PBS Books

Irma Boom - Boom Books | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2024-11-01 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Detroit)
Irma Boom, commonly referred to as the “Queen of Books,” is a book maker based in Amsterdam. She redefines the boundaries of book design with her bold, experimental approach. Educated in fine art and graphic design at AKI Art Academy, Boom began her career at the Dutch Government Publishing and Printing Office before founding Irma Boom Office in 1991. With a portfolio of over 500 books, she seamlessly blends design and editorial work, challenging traditional conventions in both physical form and printed content. Notable among her projects is the 2136-page SHV Thing Book, a monumental work published in English and Chinese.
Boom makes use of various fabrication processes in her printed material such as embossing and die cuts. In her commissioned book for Chanel, Boom printed an entire 300 page book devoid of ink, using instead embossed text and image to create a semi-invisible narrative of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Scent is another unusual feature Boom has utilized in her book design. Her conceptual book design for The Road Not Taken has 718 pages printed using ink mixed with a base of beef bouillon. Coffee filter paper is another material choice she has used.
Boom’s innovative designs have earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Gutenberg Prize, making her the youngest ever laureate. Her works are part of permanent collections at institutions such as MoMA in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Her complete oeuvre and archive are preserved in the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam, known as the living Archive. In 2014 Boom received the Johannes Vermeer Award (the Dutch state prize for the arts) from the Minister of Education, Culture and Science. The jury unanimously awarded Boom for her unparalleled achievements in the field of graphic design. Boom is an honorary Doctor of the Royal College of Art in London for her inexhaustible contribution to the book.
Presented in partnership with Design Core Detroit and the UM Library.
Learn More>>

The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

Filmmaker Talk with Sarah Burns - Leonardo
2024-11-06 20:00 - 21:00
Program Descripton:
LEONARDO da VINCI, a new, two-part, four-hour documentary directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon premieres on Nov. 18 and 19, between 8-10 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS App. The film explores the life and work of the 15th century polymath Leonardo da Vinci and looks at how the artist influenced and inspired future generations. The film finds in da Vinci’s soaring imagination and profound intellect the foundation for a conversation we are still having today: what is our relationship with nature and what does it mean to be human.
Set against the rich and dynamic backdrop of Renaissance Italy at a time of skepticism and freethinking, regional war and religious upheaval, LEONARDO da VINCI brings the artist’s towering achievements to life through his prolific notebooks, primary and secondary accounts of his life, and on-camera interviews with modern scholars, artists, engineers, inventors, and admirers.
Booklists:
Fiction
Nonfiction
Youth

Emil Ferris - If Your Favorite Thing is Monsters | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2024-11-08 20:00 - 21:00
Emil Ferris, acclaimed for her graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, blends visual art with storytelling to create impactful works. Overcoming the West Nile Virus, which left her partially paralyzed, Ferris demonstrates remarkable resilience and dedication in her intricate cross-hatching and emotionally charged illustrations.
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters intertwines a coming-of-age story with a murder mystery and a historical reflection on the Holocaust. Through young Karen Reyes, Ferris delves into themes of identity, fear, and the complexities of humanity. Her art, inspired by horror magazines and pulp fiction, juxtaposes the grotesque and the beautiful, fostering empathy and understanding.
Ferris challenges the boundaries of graphic literature, using the medium to address complex social issues and personal histories. Her work confronts internal and external monsters, revealing profound truths about the human experience. By pushing the limits of graphic novels, Ferris elevates the form to explore deeper narratives and emotional landscapes, inviting readers into a world where art and story are inseparable.
Ferris’s contributions extend beyond her graphic novels. In April 2022, Ferris was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to Operation USA’s benefit anthology book, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded by editor Scott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
My Favorite Thing is Monsters has been translated into French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, and Korean. It has been honored with numerous awards, among them: The Lambda Literary Award, multiple Eisners, the Ignatz, and the Fauve d’or at the Angouleme Festival, France.
Ferris has exhibited her art extensively in the US and Europe, and prior to the pandemic she was honored to teach classes at the Louvre.
Learn More>>

