10.19.2026
With its deep red cover, bull’s-eye logo and signature thumb notches, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is an American icon. It’s the bestselling hardcover book after the Bible and the stylebook reference for American publishing and journalism. It’s also brand new: the Twelfth Edition combines these iconic elements with revisions based on two decades of online data about how words are used and which words are looked up most–and least. A book-lover’s book in the age of AI-slop, it presents facts about language and usage and tells the truth about words. Join us to hear the history of this dictionary and how the new landmark edition was created, presented by one of its editors.
About the Speaker
Peter Sokolowski is Editor at Large at Merriam-Webster. He has written definitions for many of Merriam-Webster’s dictionaries, is active as a blogger, podcaster, and speaker on language, and has served as pronouncer for spelling bees worldwide. He was named among TIME’s 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2013. His forthcoming book is By Definition: The Surprising History of the English Dictionary, from St. Martin’s Press.