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Digital Media Spotlight: Pride Month Streaming Film Fest!

Celebrate Pride Month by attending your very own film fest of curated LGBTQIA+ cinema, streaming through our Digital Media portal ! Kanopy There are hundreds of LGBTQAI+ featured films and videos currently streaming , with categories…

Queer Comics About Sports!

I never would have pegged myself as someone who wanted to read about "the sports", but there are some sweet and dramatic comics and graphic novels that have changed my mind about that in the past few years. If you too are…

Add These Books by Young LGBQTIA Authors to Your Pride Reading List!

You can still participate in Pride Month even if you cannot go to a pride parade. There are even ways of participating that avoid pinkwashing or whitewashing of the pride movement. While PRIDE may seem like the furthest thing from your…

The Free Library of Pride Goes Virtual Throughout June 2020!

Though it’s hard to imagine LGBTQ+ Pride month in Philadelphia without being able to gather in person as a community to celebrate, the Free Library is marching online and taking the celebration virtual this year with a month of…

Banned Books Week | LGBTQ+ Tween and Children's Edition

Another year, another Banned Books Week ! Each year the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Most Challenged Books in order to "inform the public about censorship in…

Conversations About Queer and Trans Literature with Author Kacen Callender

In part 2 of interviews conducted around the Trans Writers, Kids, and Books event (you can find our interview with Kyle Lukoff from before the event in an earlier blog post), this time we speak with Lambda and Stonewall Award-winning…

Conversations About Queer and Trans Literature with Picture Book Author Kyle Lukoff

We’re having a really exciting Author Event on the evening of Thursday, July 25 where the topics of discussion will be Trans Writers, Kids, and Books ! Lambda and Stonewall Award-winning author Kacen Callender ( Hurricane Child ,…

Happy Birthday, Frida!

Independence Day isn’t the only famous birthday this week: on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, which is now part of Mexico City, the revolutionary spirit Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon was born in a blue house. If you…

You Can’t Kill a Poet

You Can’t Kill a Poet is a Philadelphia-based reading series for LGBTQ readers which just celebrated its 5th anniversary! The series is held at different locations throughout the city, including Tattooed Mom , South…

New LGBTQ+ Children's Books for 2019!

2019 has been a great year for children’s books so far. We are seeing so many own-voices books, although there is still a long way to go. Some of my favorites from the first half of the year have a common theme—LGBTQ+. I…

The Poetry to the People Tour Is Coming to Philadelphia!

At the Free Library of Philadelphia, we know firsthand that access to books and other media can change lives. The Poetry to the People tour is dedicated to increasing such access—so we’re obviously thrilled to be one of the…

Don’t Be a Drag, Just Be a Queen: Exploring and Celebrating Gender Roleplay in Young Adult Books!

Welcome to another Pride Month, friends! After this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race , I’m sure we're all ready to keep the amazing times rolling with more exploration of performative gender with some rollicking young adult…

Happy Birthday, Barbie and G.I. Joe!

The Barbie doll’s official beau has always been Ken, but to many toy collectors (and some cultural critics ) the real natural counterpart to Barbie has always been G.I. Joe . The two playthings, created within five years of each…

Free Library of Pride | Gender Nonconforming Picture Books

Nonconforming picture books challenge stereotypes: in these books, boys and girls act and behave in a way that feels right to them rather than by conforming to expectations or conventional standards. These picture books encourage…

This Year's GLAAD Media Award Winners Are...

The GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards took place on April 12 in Los Angeles and were broadcast on the LOGOtv network last night. The awards, now in their 29th year, honor the media for their fair,…

Celebrating History's Unsung Creative Couples

On February 7, we opened a new exhibition celebrating the art and achievements of romantic couples, from the powerful royalty of the 16th century to cinema stars of Old Hollywood to local artists creating together today. Of Two…

Dena's Favorite Books of 2017

Every year I read a lot of books. Out of the 339 that I read in 2017, I've picked out the 36 that I liked the best . 2017 was a hard year, and I found myself looking for books that were happy and not particularly difficult or…

#ThrowbackThursday: Re-Reading Annie on My Mind

I don’t remember how I first heard about Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden , but what I do remember is that I immediately set out to get a copy by any means necessary. I was a 16-year-old with a debit card and access to the amazing…

Great YA Road Trip Books for Pride Month!

It's pretty much summer time and I don't know about you, but in the summer, I get the urge to travel. However, being a grown up comes with the fact that you can't just up and take off whenever you want, so I like to make due…

Celebrate Pride Month with Free Library!

We're free, we're proud, and we're fabulous here at the the Free Library! We're proud to celebrate Pride Month throughout June with a series of programming throughout our neighborhood libraries including health seminars,…

Radical Self-care in an Era of Activism: A Virtual Salon

A shared space for self care inspired by the Harlem Renaissance and the life and legacy of Alice Dunbar-Nelson. Join chef Jena Harris and Professor Pysche Williams-Forson for an evening of self care grounded in the salon-style…

VIRTUAL - Salamishah Tillet | In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece

REGISTER HERE In conversation with Errin Haines, founding member and editor at large at The 19th, a new, nonprofit newsroom focused on the intersection of women, politics and policy. Salamishah Tillet is the author of Sites of…

Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Free Library resources in support of the Rosenbach's Digital Exhibition: "I Am an American!" The Authorship and Activism of Alice Dunbar-Nelson

LGBTQ - Romance

Fun and fabulous recent romances that feature LGBTQ+ heroes and heroines! There's everything here to make you smile (and maybe cry) complete with a guaranteed happy ending. Just a note: a significant majority of romances with gay male…

LGBTQ - Fiction

A selection of genre fiction featuring LGBTQ+ characters, including fantasy, historical, horror, paranormal, mystery, thrillers, science fiction, and more!

