2025 MAVA Conference with Stephanie Williing
2025-11-09 10:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York) | Westin Dulles Hotel, 2520 Wasser Terrace, Herndon, Virginia, 20171, United States
Join Stephanie Willing (WFYP, June 2017) at the Mid Atlantic Voice Over Conference. Stephanie will lead the breakout session: Audiobooks: By the Book: Performances grounded in genre, rooted in text, inspired by you.

In this session, participants will discuss audiobook auditions and listen to brief examples from master narrators in key genres, identify their choices, and then work on excerpts. Attendees will have the opportunity to read and receive feedback from an excerpt of their choice. Options will be provided before the session.

Andrea Wang & Lauren H. Kerstein In Conversation at Boulder Bookstore
2025-11-09 11:30 - 12:30 (America/Denver) | Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St, Boulder, Colorado, 80302, United States
Andrea Wang (WFYP, June 2011) and Lauren H. Kerstein will speak about and sign their new books, Worthy: The Brave and Capable Life of Joseph Pierce, and Hope Rode at Boulder Bookstore. This is a FREE kid’s event, but registration is required.

About Worthy:Worthy is the true story of a man of indomitable spirit. In the mid-nineteenth century, an impoverished father from Canton, China, sold his young son to an American sea captain, Amos Peck. The boy, dubbed “Joe,” worked on the ship for months, not knowing if his fate was to do so forever. Or would he be sold again? When the ship returned to America, Captain Peck brought the young boy to his family, who raised him with the other children. Joe Pierce grew, gave distinguished service in the Union Army, married, had children and ultimately became an American citizen–all at a time when anti-Chinese prejudice was rampant.

About Hope Rode:Following the Great Depression, literacy rates in the country had dwindled, and education and opportunities were harder to come by, especially in areas like rural Appalachia. But still, there was a dream: a vision of a nation in which reading was accessible to all—even those in the most remote places.

The Packhorse Library project of the 1930s and 1940s called upon Kentucky women to make that vision a reality and rise to the difficult and demanding job of delivering books on horseback. The Packhorse librarians were brave, steadfast, and resilient. For years, the women endured rough terrain, harsh conditions, and exhaustion. And with each book delivered and reading lesson taught, the librarians ushered in a new era for Kentuckians.

Hope Rode tells the true story of the strength, courage, and conviction of the Packhorse librarians.

Experiments & Disorders: Readings with L Scully, Patricia Spears Jones, and Heather Lynn Johnson
2025-11-11 19:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street, New York, New York, 10002, United States
Curated by Tom Cole & Christen Clifford, this event features fiction, nonfiction, poetry & performance texts by the most adventurous, cross-genre established & emerging writers. Featured authors include L Scully (Nonfiction, January 2023), Patricia Spears Jones, and Heather Lynn Johnson.

L Scully is a living writer. They are, first and foremost, a lover.

Patricia Spears Jones is an African American poet, anthologist and cultural activist who received the 2017 Jackson Poetry Prize and was appointed The New York State Poet (23-25). She is author of The Beloved Community and ten other collections, and two plays commissioned and produced by Mabou Mines. She edited THINK: Poems for Aretha Franklin Inauguration Day Hat and Ordinary Women: An Anthology of New York City Women Poets. She serves on the board of The Poetry Project, is founder/of the American Poets Congress, is a Senior Fellow Emeritus for the Black Earth Institute and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Hartwick College.

Heather Lynn Johnson (she, they) is an artist and poet living in Brooklyn whose work is characterized by its lyricism and cultural critique. Heather’s formal approach to the narrative, whether visual or poetic, is distinguished by her willingness to lay bare her own existence. Centered around queer and Black American liberation and culture, with an emphasis on outsiders, rebels and lost histories, Heather uses an autobiographical framework and considers their work imbued by their lived experience as a butch Black lesbian. Heather has published poems in the Panorama Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art, Pique Magazine, Pine Magazine, and Facility Magazine. Heather was a co-curator for Queer|Art|Film from 2020-23, the 2019 Leslie-Lohman Museum Fellow, and the 2017 Literary Fellow for Queer|Art|Mentorship. She is also the author of “The Survival Guide For Queer Black Youth” (Inpatient Press, 2017) and received an MFA with honors from the Rhode Island School of Design.

