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Photo: John Sterling Ruth/Visit Philadelphia The City of Brotherly Love is also a city of firsts: The Library Company of Philadelphia, founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731, is considered the country’s first public library. Philadelphia was the original capital of the United States. And the American Library Association (ALA) held its inaugural Convention of Librarians […]
Photo: Danielle Tait In early May, bestselling author-illustrator Grace Lin published her first novel in nearly nine years. Based on Chinese folklore, The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) tells the story of an irrepressible stone lion cub and a girl who must open a portal for the spirits. […]
Photo: Mike Brown Acclaimed author Pam Muñoz Ryan has been a fixture of the children’s literature scene for more than 25 years, winning the Pura Belpré Award in 2002 for Esperanza Rising, a Newbery Honor in 2016 for Echo, and the Children’s Literature Legacy Award in 2024. We spoke with Muñoz Ryan about her career […]
Bob the Drag Queen Photo: Rowan Daly Bob the Drag Queen—who won RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2016 and has since starred in other reality shows such as HBO’s We’re Here and Peacock’s Traitors, as well as several comedy specials—released his debut novel this month. Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert (Gallery Books) imagines the iconic abolitionist […]
Photo: Dennis Scully/Visit Phoenix Welcome to the Valley of the Sun, the Big Saguaro, the Silicon Desert. Phoenix is known for its picturesque landscapes, hearty succulents, and scorching heat, but come January 24–27 the city will usher in a different kind of vibrancy and warmth: the community, creativity, and connections of the American Library Association’s […]
Photo: Emily Shur Growing up in remote, rural areas, singer-songwriter Neko Case found that her love of reading provided an escape. In her forthcoming memoir, The Harder I Fight the More I Love You (Hachette, January), she recalls repeatedly flipping through the same October 1972 issue of Mad magazine, poring over her stepdad’s collection of […]
Author-illustrator Vashti Harrison made history this year as the first Black woman to win the Caldecott Medal, which has been awarded since 1938, for her picture book Big. It tells the story of a big girl in a world that celebrates small, tracing her journey to self-love and showing the power of words to both […]
Ada LimónPhoto: Ayna Lorenzo/John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation This October, NASA will launch its Europa Clipper spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa. Engraved into the craft’s side is the poem “In Praise of Mystery” by Ada Limón. As US poet laureate, Limón has created You Are Here, an anthology (Milkweed Editions, […]
Photo: EPNAC Max Greenfield knows that anxieties can keep our mind racing at night. Even the most far-fetched ones. “It’s totally normal to be scared of a shark if you’re in the water and a shark is swimming toward you,” says Greenfield, an actor most known for his roles on sitcoms New Girl and The […]
Kwame Alexander speaks at the 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition. Photo: EPNAC San Diego’s dreamy weather and landscape were no match for the sunny disposition of library workers and advocates reuniting under a shared mission at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition. A total of 13,532 people registered for the event, […]
Connie Chung speaks at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego on June 29. Photo: EPANC Connie Chung has been bringing you the headlines since the late 1960s. As the first Asian American to anchor any news program in the US and the first woman to coanchor the CBS Evening […]
By Megan Bennett | July 24, 2024 Photos: EPANC The weather report at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition, held June 27–July 2 in San Diego, was all smiles. Here are some of the week’s picture-perfect moments. Clockwise from top: Haley White, reference department manager at Springfield-Greene County (Mo.) Library District, takes […]
San Diego’s famously sunny reputation may rest on its Mediterranean climate, but “America’s Finest City” has more to offer than beaches and breezes. As the former stomping ground of Theodor Geisel (also known as Dr. Seuss; see our By the Numbers) and Raymond Chandler—and the place where speculative-fiction stars Kim Stanley Robinson and Cindy Pon […]
Photo: Mark Davis Dave Eggers, a dynamic literary force, is also a passionate, innovative, and generous advocate. The cofounder of 826 National, a network of youth writing and tutoring centers around the country, he also established nonprofit independent publishing company McSweeney’s and is an exceptionally creative and prolific writer. His many books for adults include […]
Photo: Rachel Bright Artist and activist Kathleen Hanna is most known as the lead singer of punk bands Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, and the Julie Ruin. Hanna’s new memoir Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk (Ecco, May) chronicles the challenges and triumphs of her life before, during, and after navigating the male-dominated […]
Dulcé Sloan Photo: Bronson Farr Two decades ago, while Daily Show Senior Correspondent Dulcé Sloan was doing summer shows at a community theater in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, the library was her main hangout spot. In the small town of 9,000 people, it was a place to gather with other young actors—and the only place with internet […]
When poet and writer Hanif Abdurraqib received a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, the foundation observed that he “is forging a new form of cultural criticism, one that is informed by lived experience and offers incisive social and artistic critiques.” This aptly describes A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance (2021), winner of […]
Jesús Trejo often has a full plate—literally and figuratively—when it comes to his career. The comedian and author is the host and executive producer of First We Feast’s Tacos Con Todo web series, where he bites into California’s taco scene alongside other comedians. He acts and writes for the Hulu’s This Fool. Last summer, he […]
Antonia Hylton speaks at the 2024 LibLearnX conference in Baltimore on January 20. Photo: EPNAC NBC News and MSNBC correspondent Antonia Hylton says she became obsessed with the story of Crownsville (Md.) State Hospital when she arrived at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a history student. Hylton spent years doing archival research and building […]
Washington Post columnist Michele Norris (right) speaks with ALA President Emily Drabinski at the opening session of the 2024 LibLearnX conference in Baltimore on January 20. Photo: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries Freezing temperatures in Baltimore could not stop librarians from exchanging hot ideas at the American Library Association’s (ALA) second in-person LibLearnX conference. Held January 19–22, […]
