FLP - Philadelphia Book Festival

Just Added! Chelsea Handler

Communications Office — 2010-03-04T15:00:00-05:00

Chelsea Handler--the bestselling author of Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea, stand-up comedian, and the host of Chelsea Lately--will sign copies of her new book Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang at 3:00 PM on Saturday, April 17 at the Festival.

2010 Festival Exhibitors

Communications Office — 2010-03-04T14:52:00-05:00

More than 50 literary exhibitors have already signed on for the Festival's Street Fair & Literary Marketplace! Each week, we'll feature some of the people and organizations you can meet at the fair.

The deadline to register is Friday, March 5! Click here for details!

The Chemical Heritage Foundation
We tell the story of chemistry
The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) is a library, museum, and center for scholars that seeks to foster an understanding of chemistry's impact on society. An independent nonprofit organization, they strive to inspire a passion for chemistry, highlight chemistry's role in meeting current social challenges, and preserve the story of chemistry across centuries. CHF maintains major collections of instruments, fine art, photographs, papers, and books. They host conferences and lectures, support research, offer fellowships, and produce educational materials. Their museum and public programs explore subjects ranging from alchemy to nanotechnology.

The Eagles Book Mobile
Enjoy interactive storybook readings with the Eagles Storybook Man!
The Eagles Book Mobile tackles reading to give children a better field position in their lives. Every summer and fall, the Eagles Book Mobile travels to hundreds of Philadelphia area schools, shelters, libraries, recreation centers, and summer camps. At each site, the Storybook Man reads aloud to children and distributes a free, new book to each child. Come hear the Eagles Storybook Man read and select your own free book at the conclusion of the reading!

Temple University Press
Publisher of scholarly books and Philadelphia regional interest books
Founded in 1969, Temple University Press chose as its inspiration Russell Conwell's vision of the university as a place of educational opportunity for the urban working class; it was one of the first to publish women's studies and ethnic studies books. From scholarly books for the global university community to locally-focused titles about Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, Temple University Press publishes books that encourage readers to gain new perspectives on the world and a greater understanding of the social, cultural, and political forces that unite and divide us.

Exhibitor Registration Deadline: Friday, March 5!

Communications Office — 2010-03-03T13:20:00-05:00

The Free Library Festival's Street Fair & Literary Marketplace is the place for adults and children alike to explore what's new in the literary world by visiting the many bookstores, publishers, cultural organizations, and authors who are on-site to sell books, share their missions, and promote literacy in all its diverse forms. Many exhibitors offer special activities and promotions at the Festival.

Interested in exhibiting? For registration information and forms, visit the Exhibitor Information page.

Attention Authors: Single-day Author Exhibitor spaces are SOLD-OUT as of 3/3/2010. Two-day Author Exhibitor spaces are still available. Registrations are accepted in the order received until spaces are sold-out.

Festival Highlights: Sapphire | Storybook Parade & More | Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!)

Communications Office — 2010-02-26T18:23:00-05:00

Festival Highlights

Sapphire | Push
Main Stage: Sunday, April 18 at 12:00 PM
Sapphire is the author of two collections of poetry, American Dreams and Black Wings & Blind Angels, as well as the brutal, poignant novel, Push. In Push--the basis for the Academy Award nominated film Precious--Precious Jones cannot find a way to make a better life for herself. Physically and emotionally abused by her mother, sexually abused by her father, overweight and illiterate, Precious is saved by an incredibly determined teacher who teaches her to read and shows her the power of telling her own story. The film adaptation won the 2009 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, as well as the Audience Award, and was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards this year, one of which actress Mo'nique won for her role as Precious' mother.

Storybook Parade
Hosted by 6-abc's Tamala Edwards
Performance Stage: Saturday, April 17 at 12:00 PM
Join us as some of your favorite children's book characters--including the Berenstain Bears, Curious George, Corduroy, Skippyjon Jones, Clifford, and Peter Rabbit--come to life at the Free Library Festival Storybook Parade! Meet the characters, hear their stories, and join them in a parade around the Festival grounds. Storybook characters will be on-site all weekend to meet fans and pose for photos.

After the parade, don't miss Skippyjon Jones with his creator, author Judy Schachner at 2:00 PM! And before the parade, at 11:00 AM we're working on a special illustrator draw-off with 2008 Festival Artist Brian Biggs and illustrator Eric Wight. (More details coming soon.)

