Philadelphia's Literary Legacy: now up at the Philadelphia International Airport

My dear friend Mike Cola—former president at Shire, bird lover, nest finder, renaissance kind of guy—wrote yesterday to say that, upon passing through the Philadelphia International Airport, he had found my book looking back at him.

I could not be more stunned, nor more grateful, to be one of the fifty authors included. I look forward to the official unveiling next Tuesday morning with my city's mayor, the head of the Free Library, and others. I think I'll have to get my hair done.

The official release:

Philadelphia’s Literary Legacy:

Selected Authors, Playwrights, and Poets –

From Writers of the Declaration of Independence to Present Day

In Partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia

Terminal A-East, ticketed passengers

Since the writing of the nation's Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Philadelphia has been home to many celebrated authors. This exhibition is a visual overview of Philadelphia's rich literary past and present. Given the theme, librarians from the Free Library of Philadelphia were invited to select 50 authors, playwrights, and poets from various eras and genres that represent the breadth of the region’s literary creativity. 

The Philadelphia area is proud to have nurtured literary excellence since the birth of the nation with authors like Charles Brockden Brown, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine to 19^th century writers such as Louisa May Alcott, W.E.B. DuBois, George Lippard, and Owen Wister. The Philadelphia region has continued to foster modern authors including Lloyd Alexander, Pearl S. Buck, Margaret Mead, and James Michener  to today’s contemporary authors, playwrights, poets, and children’s book illustrators including the world renowned Berenstain’s, Sandra Boynton, Lorene Cary, Noam Chomsky, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Solomon Jones, Ken Kalfus, Sonia Sanchez, Lisa Scottoline, Jennifer Weiner, and David Wiesner.

All of the authors represented in the exhibition are award-winning, best-selling writers. Collectively, their literary achievements include the Nobel Prize for Literature, Pulitzer Prizes for Literature, Pulitzer Prizes for Drama, Caldecott Medals for the year’s most distinguished American picture book for children, and Newbery Medals for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

From romance novels, historical novels, urban fiction, and journalism to science fiction, Gothic fiction, young adult fiction, children’s book illustration, comics, and books about linguistics, civil rights, and anthropology -- these 50 authors exemplify Philadelphia’s diverse literary legacy and continued contributions to the regional, national, and international literary culture.