The Goldilocks Strategy: Getting Our Relationship with Bears and Lions Just Right with Tony Eprile and Megan Walla-Murphy
2025-11-13 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Online Event
Join South African novelist and photographer Tony Eprile (Fiction, MFA Writing Faculty) from his home in Vermont in conversation with CLAWS Botswana director, Dr. Andrew Stein, and biologist/tracker, Meghan Walla-Murphy (Nonfiction Alum), as they share their adventures and insights from working with animals such as lions and black bears. Learn first hand from researchers working with dangerous predators and communities that live alongside them how they are using a combination of new technology and indigenous wisdom to coexist.

Tony Eprile is a South African novelist and photographer who lives in Vermont. His novel, “The Persistence of Memory,” was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Dr. Andrew Stein has spent over two decades studying human–carnivore conflict across Africa, working with African wild dogs, lions, leopards, and hyenas in Kenya, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

For over 25 years, Meghan Walla-Murphy has had the good fortune of combining her passions of wildlife, ecology, and indigenous knowledge into work of conservation, advocacy, and outreach.

Young Adult Author Symposium (YAAS) with Kate Fussner
2025-11-15 09:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Concord-Carlisle High School, 500 Walden Street, Concord, Massachusetts, 01742, United States
Do you like to read, write, or draw? Register for this year’s Young Adult Author Symposium (YAAS)! Meet 20 authors and illustrators, including Kate Fussner (WFYP, June 2021), hear about how they created their books, and learn how you can write or draw your own! The Silver Unicorn Bookstore will be on hand selling books. Pizza and baked goods will also be available to purchase.

Poetry Reading with Andrea Ballou
2025-11-16 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Boston University, 775 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
Join Andrea Ballou (Poetry, June 2015) for a poetry reading at Boston University. Open Mic to follow.

2025 NCTE Conference with Jasmine Warga
2025-11-21 12:30 - 13:45 (America/Denver) | Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street, Denver, Colorado, 80202, United States
Join Jasmine Warga (WFYP, June 2013) at the 2025 NCTE Annual Convention for her workshop: Memory Dreaming, Memory Keeping: Collecting, Creating, and Keeping Memories with the Young Folks in Our Lives. This workshop will explore the ways we can better understand ourselves, the students we serve, and the legacies we create by holding dear our memories and elevating our dreams—the good, the bad; the hopeful, the nostalgic. In this session, authors and educators will share ways we collect and keep memories with young people in classrooms across the country.

Sip and Read: Celeste Mohammad
2025-11-22 16:30 - 18:30 (America/Port_of_Spain) | Scribbles and Quills, 6 Gaston Street, Lange Park, Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago
Enjoy an evening of readings and conversation with award-winning author Celeste Mohammed (Fiction, June 2016) for a special Sip & Read event featuring her latest work, Ever Since We Small.Sip, nibble, relax: the ambiance will be cozy, warm, and literary.

Virtual Screening of "Nothing Solid" with Sharisse Zeroonian
2025-11-22 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Online Event
Join director Sharisse Zeroonian (WSS, January 2024) for a screening and discussion of “Nothing Solid”, the world’s first and (so far) only movie about CVS.

NOTE: Recommended for ages 16+

2025 Emerging Playwright Competition with Patricia Lynn
2025-11-22 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Phillips Mill Community Association, 2619 River Road, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 18938, United States
Join Patricia Lynn (WSS, June 2023) for a reading and moderated talkback of her winning play, The Untitled Spinster, at the 2025 Emerging Playwright Competition’s reading of plays.

Book Signing with Kristin Offiler
2025-12-03 16:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Martin House Books, 10 Canal St., Westerly, Rhode Island, 02891, United States
Join Kristin Offiler (Fiction, January 2011) in beautiful, downtown Westerly for the 28th Annual Holiday Stroll! Kristin will be on hand to sign/personalize her new book, The Housewarming, starting at 5 pm.

