Barbara McConnell
Asilomar Weekend
April 17-19, 2026
One of the major events of the year for the Great Books Council of San Francisco is the spring weekend at the Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey, California, titled The Barbara McConnell Weekend at Asilomar in honor of a beloved Great Books leader. During the weekend there are discussions of poetry, a work of nonfiction, a work of theatre and a work of fiction. The beauty of the area is conducive to stimulating discussions and convivial parties.
We return to the beautiful Monterey Peninsula each spring to immerse ourselves in a weekend of provocative readings, engaging discussions and in-person camaraderie!
Save the date! The next edition of the annual Barbara McConnell Great Books Weekend at Asilomar will be on May 17-19, 2026.
Check this site starting in late 2025 for information about the readings that will be discussed and how to register.
During Asilomar weekends in recent years we've discussed the plays Doctor Faustus, A Doll’s House, Nathan the Wise, Lysistrata, and W;t; works of fiction Galactic Pot-Healer, Till We Have Faces, The God of Small Things, Letters From the Earth, and Never Let Me Go; and nonfiction works by Carl Jung, Virginia Woolf, Ayn Rand, Azar Nafisi, and Machiavelli; as well as selected poetry. To see a full list of what's been discussed during our 60+ years at Asilomar, please click this past discussion list.
