-1947)
2016
E. Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946)
Anne Douglas Sedgewick (1873-1935)
Booth Tarkington (1869-1946)
Eden Philpotts (1862-1960)
William Dean Howells (1862-1960)
2017
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
Edna Ferber (1885-1968)
Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951)
E. M. Delafield (1890-1943)
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)
2018
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889)
George Meredith (1828-1909)
Frances Hodgson Burnett (1879-1924)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879-1958)
Hugh Walpole (1884-1941)
2019
Gilbert Parker (1862-1932)
Zane Grey (1872-1939)
Joseph Hergesheimer (1880-1950)
Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957)
Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982)
2020
Rolf Boldrewood [Thomas Alexander Browne] (1826-1915)
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
Hamlin Garland (1860-1940)
Francis Brett Young (1884-1954)
Berthold Auerbach [Moyses Baruch] (1812-1882)
2021
Eugene Sue (1804–1897)
Mrs. [Margaret] Oliphant (1828–1897)
Irving Bacheller (1859–1950)
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (1863–1944)
Frank Swinnerton (1884–1982)
2022
Berthold Auerbach (1812-1882)
Alice Brown (1857-1948)
Zona Gale (1874-1938)
George Gissing (1880-1903)
Louis Bromfield (1896-1956)
2023
Frank Stockton (1834-1902)
Francis Hopkinton Smith (1838-1915)
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844-1911)
Richard Harding Davis (1864-1916)
Elizabeth von Arnim (1895-1982)
2024-25
Honore de Balzac (1799-1850)
Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909)
Mary Augusta Ward [Mrs. Humphrey] (1851-1920)
Lucas Malet [Mary St. Leger Kingsley] (1852-1931)
Joseph C. Lincoln (187
Past Event Videos
Available recordings of Athenaeum events held online will be posted here.
They are also available on our YouTube channel.
View Videos from Past Events
09-18-25 Philip E. Orbanes: Monopoly X
12-04-24 Rachelle Bergstein: The Genius of Judy Blume
11-20-24 Susan Zalkind: Murder in Massachusetts
10-09-24 Write So I Can Hear You
Featuring Dunya Mikhail and Jennifer Jean
05-23-24 Storytelling: for the Love of the Game
03-27-24 Rachel Slade with Catherine Allgor: Making It in America
02-17-24 Vijay Seshadri on Wallace Stevens’ “Harmonium”
01-13-24 Bob Frishman presents Rufus Porter: Yankee Artist, Inventor, & Publisher
12-14-23 Writers in Your Neighborhood
02-23-23 Banned in Massachusetts: Libraries on the Front Lines of the Culture Wars
02-17-23 Storytelling: Love — Roses and Thorns
01-19-23 David Gellman—Liberty’s Chain: Slavery, Abolition, and the Jay Family of New York
12-06-22 Writers in Your Neighborhood
11-09-22 Robert Frishman: Timekeeping in Early Salem and New England
10-18-22 A Magical Evening with Alice Hoffmann
10-05-22 Thomas Forrest Kelly: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Then and Now
05-18-22 Chuck Radis: Island Medicine
04-06-22 James Parmentier: Maine’s First Ship
03-24-22 Linda Sudlesky & Steven Schachter, M.D.: Visions—Changing Lives Through Advocacy
03-15-22 Writers in Your Neighborhood
02-24-22 Eric Fisher—Mighty Storms of New England: An Evening of Infamous New England Weather
02-17-22 Adopt-a-Book 2022: Online Presentation
01-26-22 Michael Blanding: North by Shakespeare
01-19-22 Kate Dike Blair and Don Zancanella: Two Novels of Concord
12-15-21 Robert Gross and Arthur Riss: The Transcendentalists and Their World
09-23-21 Mark Horvath: Blockchain and Crypto and NFTs—Oh My!
07-23-21 Christine Thomson: Adventures in Architectural Paint Analysis
06-24-21 Doreen Wade: Salem’s Black Picnic and Election Day
06-17-21 Lauren Aguirre: The Memory Thief
06-09-21 Punto Urban Art Museum: What Does It Mean to Be Free?
03-25-21 Lauren Willig: Band of Sisters
03-20-21 Give Voice: Poetry in Response to “The Salem Witch Trials 1692”
02-11-21 Reckoning with Racist Monuments
01-18-21 Skip Finley: Whaling Captains of Color
01-14-21 Megan Marshall and Lloyd Schwartz: Recovering the Poems of Scott Harney, 1955-2019
12-16-20 Cathy Marie Buchanan and Brunonia Barry—Daughter of Black Lake
12-13-20 Writers in Your Neighborhood
11-18-20 Christoph Strobel: Legacies of 1620 and the Mayflower: Native Americans of New England
10-28-20 Kathleen Sebelius: A Live Commentary on the 2020 Election
08-21-20 Rebecca Totaro—The Plague in Shakespeare’s London and Lessons for Us Now
07-22-20 Deborah Plummer: Achieving Racial Equity…One Friend at a Time
Propose a New Group
The Salem Athenaeum is happy to host new onsite or online group meetings open to the public that are in keeping with our mission and availability. Please use this form to submit proposals.
Proposal review will be handled by staff and programming committees and may take up to 90 days.
New Group Proposal Form