Poetry Reading with KB Ballentine
2025-12-11 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Neighborly Books, 106 East Broadway Avenue, Maryville, Tennessee, 37804, United States
Join us KB Ballentine (Poetry, June 2007), along with three local poets, for a cozy evening of poetry & conversations at Neighborly Books.

2nd Thursday Poetry Reading with Eileen Cleary & Robbie Gamble
2026-01-08 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Menino Arts Center, 26 Central Avenue, Hyde Park, Massachusetts, 02136, United States
Eileen Cleary (Poetry, June 2016) and Robbie Gamble (Poetry/Nonfiction, January 2017/June 2020) are featured readers at MAC. All readings are free and open to the public with an Open Mic before the featured speakers. Space is limited at the Open Mic, signup starts at 645 pm the night of the reading.

Writing For Healing with Amy Asherah
2026-01-22 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Moorse Institute Library, 14 E Central St, Natick, Massachusetts, 01760, United States
Join poet, writer, and writing instructor Amy Asherah (Nonfiction, January 2023) in this writing workshop, where we will explore the ways our bodies hold onto trauma and how expressing ourselves through writing can help us heal. Sharing your writing with the group is encouraged but not required.

Amy Asherah has used writing as a way of healing for over 30 years, and studied Writing as a Therapeutic Modality at Lesley University, where she received an MFA. Her work has been published in Modern Love (NY Times), Boulevard, CALYX Journal, and other places. She completed two apprenticeships in herbal medicine and co-founded the Common Street Spiritual Center in Natick, MA.

A Tactical Toolbox for Edits & Revision with Michael Mecurio
2026-01-24 13:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
This class will focus on focused revision at the level of language. It’s not about plot or form or structure, but rather about the constituent elements that make up sentences or lines. Students will be offered tactics to employ in the service of sharpening their prose or poems, in strengthening their syntax, and in surprising their readers (and themselves!) There will be resources shared in class for students to take home; nothing will be sent in advance. Students will be asked to bring a short piece of writing that they would like to revise, e.g., 500 words of prose or 1 poem (20 lines or fewer).

Self-Care for Writers with Deanna Richards
2026-02-07 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Fiction or non-fiction, the excavation process of writing can trigger past traumas, reopen old wounds, and just be downright exhausting. In this workshop, you’ll discover how to:

Recognize the signs that writing is taking a toll

Learn techniques to stay present and safe

Develop strategies to process difficult material without burning out

You’ll walk away with practical tools to care for yourself while doing meaningful work—so you can keep writing without sacrificing your wellbeing.

Open to writers of all levels.

Note: This is an experiential workshop. Participants are encouraged to bring special items, wear cozy clothes, light a candle.

Artful Connections: With Ben Keyes and Amy Asherah
2026-02-17 18:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Hopkinton Center for the Arts, 98 Hayden Rowe St, Hopkinton, Massachusetts, 01748, United States
ARTFUL CONNECTIONS is a social justice-lensed event where artists offer music, poetry, readings, and spoken word. Join this month’s co-hosts, Ben Keyes and Amy Asherah (Nonfiction, January 2023), for an evening presentation, performance, and discussion. Guests are welcome to add their words, music, and art to the conversation. Refreshments are available.

This series is a collaboration between the Hopkinton Freedom Team and the Hopkinton Center for the Arts, with support from Riverside Properties, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Hopkinton Cultural Council, and Hopkinton Youth and Family Services.

Ben Keyes grew up in Southborough, Massachusetts. He attended Brown University, where he studied ethnomusicology and later received his Master’s degree in Theology and the Arts from Regent College (Vancouver, B.C.). Ben and his wife Nickaela are now co-directors of the Southborough L’Abri Fellowship, where he cooks for the guests, tutors students, gives lectures, splits wood, and thinks about God and art. They have two daughters and a son.

