Explore: Author Events

Tagged Author Events

Author Events Upcoming Spring and Summer Highlights

The Free Library’s Author Events program recently added numerous events to its spring and summer lineups. Here are ten events we’re excited about — along with some accompanying media: Karen…

19th Century True Crime at the Free Library

From classics like In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter to recent bestsellers like In Light of All Darkness and If You Tell , readers love true crime. In addition to generating chills and thrills, a good true crime account sheds light on…

Compelling Black Stories from the Free Library Podcast

The Free Library's podcast archive dates back more than 25 years and features scores of author talks to help you commemorate, celebrate, and reflect on Black History Month . Even in just this last year, we’ve hosted an…

Upcoming Author Events for Winter/Spring 2024

As we dash into 2024, the Free Library is looking forward to another season of its venerable Author Events series. Brave the cold and warm up with a red-hot slate of talks by some of today’s leading novelists, memoirists,…

10 Free Library Podcast Episodes Perfect for Thanksgiving

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, we present a curated collection of podcasts from our Author Events series archive. Thanksgiving is often traditionally associated with America’s indigenous peoples, but what is the real…

Elevate Your Writing: 10 Author Events Podcasts Perfect for NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month. That’s right, the goal is to write a whole novel in a month. For more information about National Novel Writing Month, check out NaNoWriMo.org . While the very idea of writing a whole…

5 Author Events To Catch This September

While it’s a bit of a bummer that summer is drawing to a close, we’re happy to welcome in some cooler weather alongside a brisk fall season of Free Library Author Events. And what a lineup we have! Let’s take an autumn…

Enjoy These Free Library Author Events Podcast "Beach Reads"

It’s summer, and whether you’re lying in a hammock, soaking up the sun at the beach, taking a road trip, or — and we hope this isn’t the case — taking SEPTA to work, it’s the perfect time of year to…

Check Out Our Immigrant Heritage Month Author Events YouTube Playlist

June is Immigrant Heritage Month , and you can celebrate the extraordinary, far-reaching, and diverse contributions immigrants have woven into the American tapestry through this curated video playlist on our author…

The Big Send Off of One Book, One Philadelphia

Thursday, June 22 marks the finale of One Book, One Philadelphia and we over here in the One Book office are working up the nerve to say goodbye to this incredible season of events. After nine weeks of community workshops,…

Bryn Ziegler's Don’t Look Into The Abyss and Other Philadelphia Comics

The Art Department is thrilled to host the launch of Don’t Look Into The Abyss , a new graphic novel illustrated and published by Bryn Ziegler . Ziegler is a book and comic artist specializing in intimate,…

Honoring Juneteenth at the Free Library

Honor Juneteenth with the Free Library of Philadelphia! This year, we celebrate Juneteenth for the third time as a federal holiday, but it has been an important celebration for nearly 200 years! Juneteenth is the oldest known…

LGBTQ+ Authors on the Free Library Podcast

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month and the Free Library’s Author Events program has an extensive archive of podcasts and videos to help you celebrate a diverse range of writers working across a wide array of topics and fields. Before we…

AAPI Experiences: Podcasts From Past Author Events

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month , and you can celebrate the heritage, contributions, and writings of these diverse peoples through the Free Library’s Author Events audio podcast and YouTube video archives.…

Observe Women’s History Month With the Free Library Podcast

March is Women's History Month and the Free Library Author Events podcast page and YouTube channel have scores of aptly themed book talks. To start you on your way, here are TEN favorites from just this last year. Everything from…

5 Upcoming Author Events for Women's History Month

March is National Women’s History Month , and the Free Library’s author events series will feature five related authors who are making history in literary fiction, the business world, medicine, social justice, and more!…

Celebrating Black Voices with the Free Library Podcast

It’s Black History Month and the Free Library has an extensive archive of podcasts and videos to help you celebrate a diverse range of writers working in politics, fiction, food, poetry, religion, memoirs, sports, and much more.…

Six Upcoming Black History Month Author Events at the Free Library

February is Black History Month and, as we do throughout the year, the Free Library’s Author Events series is excited to celebrate diverse voices, viewpoints, and topics. This includes the story of one Black Philadelphian…

The One Book, One Philadelphia Kickoff Is Upon Us!

