Meet the Authors!

The Free Library Festival's Bank of America Main Stage hosts some of the biggest names at the event.

On Saturday: Tina Campbell of the urban gospel duo Mary Mary, Edgar Award-winning mystery author Harlan Coben (pictured), Templeton Prize-winning theoretical physicist Paul Davies, controversial biographer Kitty Kelley, and the Man Booker Prize winner Yann Martel. Top the day off with the 2nd annual First Person Inter-City StorySlam and root for our Philly tale spinners!

On Sunday: The inimitable Sapphire, Voices in the Family host Dr. Dan Gottlieb, and NAACP Image Award winner Antowne Fisher. "This Dog's Life" is a panel all about dogs featuring Susannah Charleson, Alexandra Horowitz, and Michael Schaffer.

Just booked: Tommy James--the performer and songwriter who brought us such pop rock classics as "Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," and "I Think We're Alone Now"--joins the Sunday Main Stage line-up!

Looking for more? Check out the full Author Program!

Street Fair & Literary Marketplace

With more than 70 literary exhibitors including bookstores, publishers, cultural organizations, and--of course--authors, the Free Library Festival's Street Fair & Literary Marketplace is the place for for readers to discover new writers and explore what's new in the literary world.

Many exhibitors offer special activities and promotions at the Festival, there will be live performances and events on the Performance Stage in Shakespeare Park, and festival food by Stephen Starr Events and Dietz & Watson.

Storybook Parade
Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 12:00PM
Performance Stage: Shakespeare Park

Join 6-abc's Tamala Edwards for the fourth annual Storybook Parade! Watch 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! 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.

Come tour the many treasures of the Parkway Central Library!

The Beaux-Arts building opened its doors in 1927, and when you see the updated technology in the newly renovated Music Department, you’ll see that we have come a long way! The tour includes a stop in the Children’s Department to see beautiful paintings by the famed local artist N.C. Wyeth, and the Library also showcases a full collection of Children’s Book Week posters, dating back to the 1920s. Enjoy a behind-the-scenes sneak peek in our closed book stacks, and end the tour with visit to our green roof project.

Tours leave from the Main Lobby on the hour from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.; tours run both days.

2010 Festival Artist: Eleanor Grosch

Eleanor Grosch—designer of the theme art for the 2010 Free Library Festival—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 many other illustration and design projects. Eleanor has lived in Philadelphia since 2005, where she runs Pushmepullyou Design.See more of her work at www.pushmepullyoudesign.com. Read more>>

Meet Eleanor at the Festival on Saturday, April 17, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., at the Free Library Tent on Vine Street!