It may be hard to believe, but when “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first published in April 1925, it was not an immediate bestseller. It took another almost two decades⸺during World War II with the Armed Services edition⸺for the novel to find success and, ultimately, take its place among the “great American novels.”

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of “The Great Gatsby” this April, Princeton University Library is planning a suite of on- and off-campus programming inspired by the library's significant Fitzgerald and “The Great Gatsby” related holdings. 

Programming includes collaborations and events with Princeton Public Library, Lewis Center for the Arts, Cotsen Children’s Library, Friends of Princeton University Library, Princeton Garden Theatre, and the Arts Council of Princeton. Most of the planned programs are free and open to the public, but some require registration and/or tickets.

In addition to supporting a number of events, Princeton Public Library has also created a reading and viewing list as a companion to this programming.

Join us at any of these events and exhibitions to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of “The Great Gatsby.”

Events

All Access Book Club "The Chosen and the Beautiful," by Nghi Vo
March 20, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Co-hosted with the Princeton Public Library
Registration required

“When Pages Breathe: The Greatness of Gatsby”
March 31, 2025, 6:30 p.m. (Reception at 6:00 p.m.)
Co-hosted with Lewis Center for the Arts
Chancellor Green Rotunda, Princeton University
Registration required

Literature to Life: Performing Gatsby
April 3, 2025, 5:00 p.m.
Drapkin Theater Studio, Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University
More information (no registration required)

“The Great Gatsby” Community Filibuster Read-Aloud
April 7, 2025, 11:00 a.m.
Princeton Public Library
Sign up to participate

Author Visit with Nghi Vo "Don't Sleep with the Dead" Book Launch
April 8, 2025, 7:00 p.m.
Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street
More information (no registration required)

“The Great Gatsby” viewing (2013)
April 9, 2025, 7:00 p.m.
Princeton Garden Theatre, 160 Nassau Street
Ticket purchase required 

PUL Crafternoon: Roaring 20s Headband
April 10, 2025, 12:30 p.m.
Firestone Library, Discovery Hub
Registration required (For Princeton University Students, Faculty, and Staff only)

Raconteur Radio performance of “The Great Gatsby”
April 22, 2025, 7:00 p.m.
Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street
Registration required

The Great “Catsby”
April 26, 2025, 10:00 a.m.
Cotsen Children's Library, Firestone Library
More information

Friends of Princeton University Library Annual Dinner with Maureen Corrigan, author of “So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures”
April 27, 2025, 6:00 p.m. (Reception at 5:15 p.m.)
The Nassau Club ($125 per person, email [email protected] for more information)

“What’s So Great About ‘The Great Gatsby’?” 
Panel Discussion featuring Maureen Corrigan and Anne Margaret Daniel, editor of F. Scott Fitzgerald's I'd Die for You and Other Lost Stories (2017) and the Norton Library edition of The Great Gatsby (2022); moderated by Alfred Bendixen, Lecturer in Gender and Sexuality Studies
April 28, 2025, 4:30 p.m.
Co-hosted with Labyrinth Books
Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street
Free with registration

After-hours Speakeasy, featuring The Glenn Crytzer Quartet
May 2, 2025, 7:00 p.m.
Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street
Registration opens April 1

Exhibitions

Gatsby at 100: The Author and His Creation digital exhibition (Digital PUL)

Opening February 2025

Arts Council “Gatsby 100” mural (Spring Street, Downtown Princeton)

Opening March 2025

Living Forever: The Archive of the Great Gatsby exhibition (Tiger Tea Room, Firestone Library)

April 2025 – November 2025

Published January 27, 2025

Media contact: Stephanie Oster, Publicity Manager