Adam Rutherford | Humanimal: How Homo sapiens Became Nature’s Most Paradoxical Creature A New Evolutionary History

Thu, March 21, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

“A heady amalgam of science, history, a little bit of anthropology and plenty of nuanced, captivating storytelling” ( The New York Times Book Review ), Adam Rutherford’s A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived delves into the ages-spanning story of our species through the…

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Albert Woodfox | Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solitary Confinement. My Story of Transformation and Hope

Tue, March 26, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $15.00
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In conversation with award-winning journalist Tracey Matisak. Falsely accused and convicted of a 1972 robbery in which a white guard was killed, Albert Woodfox served more than four decades in solitary confinement in Louisiana’s notoriously brutal Angola prison. Finding solidarity and…

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Nathan Englander | Kaddish.com with Thomas Mallon | Landfall

Wed, March 27, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $15.00
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Nathan Englander is the author of the story collections For the Relief of Unbearable Urges and What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank , a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. In addition to his widely anthologized short…

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Cecile Richards | Make Trouble: Stand Up, Speak Out, and Find the Courage to Lead—My Life Story

Thu, March 28, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $41/$26 couple + book/single + book
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Couples Ticket In conversation with Tamala Edwards , anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition A “heroine of the resistance” ( Vogue ), Cecile Richards was the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018. The daughter…

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Amy Hempel | POSTPONED UNTIL AUGUST 6, 2019

Mon, April 1, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

“Among the strongest voices in American fiction” ( Los Angeles Times ), writer’s writer Amy Hempel is the author of the acclaimed short story collections Reasons to Live , At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom , Tumble Home , and The Dog of the Marriage . Her articles, essays, and…

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Galactic Philadelphia Speculative Fiction Reading Series | Sarah Beth Durst and Paul Levinson

Tue, April 2, 2019 7:00 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

Room 405/406/407 Sarah Beth Durst is the award-winning author of eighteen fantasy books for adults, teens, and kids, including The Queens of Renthia series, Drink Slay Love, and The Stone Girl’s Story. She won an ALA Alex Award and a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and has been a finalist for…

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Barry Lopez | Horizon

Tue, April 2, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

Barry Lopez won the National Book Award for Arctic Dreams , a “rich, abundant, vigorously composed” ( Boston Globe ) meditation on his travels in the barren but beautiful far North. His other work includes Of Wolves and Men , Crow and Weasel , and Resistance . Texas Tech…

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Authors Up Close: Austin Kleon at Philadelphia Brewing Co.

Wed, April 3, 2019 6:00 P.M.
Philadelphia Brewing Co. 2440 Frankford Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19125

Cost: FREE

"I’m a writer who draws. I make art with words and books with pictures." Join New York Times bestselling author Austin Kleon as he launches his new book, Keep Going , a guide to staying creative in good times and bad. Kleon's books, including Steal Like An Artist and…

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Valerie Jarrett | Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward

Wed, April 3, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $50/$35 couple + book/single + book
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AUDITORIUM SOLD OUT. IN-HOUSE SIMULCAST TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE. Couples Ticket “The ultimate Obama insider” ( New York Times ), Valerie Jarrett was the longest serving advisor in the 44th President’s administration. Born in Iran and raised in 1960s Chicago, Jarrett originally…

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Michael Dobbs | The Unwanted: America, Auschwitz, and a Village Caught In Between

Thu, April 4, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

A longtime foreign correspondent for The Washington Post , Michael Dobbs reported on some of the most important events of our time. His many books include Down with Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet Empire , Saboteurs: The Nazi Raid on America , and One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev,…

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Robert A. Caro | Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing

Mon, April 8, 2019 12:00 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $15.00
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In conversation with Dick Polman , "Writer in Residence" at the University of Pennsylvania, national political columnist at WHYY News and contributor to The Atlantic Standing at “the summit of American historical writing” ( Washington Post ), Robert Caro is the author of…

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Dave Barry | Lessons from Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog

Mon, April 8, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $15.00
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A 30-year writer at the Miami Herald whose column was syndicated in more than 500 newspapers, humorist Dave Barry won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1988. His more than 30 New York Times bestselling books include I’ll Mature When I’m Dead , Insane City , You Can Date When…

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Richard Blanco | How to Love a Country: Poems

Tue, April 9, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $15.00
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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 heritage and identity, his poetry collections include City…

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Kwame Onwuachi | Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir

Wed, April 10, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

A former Top Chef star, the executive chef at Washington D.C.’s popular Kith and Kin, and a Forbes and Zagat’s 30 Under 30 honoree, Kwame Onwuachi  is one of America’s most acclaimed young culinary personalities. Raised in the Bronx and Nigeria, he started a catering…

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Patricia Marx and Roz Chast | Why Don't You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It?: A Mother's Suggestions

Thu, April 11, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $43/$28 couple + book/single + book
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Couples Ticket A 30-year contributor to The New Yorker , Patricia Marx is the author of several books including Starting From Happy and Him Her Him Again the End of Him , both of which were Thurber Prize finalists. A former writer for Saturday Night Live and Rugrats , she has taught…

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Philly Loves Romance | J.R. Wesley and USA Today Bestselling Author Connor Peterson co-writing as P.W. Davies | Rachell Nichole | Jacqueline Jayne

Sun, April 14, 2019 2:00 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

First Floor Heim Center - Room 131   J.R. Wesley and USA Today Bestselling Author Connor Peterson co-writing as P.W. Davies J.R. Wesley is one half of P.W. Davies, usually the one ironing out plot points, tracking character arcs, and wringing hands over word counts. They produce stories…

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Mary Norris | Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen

Mon, April 15, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $15.00
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“A rollicking adventure into the origins of the apostrophe, the proliferation of profanity in American culture, and everything in between” ( San Francisco Chronicle ), Mary Norris’s bestselling Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen was a raucous, cheery memoir about…

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Bill McKibben | Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?

Tue, April 16, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $15.00
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“The world’s best green journalist” ( Time ), Bill McKibben gave one of the earliest cautions about global warming with his 1989 book The End of Nature . His many other bestselling books about the environment include Deep Economy , Eaarth , and Oil and Honey ; as well as a…

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Emily Bazelon | Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration

Thu, April 18, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

Emily Bazelon is the author of Sticks and Stones , “a humane and closely reported exploration” ( Wall Street Journal ) of school bullying and the empathetic steps students, parents, and teachers can take to mitigate this cruel phenomenon. A staff writer at The New York Times Magazine…

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Janny Scott | The Beneficiary: Fortune, Misfortune, and the Story of My Father

Mon, April 22, 2019 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

Janny Scott, a 15-year reporter for The New York Times , was part of a team that won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. She is also the author of the “meticulous” ( Washington Post ) biography A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother . She is the…

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