Jimmy Gownley | Amelia Rules: The Tweenage Guide to Not Being Unpopular
Story Hour Room: Saturday, April 17 at 2:30 PM
Called a "Peanuts for the 21st century" (Comics Buyer's Guide), Jimmy Gownley's Amelia Rules comic book series has been nominated for an impressive eight Eisner Awards and earned the author the 2008 Pennsylvania Library Association's One Book Award. In the latest addition to the series, The Tweenage Guide to Not Being Unpopular, Amelia adjusts to life in a new town after her parent's divorce and navigates her school's social circles as she and her friends attempt to avoid being unpopular. Gownley is also the author of Shades of Gray Comics and Stories and co-founder of Kids Love Comics, an organization dedicated to promoting comic books and graphic novels as tools for literacy.

2010 Festival Exhibitors

Communications Office — 2010-02-26T18:08:00-05:00

2010 Festival Exhibitors
More than 45 literary exhibitors have already signed on for the Festival's Street Fair & Literary Marketplace! Each week, we'll feature some of the people and organizations you can meet at the fair.

Interested in exhibiting? The registration deadline is Friday, March 5. For more information and the application, click here.

Painted Bride Quarterly
Painted Bride Quarterly (PBQ) is one of the country's longest running literary magazines, established in Philadelphia in 1973. PBQ combines the know-how of senior editors with the fresh perspective of interns, and makes certain that no one opinion is superior to the rest, resulting in a unique voice. PBQ operates with a dual city editorial staff in both Philadelphia and New York, where they strive to enrich both communities. At the Festival, Painted Bride Quarterly and Drexel University's booth will feature PBQ as well as faculty-authored books, booth-side readings, and word challenge games for prizes!

The Gettysburg Review
The Gettysburg Review is recognized as one of the country's premier literary journals, publishing the very best contemporary poetry, fiction, essays, and art. Since its debut in 1988, it has featured work by such luminaries as E. L. Doctorow, Rita Dove, James Tate, Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Wilbur, and Donald Hall, with more than 100 short stories, poems, and essays first published in The Gettysburg Review and continuing on to be reprinted in various prize anthologies. An award-winning magazine, The Gettysburg Review's editing, elegant design, and stunning graphics have earned prizes including a Best New Journal award and four Best Journal Design awards from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals, and a PEN/Nora Magid Award for Excellence in Editing.

Jim Zervanos | LOVE Park
LOVE Park, by Jim Zervanos, is a stunning debut novel, which Philadelphia magazine hailed as "Funny, smart, insightful" and selected as a 2009 Beach Book. This (belated) coming-of-age story, of twenty-six-year-old Peter Pappas, is "a love letter to Philadelphia." Jim Zervanos's fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including Philly Fiction, and is forthcoming in the short-story collection Philadelphia Noir. A graduate of the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers, Zervanos lives and teaches in Philadelphia.

2010 Festival Exhibitors

Communications Office — 2010-02-19T12:29:00-05:00

More than 30 literary exhibitors have already signed on for the Festival's Street Fair & Literary Marketplace! Each week, we'll feature some of the people and organizations you can meet at the fair.

Interested in exhibiting? The registration deadline is Friday, March 5. For more information and the application, click here.

Middleway Press
Publishing high quality books that apply the wisdom of Buddhism to daily life
Middleway Press is the publishing division of the non-profit organization, Soka Gakkai International-USA (SGI-USA). They publish high quality books that apply the wisdom of Buddhism to daily life. Their purpose is to introduce a larger audience to the practice of Nichiren Buddhism and the philosophy of SGI President, Daisaku Ikeda. Middleway Press books are available from online booksellers or at fine bookstores everywhere.

Kevin Convery (Saturday only)
The Golden Thread: Reflections on Myth and Memory
Kevin Convery is a Philadelphia writer/artist who has exhibited and published work both in Russia and the United States. In the late 1990s, while working as an art director and illustrator for a series of Russian textbooks, he also produced a photo essay for The World and I magazine entitled "Emerging from the Frost." His recently self-published book, The Golden Thread--Reflections on Myth and Memory, is an intimate and poetic exploration of the symbol world of European myth. It features 30 original paintings in full color, and will be available at the Festival.

Nan S. Russell
Hitting Your Stride and Nibble Your Way to Success
Even a Stanford degree didn't protect Nan Russell from being fired from her first professional job. From minimum wage employee to former QVC Vice President, Nan learned the hard way. Now she's helping others avoid the mistakes she made, sharing real-world perspectives of what does and doesn't work at work. Today she is an award-winning author of two books: Hitting Your Stride and Nibble Your Way to Success, a sought after motivational speaker, and the nationally syndicated radio host of Work Matters with Nan Russell.

