Meet Ocean Vuong, one of our honorees for Literary Lights 2026! Swipe for his full quote.
GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY for the region’s premier literary event, Literary Lights, THIS SUNDAY, April 26, 2026, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Get tickets here 🎟️ https://ow.ly/WMT450YNWyN
This photo features our 2026 Dinner Co-Chair, Natalie Lemle, holding the inspiration for our gala invitation: the Julius and Rosa Waterman Memorial Library Gouache from the Charles J. Connick Studio Records, a Boston Public Library archive preserved and digitized with support from the Associates.
The Associates of the Boston Public Library is excited to share that we have a select number of tickets available for Literary Lights, THIS SUNDAY, April 26, 2026, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Join us for New England's premiere literary event!
https://ow.ly/QTRh50YMRqF
Can't join us? Please donate today to help the Associates provide the resources the Library needs to safeguard our collective history, as represented in the millions of items in its Special Collections, and make it accessible to all.
Donate: host.nxt.blackbaud.com/donor-form?s...
The Associates of the Boston Public Library is excited to share that we have a select number of tickets available for Literary Lights on April 26, 2026, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. @jodipicoult.bsky.social
Book tickets: https://ow.ly/ArpS50YKBlq
Both fellowships are made possible by the generosity of an anonymous investor committed to ensuring writers can earn a living wage. Applications close June 5, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (applicants may only apply for one fellowship), with winners selected through a blind review process.
Over the past 20+ years, the Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence program has had a significant impact on the lives and careers of emerging writers; alumni have published or have forthcoming more than eighty books.
For nearly three decades, Alan Andres was invaluable to the Associates Board, especially through his dedication to the Writer-in-Residence program. After his passing in 2025, the program was renamed in his honor as a tribute to his years of guidance and support.
📖 Alan Andres Picture Book Writer Fellowship: A $25,000 stipend plus $2,500 for professional development to write picture books for ages 0–2 (board books) and 3–8 (picture books and early readers). associatesbpl.org/picturebook
📚 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence: A year-long residency (Oct 2026–Sept 2027) with a $70,000 stipend, $2,500 for professional development, and a private office in the BPL to complete a children’s or YA project (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, or graphic novels). writer-in-residence.org
The Associates of the Boston Public Library is pleased to share that applications for our 2026-27 Alan Andres Writing Fellowships are now open!
“Declarations” is presented in partnership between the Boston Public Library and the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center and made possible by the Irene Haney Creative Enrichment Fund through the BPL Fund.
For the first time ever, the BPL Special Collections’ eight rare printings of the Declaration of Independence are displayed together in the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center, inviting visitors to step into a moment when American independence, and the nation itself, was still taking shape.
Amanda Doyle-Bouvier, Associates Executive Director, Laura Russo, Associates Director of Development, and Betsy Groban and Anita Lincoln, Associates Board Members, were thrilled to be in attendance and take in the story of how the news of independence made its way across North America.
Thank you to the @bplfund.bsky.social for inviting the Associates to the opening of the Boston Public Library’s newest exhibition, “Declarations: Printing a New Nation!”
This time, Pia overcomes her initial hesitation about martial arts and learns to excel at it and love it.
The book has been selected as a Junior Library Guild 🌟Gold Selection🌟 and is now available for presale on amazon and other online retailers: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Pow-fo...
The Associates of the Boston Public Library are proud to celebrate Betsy Groban, our board member and chair of the Alan Andres Writing Programs, on the upcoming publication of Pow for Pia, the second book in her early reader series about the plucky little Pia, on June 23.
Sign up for our mailing list via the link in our bio to stay updated on when applications for the Associates’ Alan Andres Writing Fellowships go live!
visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=5x...
Katy Doughty recently published her graphic novel How to Survive the End of the World, written during her residency, with @candlewickpress.bsky.social. Join Katy for her graphic novel launch, featuring an author talk and signing, at Comicazi on April 11 at 6 PM!
"As a nonfiction writer, I was especially grateful for the treasure trove of research materials I could access. I'll forever treasure my year working in the BPL as one of those most inspiring times of my life as an author/illustrator. " - Katy Doughty, 2021–22 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence
Your gift today will help the Associates provide the resources the Library needs to safeguard our collective history, as represented in the millions of items in its Special Collections, and make it accessible to all.
www.associatesbpl.org/donate/
The Associates’ annual Literary Lights event celebrates New England's literary excellence while raising funds for the preservation of the Boston Public Library’s Special Collections.
youtu.be/iqC2eSx0t7o?...
We are incredibly excited to honor renowned author Gregory Maguire as our Keynote at the 36th Literary Lights!
Congratulations to our 2021-2022 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence, Katy Doughty, for the publication of the graphic novel she wrote during her residency, How to Survive the End of the World.
As a part of their fellowships, the Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence and the Illustrated Children’s Book Fellow have the opportunity to host workshops at the Central Library. Zarlasht Niaz and Jessica Ruan hosted an Art & Poem Book Crafts Workshop at the Children’s Library on March 7! 🌈
✨ Meet the emcee for our 2025 Literary Lights Dinner, Jared Bowen! ✨
Jared Bowen is the Emmy award-winning Executive Arts Editor and host of The Culture Show, a daily radio program and podcast at GBH exploring the creative process.
"The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes, presented by Regie Gibson, was the winner of the Hundred-Year Book Debate of 1926!
▶️ Check out the full program recording on our YouTube: https://youtu.be/mWTcyVZbiFo
Get to know Viv, the Associates-funded Boston Public Library Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts, in our latest YouTube interview! ▶️
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TS5QDXf6x8
Missed the Hundred-Year Book Debate last week? You can now watch the full program on our YouTube Channel! Find out which book won the Hundred-Year Book Debate of 1926! 📚
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWTcyVZbiFo
Thank you to everyone who attended our Hundred-Year Book Debate of 1926 last night! We hope you enjoy these photos from the engaging literary event. Missed it? Stay tuned for the full event recording coming soon on YouTube!
Photos by: Z Weber