It's the eve of the 20th season of One Book, One Philadelphia , and the opening event is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m., featuring a conversation with Quiara Alegría…

Black Authors and Voices: Podcasts from the Author Events Archive

Our podcast archive dates back more than 25 years and features scores of author talks to help you commemorate, celebrate, and reflect on Black History Month. But even in just this past year, we’ve hosted an incredible variety of…

Imagine More Story Adventures with Thembi Palmer

Join the ever amazing Thembi Palmer of Imagine More: Story Adventures for a fantastic story time! Thembi Palmer is committed to promoting literacy by developing a love of reading and books in young children, pre-K through 4th grade. She…

Imagine More Story Adventures with Thembi Palmer

Author Visit: Essence Vance

Join us for a workshop by motivational speaker Essence Vance, author of "Layers of a Single Mother: My Past is not my Present." Learn how to heal from childhood trauma and open doors to a brighter future. Books will be…

Tom McGrath | Triumph of the Yuppies: America, the Eighties, and the Creation of an Unequal Nation

REGISTER In conversation with Will Bunch, National Columnist, The Philadelphia Inquirer The former editor-in-chief of Philadelphia magazine, Tom McGrath also served as chief content officer of Metro Corp., the parent company of…

Ari Berman | Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People―and the Fight to Resist It

REGISTER In conversation with Neil Makhija The national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones and a reporting fellow at Type Media Center, Ari Berman is the author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern…

Joseph Earl Thomas | God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer: A Novel with John Vercher | Devil is Fine: A Novel

REGISTER Joseph Earl Thomas “constructed a sort of alchemy on the page” ( The New York Times Book Review ) with his first book Sink , a coming-of-age memoir that chronicles the author’s escape…

Rachel Cusk | Parade: A Novel

TICKETS In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6abc Action News morning edition. Rachel Cusk is the author of the Outline trilogy, a “brilliant, insightful” ( The Guardian ) series of experimental…

Steven Rowley | The Guncle Abroad

REGISTER In conversation with Katie Fulton Steven Rowley is the author of the bestselling novel The Guncle, the “wise and hilarious” ( People ) story of a has-been gay sitcom star who steps up to help his…

Imagine More Story Adventures with Thembi Palmer

Rev. William J. Barber II | White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED IN ORDER TO ATTEND THIS EVENT In conversation with Matthew Desmond A Protestant minister, professor, social activist, and founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity…

Julian Randall | The Dead Don’t Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Shit

REGISTER In conversation with Kirwyn Sutherland Julian Randall is the author of the poetry collection Refuse , winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize and a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. He was a contributor to the no.…

Garth Risk Hallberg | The Second Coming: A Novel

REGISTER A panoramic pastiche of figures who are forever changed in the darkness of an infamous 1977 power blackout, Garth Risk Hallberg’s debut novel City on Fire was a New York Times bestseller,…

Mark Harman (Centenary Celebration) | Kafka: Selected Stories

REGISTER Mark Harman gained public recognition for his 1998 translation of Franz Kafka's The Castle , for which he won the Lois Roth Award of the Modern Language Association. Professor Emeritus of German and English…

Meet Kah Yangni! Illustrator Visit

Join us for a special visit with local artist and children's book illustrator Kah Yangni, who will share their books and talk about their creative process! Kah is the illustrator of The Making of Butterflies and Not He or She,…

Meet Kah Yangni! Illustrator Visit

Free Library of Philadelphia Podcasts

Jen Psaki | Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World

In conversation with Annie Duke An “unflappable and genial point-person” ( The New York Times ), Jen Psaki served as the thirty-fourth White House Press Secretary under President Biden until May 2022. Currently the host of MSNBC’s…

Frank Bruni | The Age of Grievance

In conversation with Karen Heller, former national features writer and current contributor for The Washington Post, formerly a metro and features columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in…

Erik Larson | The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

In conversation with award winning broadcaster and journalist, Tracey Matisak. “America’s most compelling popular historian” (The Christian Science Monitor) , Erik Larson is the bestselling author of eight critically acclaimed books,…

Dasha Kiper | Travelers to Unimaginable Lands: Stories of Dementia, the Caregivers, and the Human Brain

In conversation with Dr. Jason Karlawish In partnership with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society The clinical consulting director of support groups at The CaringKind (formerly The Alzheimer's Association), Dasha Kiper has an MA in…

