Field Family Teen Author Series
The Field Family Teen Author Series promotes a lifetime love of reading by creating a personal connection between author and student.
In addition, students get to know their local Free Library branch, an essential public resource for academic enrichment, recreational reading materials, cultural opportunities, and internet access.
How it Works
The Teen Author Series operates in partnership with Philadelphia high schools and middle schools—public, charter, magnet, and diocesan—and is open to classes in grades 7–12. Participation is by invitation only.
It's Free – no Cost to Schools or Students
- There is no cost to schools or students!
- Each student receives a FREE copy of the visiting author's book to keep!
- The Teen Author Series Outreach Coordinator will visit your classroom to talk about the author's book and deliver copies for each participating student to read in advance.
- Students meet the author for a one-hour presentation and Q&A.
Get Involved
Teachers and school administrators can contact the Teen Author Series Outreach Coordinator at teenauthors@freelibrary.org or 215-686-5372 for information about current opportunities to participate.
Fall 2024 Teen Author Series
Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods
In the new middle grade book The Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods, Grace Lin explores the history, folklore and contemporary culture of such favorites as Peking Duck, wonton soup, dumplings, and fortune cookies. She earned the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, the Theodor Geisel Honor for Ling and Ting, and the Caldecott Honor for A Big Mooncake for Little Star. She was recognized by former President Obama's administration as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling.
This Terrible True Thing: A Visual Novel
Comprised of drawings, journal entries, and a first-person narrative, This Terrible True Thing tells the semi-autobiographical story of Jenny Laden's experiences as a high school senior dealing with her father's HIV-positive diagnosis and death during the 1990s AIDS crisis. Throughout it all, she searches for silver linings, grace, and hope for the future amidst her grief, fear of the unknown, and everyday difficulties that all teens face. Laden is a writer and fine artist based in Philadelphia.
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together (adapted for young readers)
Can the future truly be prosperous for everyone? Perhaps, but only if we address the problems of racial and economic inequality. Heather McGhee's novel The Sum of Us (adapted for young readers) draws from the author's economic policy experience and travels around the country to encourage all people to rethink their attitude toward race in order to create opportunities that benefit everyone. The book was recently adapted as a podcast on the Obama's Higher Ground network.
True Biz: A Novel
A story of political awakening and a tribute to disability rights, Sara Nović's novel True Biz journeys into the lives of a group of students at a boarding school for the Deaf. Three characters—a deaf teen with a faulty implant who has just transferred to the school, a fifth-generation deaf teen and the campus golden boy, and the school's headmistress—navigate monumental life changes, generational pulls, and a massive threat to their very community. Nović teaches in the Fiction MFA program at Emerson College and is an instructor of Deaf studies at Stockton University.
My Mother's War: A Holocaust Survivor's Tribute to an Extraordinary Woman
Michael Fryd was only three years old when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, forcing his family to flee and leave behind everything they knew. His new memoir, My Mother's War, illustrates the nearly unbelievable steps one woman took to save her family from Hitler's clutches. Formerly an award-winning scientist, Fryd lives and writes in Philadelphia.
Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods
In the new middle grade book The Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods, Grace Lin explores the history, folklore and contemporary culture of such favorites as Peking Duck, wonton soup, dumplings, and fortune cookies. She earned the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, the Theodor Geisel Honor for Ling and Ting, and the Caldecott Honor for A Big Mooncake for Little Star. She was recognized by former President Obama's administration as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling.
This Terrible True Thing: A Visual Novel
Comprised of drawings, journal entries, and a first-person narrative, This Terrible True Thing tells the semi-autobiographical story of Jenny Laden's experiences as a high school senior dealing with her father's HIV-positive diagnosis and death during the 1990s AIDS crisis. Throughout it all, she searches for silver linings, grace, and hope for the future amidst her grief, fear of the unknown, and everyday difficulties that all teens face. Laden is a writer and fine artist based in Philadelphia.
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together (adapted for young readers)
Can the future truly be prosperous for everyone? Perhaps, but only if we address the problems of racial and economic inequality. Heather McGhee's novel The Sum of Us (adapted for young readers) draws from the author's economic policy experience and travels around the country to encourage all people to rethink their attitude toward race in order to create opportunities that benefit everyone. The book was recently adapted as a podcast on the Obama's Higher Ground network.
True Biz: A Novel
A story of political awakening and a tribute to disability rights, Sara Nović's novel True Biz journeys into the lives of a group of students at a boarding school for the Deaf. Three characters—a deaf teen with a faulty implant who has just transferred to the school, a fifth-generation deaf teen and the campus golden boy, and the school's headmistress—navigate monumental life changes, generational pulls, and a massive threat to their very community. Nović teaches in the Fiction MFA program at Emerson College and is an instructor of Deaf studies at Stockton University.
My Mother's War: A Holocaust Survivor's Tribute to an Extraordinary Woman
Michael Fryd was only three years old when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, forcing his family to flee and leave behind everything they knew. His new memoir, My Mother's War, illustrates the nearly unbelievable steps one woman took to save her family from Hitler's clutches. Formerly an award-winning scientist, Fryd lives and writes in Philadelphia.
The Field Family Teen Author Series is endowed through a generous grant from the family of Marie and Joseph Field.