Festival Highlights: Inter City StorySlam, Harlan Coben, Judy Schachner

Communications Office — 2010-02-19T12:17:00-05:00

Festival Highlights

First Person Inter-City StorySlam: Philly vs. Washington, D.C.
Main Stage: Saturday, April 17 at 5:00 PM
It's not your mama's StorySlam when the City of Brotherly Love goes head-to-head against the Beltway at the 2nd annual Inter-City StorySlam! Join master storytellers from Philadelphia's First Person Arts as they compete against the talented tale spinners from SpeakeasyDC. They'll be crafting five-minute true stories on the theme "All About My Mother." Last year's Slam against Chicago--which Philly won!--played to a packed house and it's time for round two. Come show your love for Philly's finest raconteurs.

Harlen Coben | Caught
Main Stage: Saturday, April 17 at 1:00 PM
Mystery writer Harlan Coben has won the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award, and the Anthony Award--he is the first author ever to win all three. His books have debuted at no. 1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and his novel Tell No One was adapted into a critically acclaimed French film. The author of more than 37 books, his work includes bestselling novels Long Lost and Hold Tight, as well as the Myron Bolitar mysteries, stories of an ex-basketball star turned sports agent who works part-time as a private investigator. Caught is his latest thriller.

Fun for Families

Judy Schachner | Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice
Performance Stage: Saturday, April 17 at 2:00 PM
Children's book author and illustrator Judy Schachner is creator of the New York Times bestselling series Skippyjon Jones. A loveable Siamese kitten with an overactive imagination, Skippyjon Jones transforms into the Spanish sword-fighting superhero El Skippito and goes on wild adventures with his Chihuahua friends. Together they encounter dinosaurs, explore ancient Egypt, and even visit Mars. Written in a rhyming mixture of Spanish and English, featuring brightly colored illustrations, the Skippyjon Jones series is "ay caramba, mucho fun" (Kirkus Reviews).

Check our some of our 2010 Festival Exhibitors!

Communications Office — 2010-02-16T11:59:00-05:00

More than 20 literary exhibitors have already signed on for the Festival's Street Fair & Literary Marketplace! Each week, we'll feature some of the great people and organizations you can meet at the fair!

Interested in exhibiting? The registration deadline is Friday, March 5. For more information and the application, click here.

Best Fairy Books
Publishing award-winning children's picture books
Best Fairy Books is returning for their third year as an exhibitor, and will be featuring their award-winning books, The Knot Fairy, The Sock Fairy, and The Belly Button Fairy. They will also offer a sneak preview of their upcoming book, The Fart Fairy, and advance orders will be accepted. Special discount prices will be offered at the festival and there will be gifts with each purchase.

L. Thiel Hewlings | Ophelia: In the Beyond
Author L. Thiel Hewlings started her career as a painter. After years in the fine arts, she began writing Ophelia: In the Beyond, the first book in her Ophelia Trilogy. The fantasy follows Ophelia Psiharis, a young girl who comes to discover herself in her struggle to save the mythical land of Cain from destruction. Ms. Hewlings also created a line of hand-painted clothing, Ophelia Wearable Art, based on the book series.

Murphy Writing Seminars
Founded by Peter E. Murphy, a nationally recognized poet and educator, Murphy Writing Seminars offers challenging and supportive workshops for poets, writers and teachers. Workshops include weekend poetry retreats, as well as the upcoming week-long trip "Vision, Valley & Revelation: A Getaway for Poets & Writers in Wales."

2010 Festival Artist: Eleanor Grosch

Communications Office — 2010-01-27T13:58:00-05:00

See that cool image in the sidebar? That is the new 2010 Free Library Festival theme art created by Philadelphia designer Eleanor Grosch!

Eleanor earned early attention from clients with her rock posters for bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, and Sleater Kinney. She has gone on to design pillows for Urban Outfitters, skateboard decks for Alien Workshop, sneakers for Keds, cards and calendars for Chronicle Books, and a multitude of other illustration and design projects. Her distinctive work combines bold, beautiful color combinations and simple geometric shapes inspired by the natural world. Recognized as one of Print magazine’s New Visual Artists of 2008, Eleanor has lived in Philadelphia since 2005, where she runs Pushmepullyou Design.

See more of Eleanor's work at www.pushmepullyoudesign.com. (Click the image in the sidebar for a better view of the poster.)

Find us on Facebook!

Communications Office — 2010-01-27T13:47:00-05:00

Join our Facebook community for more information about Festival authors and events!