Amy Tan | The Backyard Bird Chronicles

In conversation with Beth Kephart A “master of illusion, and one of the best storytellers around” (NPR), Amy Tan is the author of the beloved novels The Joy Luck Club , a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book…

Bakari Sellers | The Moment: Thoughts on the Race Reckoning That Wasn't and How We All Can Move Forward Now

In 2006, Bakari Sellers defeated a twenty-six-year incumbent State Representative to become the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and the youngest African American elected official in the nation. The state’s 2014…

David E. Sanger | New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West

In conversation with Robert E. Hamilton, Head of Eurasia Research - Eurasia Program, Foreign Policy Research Institute Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Endowed Lecture The White House and national security correspondent for The New York…

R. Jisung Park | Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of a Warming World

In conversation with Patrick Behrer, Research Economist, Development Economics, World Bank How the subtle but significant consequences of a hotter planet have already begun—from lower test scores to higher crime rates—and how we might…

Dennis Yi Tenen | Literary Theory for Robots: How Computers Learned to Write

Dennis Yi Tenen is an associate professor of English at Columbia University, where he also serves as co-director of the Center for Comparative Media. Affiliated with Columbia’s Data Science Institute, he is a former fellow at the…

Tricia Rose | Metaracism: How Systemic Racism Devastates Black Lives—and How We Break Free

In conversation with award-winning journalist and broadcaster Tracey Matisak Acclaimed for her study of the intersections of pop music, contemporary Black U.S. culture, and sex and gender, sociologist Tricia Rose is the author of…

Lydia Millet | We Loved it All: A Memory of Life

Praised for her “darkly funny and painfully sharp” ( Los Angeles Times ) fiction, Lydia Millet is the author of the novel A Children’s Bible , shortlisted for the National Book Award and a New York Times Top 10 book of 2020; the…

Stacey Abrams | Rogue Justice: A Thriller

In conversation with award-winning journalist and broadcaster, Tracey Matisak Introduced by State Rep. Donna Bullock Stacey Abrams is the Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics at Howard University. After serving…

Julia Alvarez | The Cemetery of Untold Stories: A Novel

Barbara Gohn Day Memorial Lecture In conversation with Rebeca L. Hey-Colón, Professor of Latinx Studies, Temple University Awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Obama in 2013, poet, essayist, and fiction writer Julia Alvarez…

Sloane Crosley | Grief is for People

“A fountain of observations” ( The Boston Globe ), Sloane Crosley is the author of three New York Times bestselling essay collections, How Did You Get This Number, Look Alive Out There, and I Was Told There’d Be Cake , which was a…

M. Nzadi Keita | Migration Letters: Poems

In conversation with Herman Beavers M. Nzadi Keita is the author of the poetry collection Brief Evidence of Heaven , a finalist for the Phillis Wheatley Poetry Prize that explored the life of Anna Murray Douglass, Frederick Douglass’…

Fareed Zakaria | Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present

Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture Fareed Zakaria is the host of CNN’s flagship domestic and international affairs program Fareed Zakaria GPS , which has aired around the world since its debut in 2008. Also a weekly columnist for…

Hanif Abdurraqib | There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

In conversation with Airea Dee Matthews Hanif Abdurraqib is the author of A Little Devil in America , a sweeping look at Black music, art, and culture that won the Carnegie Medal and the Gordon Burns Prize and was a finalist for the…

Rahul Mehta | Feeding the Ghosts: Poems

Rahul Mehta’s debut poetry collection, Feeding the Ghosts , explores the solace to be found in the everyday beauty sometimes overshadowed by larger calamity, as well as the author’s identities, relationships, and culture. Also the…

Rebecca Serle | Expiration Dates: A Novel

In conversation with Jo Piazza Acclaimed for her “knack for writing beautiful stories that speak to the anxiety of forging a new road for oneself” (Bustle), Rebecca Serle is the New York Times bestselling author of One Italian Summer,…

Jenny Jackson | Pineapple Street: A Novel

In conversation with Lexy Bloom “A delicious new Gilded Age family drama—almost a satire—set in the leafy enclaves of Brooklyn Heights” ( Vogue ), Jenny Jackson’s Pineapple Street tells the story of three women navigating the shoals…