LGBTQ Young Adult Books

Books featuring LGBTQ protagonists within YA fiction that is diverse and accessible to all readers, no matter what their sexual orientation or gender identity may be.

LGBTQ Middle Grade Books

Books featuring LGBTQ characters and voices within children's fiction.

LGBTQ Picture Books

Books for children of LGBTQ parents, or for little brothers and sisters of LGBTQ teens. Revised 4/2019

LGBTQ Teens - Resources for Parents and Families

Resources for Parents and Families of LGBTQ Teens.

LGBTQ Teens - Nonfiction

Information on bullying, safety, coming out, and other important topics relevant to LGBTQ teens.

LGBTQ - Film and Television

LGBTQ Documentaries, Film, and Television

LGBTQ - Stonewall Book Awards

The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience and include the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s…

LGBTQ - Nonfiction

A selection of informational nonfiction titles.

LGBTQ - Biographies and Autobiographies

Biographies and Autobiographies of important and influential members of LGBTQ community.

Veronica Chambers | Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote

In conversation with: Rachelle Baker, illustrator; Jennifer Harlan, writer; Steffi Walthall, illustrator Veronica Chambers is the editor for Narrative Projects at The New York Times and a co-author of "Finish the Fight!" She joined The…

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio | The Undocumented Americans

In conversation with Andrea González-Ramírez, Senior Writer at GEN and an Ida B. Wells fellow at Type Investigations. Read Ms. González-Ramírez's interview with Karla Cornejo Villavicencio. Originally from Ecuador, Karla Cornejo…

Seanan McGuire | Middlegame and Imaginary Numbers

One of contemporary sci-fi/fantasy’s most popular writers, Seanan McGuire won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards for the Wayward Children series of books. Also the author of, among other books, the October Day series and the InCryptid…

Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez | Legendary Children: The First Decade of Rupaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life

The creators of the immensely popular eponymous blog Tom and Lorenzo , Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez entertain millions of readers a month with their singular perspective on fashion and pop culture. They are frequent guests on…

Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan | Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus

In conversation with Dr. Jen Ashton, Chief Medical Correspondent for ABC News and author of The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier, and Fitter--One Month at a Time A professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia…

Garth Greenwell | Cleanness

In conversation with Carmen Maria Machado, most recently author of In the Dream House “A subtle observer of human interactions” with “an inborn ability to cast a spell” ( New York Times ), Garth Greenwell is the author of What Belongs…

André Aciman | Find Me

In conversation with writer and film critic Gary Kramer André Aciman is the author of the nationwide bestseller Call Me by Your Name , a novel that chronicles the bittersweet love story of a teenage boy and the young academic staying at…

Saeed Jones | How We Fight for Our Lives with Clifford Thompson | What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man’s Blues

Saeed Jones is the author of the “hard and glaring and brilliant” ( NPR Book Review ) poetry collection Prelude to Bruise , winner of the 2015 Stonewall Book Award/Barbara Gittings Literature Award. He is also the co-host of BuzzFeed’s…

Adam Rippon | Beautiful on the Outside

In conversation with award-winning broadcaster, Tracey Matisak The first openly gay U.S. male athlete to win a winter Olympics medal, Adam Rippon earned bronze as part of the figure skating team event at the 2018 games. He was also the…

Gabby Rivera | Juliet Takes a Breath

In conversation with Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak, Shout, Fever 1793, and the Seeds of America trilogy Introduced by the Poet Laureate of Philadelphia, Raquel Salas Rivera The first Latina to write for Marvel…

Jason Baumann | The Stonewall Reader with Mark Segal, Karla Jay and Joel Hall

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the riots that started the fight for American LGBTQ+ rights, The Stonewall Reader highlights some of the movement’s most iconic moments and figures in the years before and after those tumultuous…

Nicole Dennis-Benn | Patsy with Rebecca Makkai | The Great Believers

Here Comes the Sun , Nicole Dennis-Benn ’s debut novel about a young Jamaican struggling to protect her sister and village as she experiences feelings for another woman, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the…

John Waters | Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder

In conversation with Jason Freeman, producer and editor of author events John Waters’s transgressive movies include Pink Flamingos , Hairspray , Cry-Baby , Serial Mom , and Cecil B. Demented . He is also the author of Shock Value…

Richard Blanco | How to Love a Country: Poems

Richard Blanco made history four times at Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration: He was the first immigrant, the first Latino, the youngest person, and the first openly gay person to be the U.S. inaugural poet. Exploring…

Pete Buttigieg | Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future

In conversation with Tamala Edwards , anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition The multifaceted, 36-year-old progressive mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg is a Rhodes Scholar and Harvard graduate. Nearly a decade ago he left…

Feminista Jones | Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets with DaMaris B. Hill | A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing

Social worker, public speaker, community activist, and blogger Feminista Jones is the author of the novel Push the Button and the poetry collection The Secret of Sugar Water . She was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in…