Amy Asherah is a poet, writer, and writing instructor. Her work has been published in Modern Love (NY Times), Boulevard, CALYX Journal, and other places. Amy completed two apprenticeships in herbal medicine and co-founded the Common Street Spiritual Center in Natick, MA. She is a mother of four daughters.

Book Launch with Cynthia Platt: Bunny in Disguise
2026-02-21 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Whitelam Books, 610 Main Street, Reading, Massachusetts, 01867, United States
Join Whitelam Books to celebrate Cynthia Platt’s (WFYP, June 2014) NEW picture book, Bunny in Disguise!Egg hunt’s starting at high noon!That bunny has to hide eggs soon!We must act now or they’ll be latefor this important Easter date!The Easter Bunny is late! Can a group of creative kids help this iconic rabbit get to the town’s egg hunt in time all while keeping the famous bunny incognito and out of sight? The kids need to work together and hop to it if they’re going to pull this off and save the holiday.

This is a perfectly funny and sweet read-aloud tale to share in every Easter basket!

Longfellow Days: Sunday Reading with Kate Kearns
2026-02-22 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Lancaster Lounge, Moulton Union at Bowdoin College, 6 S Campus Drive, Brunswick, Maine, 04011, United States
Lancaster Lounge, Moulton Union at Bowdoin College

Visit the Lancaster Lounge, Moulton Union at Bowdoin College for the final Longfellow Days Sunday Reading with three Maine poets: Marcia Brown, Marita O’Neil and Kate Kearns (June 2008).

Marcia F. Brown is the author of five books of poetry and the essay collection Well Read, Well Fed ~ A Year of Great Reads and Simple Dishes for Book Groups. Marcia served as Poet Laureate for the City of Portland, ME and co-hosts the monthly Local Buzz Reading Series at The Yarmouth History Center.

Marita O’Neill lives in Portland with her dog, Sweetpea. She received her MFA in Poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has had poems published in the Maine Sunday Telegram’s “Deep Water” series, Maine Public Radio’s “Poems from Here,” Cafe Review, and other magazines. Deerbrook Editions published her new book, Wild Nest, No Prison, last spring.

Kate Kearns is the author of You Are Ruining My Loneliness (Littoral Books, 2023), and a chapbook called How to Love an Introvert (Finishing Line Press, 2015). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Prairie Schooner, Appalachian Review, Common Ground Review, Sugar House Review, Maine Sunday Telegram, Maine Public Radio’s “Poems from Here,” and elsewhere. Kate was a finalist for the 2024 Charles Simic Poetry Prize and the 2024 Maine Postmark Poetry Contest. She earned her MFA from Lesley

Black History Month Author Talk with Saraciea J. Fennell
2026-02-26 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Bronx Library Center, 310 East Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, New York, 10458, United States
Saraciea J. Fennell (WFYP, January 2020) will moderate a panel of adult and children’s authors, highlighting the stories we need to protect and preserve, featuring books on prominent figures, Black history, and a memoir on why it’s critical to prioritize reading in this time.

Saraciea J. Fennell is a Brooklyn born Black Honduran American writer from the Bronx. She is the founder of The Bronx is Reading, and creator of Honduran Garifuna Writers. She is also a book publicist who has worked with many award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors. Fennell board chair for Latinx in Publishing as well as on the Advisory Board of People of Color in Publishing. She lives in the Bronx with her husband, family and black poodle, Oreo. Her nonfiction anthology Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed is available wherever books are sold. Her horror anthology The Black Girl Survives in This One, co-edited with Desiree S. Evans, is available now from Flatiron Books.

NTTBF Festival Day with Jasmine Warga
2026-03-07 09:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Irving Convention Center, 500 W. Las Colinas Blvd, Irving, Texas, 75039, United States
Join Jasmine Warga (WFYP, June 2013) at the North Texas Teen Book Festival, a one-day book festival created to celebrate teen literature from both Middle Grade and YA authors. Jasmine will sign books, meet readers, and discuss books during the event.

Follow NTTBFEST on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram for updates and schedules.

