Our Spring 2018 Author Events schedule begins in just a few short days and we have some amazing authors coming to the Free Library including political commentators, poets, social activists, physicians, economists, historians, educators, philosophers, as well as our usual roundup of award-winning and bestselling fiction, nonfiction, and children's book authors!

Spring 2018 Ticketed Events are on sale now! Order online or by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX (4849).

Here are some must-see authors and personalities to check out at Parkway Central Library over the next few months...

January
This year's One Book, One Philadelphia selection is Jacqueline Woodson's "beautifully lyrical" and "powerfully insightful" coming-of-age novel Another Brooklyn. She will be visiting the library for an evening of conversation, reading, and performance to kick off the 16th year of One Book, One Philadelphia on January 17. To add the many awards and accolades already bestowed upon the author, Woodson was just recently named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature!

Something everyone of could use more of in their lives is love. Newbery Medal-winning author and Caldecott Honor recipient Matt de la Peña and New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long have created a heartfelt and poetic picture book which is sure to become a treasured tale for years to come. The duo will speak during a special all-ages afternoon Author Event on January 27.

February
It's rare that the author and their subject get to sit in the same room together and discuss the work of literature they are both a part of. Best-selling author Dave Eggers will speak one-on-one with Mokhtar Alkhanshali on February 12 concerning the harrowing, true-life narrative, The Monk of Mokha. Alkhanshali's incredible journey from California to coffee to chaos is a story of history, adventure, and following one's dreams against all odds.

Michio Kaku's February 27 appearance plans to be a truly out of this world event, as the theoretical physicist, futurist, and co-founder of String Field Theory, peers beyond the frontiers of science at a hopeful vision of the human civilization's future among the stars. His newest books spells it out in no uncertain terms: The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth.

March
We're hosting terrific transgender trailblazer Sarah McBride and her story of love, loss, heroism, and equality on March 7. As one of the first transgender people to work at the White House, she helped influence the Obama administration’s stances on trans issues, served as an aide to Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, and currently serves as National Press Secretary at the Human Rights Campaign.

We'll enter into the Wu-Tang on March 8 with one of the legendary hip-hop groups founders, Lamont “U-God” Hawkins, as he talks about his journey of growing up in the rough and raw New York City of the 70s and 80s to forming one of the best-selling and influential rap groups in the history of music.

April
Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith will be visiting the Free Library on April 5. Her latest collection of poetry ties the truths of America’s present to its fraught founding history. Below Smith recommends some recent poetry that she has read and that you should check out.

Returning since his first and only appearance at the Free Library back in 2012, award-winning author Junot Díaz will discuss his newest work—Islandborn, his first foray into children's books—on April 7. Díaz discusses his love of comic books below, something surely helping to inform his new book with its vibrantly colorful illustrations and story centered on the power of imagination.

If you like what you hear above, you can browse, download, stream, and listen to more than 1,600 Author Event podcasts from our extensive archive!

You can always keep up to date on future Free Library Author Events by signing up for our email list, following us on social media via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and by subscribing to Author Event Podcasts via iTunes.

And don't forget you can stream Author Event podcasts directly from our website with our streaming player, watch Livestream videos of past Author Events, and go backstage and behind-the-scenes with our newest video series 20th & Vine!