NEW YORK

Declare Launch
New York Public Library
September, 23, 2026

The writers and historians mark the 250th anniversary of the publication of the Declaration of Independence and discuss the new book Declare: A Civic Gospel. The Declaration of Independence was first published as a letterpress broadside by John Dunlap in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. 250 years later, Arion Press and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello have partnered to create Declare: A Civic Gospel, a symphony of American poets, essayists, novelists, artists, designers, and artisans reflecting on the nation’s inaugural words and their significance today. It was edited by Jane Kamensky and features contributions from Jill Lepore and Geraldine Brooks. Before their conversation, Arion Press Program Director, Ted Gioia, will talk about the typesetting and production of the book, a limited-edition, letterpress-printed reinterpretation of the Declaration broadside. 

Copies of the limited-edition book will be on display, and the paperback edition will be available for sale.

Presented in partnership with Arion Press and Monticello, and in connection with Declaring America: 1776 and Beyond, the New York Public Library's exhibition marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, on view in multiple galleries through January 10, 2027.

To join the event in person
Doors will open 45 minutes before the program begins. For LIVE from NYPL events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment; we will do our best to accommodate everyone. Booked seats that have not been claimed will be released shortly before start time, and seats may become available then. A standby line will form 45 minutes before the program.

To join the livestream
A livestream of this event will be available on the NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL's YouTube channel.

About the Speakers
Geraldine Brooks was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. She attended the University of Sydney and Columbia University and was an award-winning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal for a decade before turning to fiction. She is the author of six novels, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning March, and three works of nonfiction, most recently Memorial Days. She was a Radcliffe Institute Fellow in 2006 and a visiting researcher at New College, Oxford, in 2024.

Ted Gioia is the Program & Development Director at Arion Press. As a widely published critic, his essays have appeared in The New Republic,New York, Tablet, and The American Scholar. His first work of fiction, The Token of Dorian Gray, was released by First Bite Press in 2026.  

Jane Kamensky is President and CEO of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. A leading historian of the United States, she taught for decades, most recently as Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History at Harvard University. Kamensky is the author of numerous books, including the prize-winning A Revolution in Color (2016) and Candida Royalle and the Sexual Revolution (2024). From 2018 through 2025, she served as a scholarly advisor and on-camera expert for the Ken Burns documentary, The American Revolution. She serves on the National Advisory Council of More Perfect and as one of the leaders of Educating for American Democracy.

Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and professor of law at Harvard Law School. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker. Her many books include These Truths: A History of the United States (2018), This America: The Case for the Nation (2019), We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution (2025), and The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State (2026).