Book of the Year Party with Abbie Harlow
2026-03-07 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Hicklebee’s Bookstore, 1378 Lincoln Ave, San Jose, California, 95125, United States
Abbie Harlow (WFYP, June 2019) will be at Hicklebee’s to celebrate The Butterfly’s Sting. Her debut novel, and the Hicklebee’s YA book of the year, The Butterfly’s Sting is a riveting story of hardship and family ties. Join Abbie for a presentation, reading and book signing!

Author Event with Jasmine Warga
2026-03-08 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago) | Anderson’s Bookshop Naperville, 123 West Jefferson Avenue, Naperville, Illinois, 60540, United States
Join award-winning author Jasmine Warga (WFYP, June 2013) for an author event celebrating the release of The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan. Warga will be in conversation with author John Schu.

Check-in is approximately 30 minutes before the start time. After a presentation and Q&A with the author, the author will sign copies. See the website for details regarding the event format.

Jasmine Warga at Hilltop Branch Library
2026-03-10 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Columbus Metropolitan Library – Hilltop Branch, 511 S. Hague Ave, Columbus, Ohio, 43204, United States
Award-winning author Jasmine Warga (WFYP, June 2013) joins Hilltop Branch Library on tour with her new book, The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan, a moving story about a friendship between a rescue dog and a cheetah.

After the author talk, Jasmine will sign books for attendees. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s Animal Encounter will be at the library during the book signing. Meet a labrador with a very special job–a companion to the cheetahs at the Zoo! Just like Chase, these cheetah companion labradors are an important part of the educational work the zoo does with their animals.

Book Club: Without You Here by Jody Hesler
2026-03-10 18:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Starr Hill Brewery, 946 Grady Ave, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903, United States
Relax, recharge, and connect with other thoughtful moms at Moms Lit Society: Books After Bedtime—a quarterly book club launched by CharlottesvilleFamily Magazine. The upcoming March reading will be Without You Here by Jody Hobbs Hesler (Fiction, June 2017). Thoughtful and emotionally layered, this story beautifully explores how loss reshapes identity and relationships, as well as how we all grapple with mental health, forgiveness, and the ways we carry love forward. Come and discuss the book over a glass of wine or beer.

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Reading with Jasmine Warga
2026-03-11 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 2692 Madison Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45208, United States
Join Jasmine Warga (WFYP, June 2013) in conversation with David Arnold, discussing and signing The Unlikely Tale of Chase & Finnegan.

Book Festival with Jasmine Warga
2026-03-14 10:00 - 15:30 (America/Denver) | University of Arizona, 1200 E University Blvd, Tucson, Arizona, 85721, United States
Join Jasmine Warga (WFYP, June 2013) at the Tucson Festival for Books where she will speak about her new books on two panels: Writing Middle Grade Novels for Today’s Readers and Animal Tales of Rescue, Courage & Connection.

Storytime with Claudia Rueda
2026-03-14 10:30 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | At The Society, 128 East 63rd Street, New York, New York, 10065, United States
Join New York Times Best Seller author and illustrator Claudia Rueda (WFYP, January 2010) for a fun, interactive storytime celebrating the Smushkins! Claudia will share the inspiration behind the Smushkins, offer insights into their unique personalities, and walk through her creative process for the series. All art materials and a copy of the book to be personalized and signed are included.

10-Minute Play Reading with Lisa Kenner Grissom
2026-03-14 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Outside In Theatre, 315 S Ave 55, Los Angeles, California, 90042, United States
The Playwrights Union presents Pies & Plays, featuring a new play by Lisa Kenner Grissom (WSS, June 2013).

Voices of the Americas with Claudia Reuda
2026-03-16 18:30 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Sullaluna Bookstore & Bistrot, 41 Carmine Street, New York City, New York, 10014, United States
Join author Claudia Rueda (WFYP, January 2010) in conversation with Gabriela Adamo (LÍNEAS DEL SUR) for a discussion about Latin American children’s books as they travel from the south to the north of the continent. The conversation invites readers, educators, and librarians to discover the many ways these books can spark dialogue in classrooms, libraries, and homes.
