Welcome to the 2026 Bloomsday Festival!

Every June 16, we gather together to read from Joyce’s Ulysses. It’s a beloved and foundational event for this institution, the home of Joyce’s manuscript of a novel that continues to inspire, scandalize, and thrill.

We’re delighted to announce several updates to the festival, inspired by feedback we received from you at last year’s event, with some additional special events. These updates invite more participation and create greater access to the Rosenbach’s collection:

• The Bloomsday public reading will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Delancey Place.

• Reader spots are open to the public again this year!

• We will open the museum and historic house to present guided tours of our galleries and special presentations of collection materials! See the full schedule below. Registration opens April 16, 2026.

• After our Delancey Place readings end at 5:00 p.m., we’ll enjoy a special one-woman performance. Molly’s Soliloquy at Sunset begins at 6:00 p.m. and will feature Philadelphia actor Kirsten Quinn!

• Many of our Bloomsday readings, presentations, and performances are FREE to attend— We’ll see you June 16!

Bloomsday Program Schedule

Registration opens for readers on April 23, 2026

1:00 p.m. Ulysses readings begin in the Rosenbach Museum & Library garden

Register individually for each of the guided programs you’d like to attend

Registration opens for programs on April 16, 2026
(Space is limited!)

2:00 p.m. Collection Presentation: The Influence of Antiquity on James Joyce’s Ulysses ($15; registration required) 

From his choice of title to the novel’s epic format, thematic organization, characters’ roles, and details of prose style, Joyce relied on classical antiquity’s literary epics, Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid, to create his masterpiece. In this presentation, you will see and hear selections from these ancient works and examine paired passages from Ulysses that were influenced by them.  No knowledge of ancient languages or literature is needed to engage fully in this object-based discussion.  

2:30 p.m. Treasures Gallery Talk: Literature of Great Britain & Ireland (free; registration encouraged) 

Voyage through five centuries of literature from Great Britain and Ireland. This curator-led walk around the Treasures gallery will explore the evolution of books and storytelling from 15th-century England through the centuries, finally arriving at the manuscript of James Joyce's Ulysses. Discover remarkable treasures from the Rosenbach’s collection in the company of fellow book lovers! 

3:00 p.m. Treasures Gallery Talk:  History & Literature of the Americas (free; registration encouraged) 

As the United States approaches its 250th birthday, step inside the third and final addition to the Rosenbach’s permanent exhibition, Treasures: History & Literature of the Americas. Join the project’s lead curator on a tour through centuries of American history as we view a multifaceted selection of objects from the Rosenbach’s rich holdings. Learn about the making of the galleries and consider, in community, the future of the U.S. civic project. 

3:30 p.m. Treasures Gallery Talk: History of the Material Text (free; registration encouraged) 

Step into the fabulous, fascinating world of Philip and Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach’s collecting, connoisseurship, and community. Under the guidance of a Rosenbach curator, view treasures from several important collecting areas including medieval manuscripts, early printed books, and Rosenbach family and company history, while also enjoying a viewing of “DEAR JOHN,” a contemporary art installation by the acclaimed artist and Rosenbach neighbor John Y. Wind.  Learn about the making of Treasures from the curatorial team and explore awe-inspiring areas of the collection.  

4:00 p.m. Collection Presentation: The Women Behind Ulysses ($15; registration required) 

Bloomsday celebrates James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses. But how much do you know about the women who made its publication possible? In this presentation, you will hear how publishers and translators Sylvia Beach, Adrienne Monnier, Margaret Anderson, and Jane Heap contributed to the international success of the novel and see early publications of Ulysses and photographs by Bereneice Abbott. 

4:30 p.m.  Treasures Gallery Talk: History of the Material Text with Featured Artist John Y. Wind (free; registration encouraged) 

Treasures from the Rosenbach’s Collection: History of the Material Text includes an installation of artworks by acclaimed local artist John Y. Wind. Wind’s multimedia artworks in the gallery explore issues of ethnicity, national identity, gender, sexuality, and history—all critical themes that James Joyce considers in Ulysses. Come to the gallery for a conversation with Wind about his work, and how he found inspiration in the Rosenbach brothers’ collections for his contemporary artworks.  

6:00 p.m. Molly’s Soliloquy at Sunset on Delancey Place (free; registration encouraged) 

Philadelphia actor Kirsten Quinn reads Molly Bloom at Bloomsday, 2024. Photo by Mark Garvin

Event Sponsors

The Consulate General of Ireland’s Emigrant Support Programme

Lenni Steiner and Perry Lerner

South Jersey Celtic Society