Freedom to Read Foundation
Fifth Annual Author Event
January 17th, 2010 ~ 6:00 to 8:45pm
Harvard Medical School ~ Countway Library of Medicine ~ 10 Shattuck Street
**NOTE CHANGE OF LOCATION DUE TO BURST PIPES @ COMMUNITY CHURCH OF BOSTON**
Lesléa Newman (
Heather Has Two Mommies) and
Michael Willhoite (
Daddy’s Roommate) will be discussing and signing copies of their groundbreaking books at the Freedom to Read Foundation’s (
FTRF) fifth annual author event, to be held in conjunction with ALA’s
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table Midwinter Social.
The event will be on Sunday, January 17 at Harvard Medical School's Countway Library of Medicine, 10 Shattuck St. as part of ALA’s 2010 Midwinter Meeting. The library is located at the Brigham Circle stop of the Green Line's "E" line, or about a $20 taxi ride from the Convention Center ($12 from the Boston Marriott Copley Place). Thanks to Countway Library for providing space on extremely short notice!
Doors open at 6:00; GLBTRT’s
Stonewall Book Award Ceremony will begin at 7:00; and the authors will speak and sign books beginning at 7:30. Refreshments will be provided.
Donations will be accepted at the door to cover costs and support the Freedom to Read Foundation's
Conable Scholarship Fund, and the GLBTRT is conducting a book drive of “useful and current” titles for GLBT youth to the
Boston GLASS Community Center.
Schedule:
- 6:00 - 7:00pm: Socializing
- 7:00 - 7:30pm: Stonewall Book Award Ceremony
- 7:30 - 8:15pm: Lesléa Newman and Michael Willhoite
- 8:15 - 8:45pm: Book signing and socializing
“Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate” have been two of the most frequently challenged books in the U.S. since they were published 20 years ago. They were among the first children’s books to focus on gay and lesbian parents and have been challenged (jointly and separately) innumerable times, including during the well-publicized “Rainbow Curriculum” controversy in New York City. They were also the subject of a Freedom to Read Foundation court case in Wichita Falls, Texas, in which a federal court overturned a law allowing the “banning by petition” of those books and others.
Newman is the author of 57 books for adults and children. She is currently the poet laureate of Northampton, Mass. A resident of Rhode Island, Willhoite has written and illustrated several other children’s books, including “Daddy’s Wedding” and “Uncle What-Is-It is Coming to Visit!!”