National Book Month 2026: Libraries, Friends Week, and a New Gambling Book Award

October is National Book Month, and many U.S. libraries are using the middle of October to highlight Friends of Libraries Week from October 18 through 24, 2026. Elsewhere in the book world, the inaugural Gambling Book Awards has just shortlisted four titles, according to The Bookseller. What is less clear from public library pages is whether those casino-industry books are reaching local hold queues or author event calendars this fall.

Libraries mark Friends Week

United for Libraries coordinates the 21st annual National Friends of Libraries Week October 18–24, 2026. McKinley Memorial Library says its Board of Trustees recognizes the Friends group for supporting the StoryWalk at Stephens Park, the Music on the Lawn summer concert series, and other programs. The Friends of Schenectady County Public Library lists the observance from Sunday, October 18 at 9:00 a.m. through Saturday, October 24 at 5:00 p.m. Neither notice mentions gambling-related titles or author appearances.

A gambling-book shortlist enters the fall

The Bookseller reports that four books have been shortlisted for the inaugural Gambling Book Awards. The publicly visible excerpt does not include the titles, authors, or judges. No finalists from the Kirkus Prize, PEN America Literary Awards, or Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence appear in this week's public pages. Because the award is new, it may not yet be represented in library catalogs. For the regulatory and market context behind those books, readers can follow US Casino Wire’s coverage.

A literary ceremony at Binion’s

The 9th Annual PenCraft Book Awards will take place April 27, 2026, in the Longhorn Room at Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel, 128 E. Fremont Street, Las Vegas. Tickets are $250 per person, with a deposit option. The agenda runs from 7:45 a.m. registration through a full day of panels, including a nonfiction writing discussion and a session on literary publicity, and free parking is available. This is an author-focused event rather than a library program, but it shows the overlap between book awards and casino venues. For background on the business side of such venues, see American Casino Report’s explainers.

What public libraries are showing

Oakland Public Library’s October highlights include Meet the Authors, Banned Books Week, Black Panther 60th Year Anniversary, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Filipino American History Month. Santa Clara County Library District notes that all locations were closed October 12 for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and its Banned Books Week page marks October 4–10, 2026; that page cites ALA data showing 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025 and 713 attempts to censor library materials, with 92% of challenges initiated by pressure groups or government officials. None of these library pages report longer hold queues, author events, or book-club kits built around this year’s gambling-book shortlist. Readers who want to track regional casino policy behind such titles can check Casino News America’s analysis.

How to use the next two weeks

If you want to support your library, National Friends of Libraries Week is a good moment to join a Friends group or attend a book sale; your local library’s website will have the dates. If you are hunting for a gambling nonfiction title from the new shortlist, ask at the reference desk or check your library catalog directly, because the public notices visible this week do not include hold-queue counts. The books may not yet be in circulation, so a purchase request may be the fastest route.