The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

Author Talk with Ned Blackhawk - The Rediscovery of America
2024-11-13 20:00 - 21:00
Commemorating Native American Heritage Month, it is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages and stories of Native American communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive. This month and every month, we aim to celebrate the culture and heritage of these remarkable Americans who deeply enrich the quality and character of our Nation. Join PBS Books for a conversation with National Director Heather-Marie Montilla and esteemed scholar Ned Blackhawk, National Book Award winning author of The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History. Blackhawk’s retelling of U.S. history acknowledges the enduring power, agency, and survival of Indigenous peoples, yielding a truer account of the United States and revealing anew the varied meanings of America. Don’t miss the opportunity to gain insights about this historically transformative book from the author.
ABOUT THE BOOK: The Rediscovery of America
This astonishing book is a sweeping and overdue retelling of U.S. history that recognizes that Native Americans are essential to understanding the evolution of modern America, exploring the struggle, survival, and resurgence of American Indian nations. Ned Blackhawk interweaves five centuries of Native and non‑Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late twentieth century. In this transformative synthesis he shows that:

European colonization in the 1600s was never a predetermined success;
Native nations helped shape England’s crisis of empire;
The first shots of the American Revolution were prompted by Indian affairs in the interior;
California Indians targeted by federally funded militias were among the first casualties of the Civil War;
The Union victory forever recalibrated Native communities across the West;
Twentieth-century reservation activists refashioned American law and policy.

Guadalupe Maravilla - Sound As Medicine | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2024-11-15 20:00 - 21:00
Combining sculpture, painting, performative acts, and installation, Guadalupe Maravilla grounds his transdisciplinary practice in activism and healing. Engaging a wide variety of visual cultures, Maravilla’s work is autobiographical, referencing his unaccompanied, undocumented migration to the United States due to the Salvadoran Civil War. Across all media, Maravilla explores how the systemic abuse of immigrants physically manifests in the body, reflecting on his own battle with cancer.
Maravilla is also a teacher and mutual-aid organizer; his work extends beyond his sculptural practice to consider forms of community-based healing and regeneration. He frequently activates his artistic objects through performances and sound baths – a meditative experience where participants are “bathed” in sound frequencies meant to encourage therapeutic and restorative healing.
Maravilla’s work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Oslo, Norway; and the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, among others. He has received numerous awards and fellowships including a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, 2019; Soros Fellowship: Art Migration and Public Space, 2019; MAP Fund Grant, 2019; Franklin Furnace Fund, 2018; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship, 2018; Art Matters Fellowship, 2017; Creative Capital Grant, 2016; Joan Mitchell Emerging Artist Grant, 2016; and The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Award 2003. He has presented solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO; Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Oslo, Norway; Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, NY; P·P·O·W, New York, NY; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL, among others.
Maravilla’s work is currently included in the 12th Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art: forms of the surrounding futures, Gothenburg, Sweden and the 35th Bienal De São Paulo: choreographies of the impossible, São Paulo, Brazil.
Presented in Partnership with UMMA
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Radio.
Learn More>>

The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

PBS Books Readers Club – Leonardo da Vinci with Walter Isaacson and Sarah Burns
2024-11-20 20:00 - 21:00
Readers Club HomeEpisodes
Episode Description:
The PBS Books Readers Club Welcomes Renown Historian Walter Isaacson and Guest Sarah Burns, Co-Director/Writer of the new Ken Burns film, LEONARDO da VINCI debuting November on PBS.
He was history’s most creative genius. What secrets can he teach us?
Bestselling author and Professor Walter Isaacson (STEVE JOBS, EINSTEIN, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN) brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this enthralling, comprehensive masterwork that conveys how this Renaissance man unified science and art.
Drawing on thousands of pages from Leonardo’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his work, Isaacson delves into the many facets of the artist’s life and brilliantly captures its essence. A true visionary, and creative across numerous disciplines, Isaacson shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.
Join the PBS Books Readers Club on November 20 at 8:00 pm (ET) as Walter Issacson shares his vision behind this powerful biography and reveals in the novel how his extensive research into this most famous portraitist changed him. “I did learn from Leonardo how a desire to marvel about the world that we encounter each day can make each moment of our lives richer,” reflects Issacson.
The conversation continues from novel to screen, as filmmaker Sarah Burns joins the PBS Books Readers Club to discuss LEONARDO da VINCI a new two-part, four-hour documentary directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon that will air Nov. 18 and 19, at 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS App.
Don’t miss the PBS Books Readers Club on November 20 at 8:00 pm (ET) for an intimate portrait of the multifaceted Leonardo da Vinci with award-winning filmmaker Sarah Burns, and esteemed biographer Walter Isaacson.
About the Book:
Get the E-BookDONATE NOW and download your e-book copy.

The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life” (The New Yorker).
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson “deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo” (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.
He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history’s most creative genius.
In the “luminous” (Daily Beast) Leonardo da Vinci, Isaacson describes how Leonardo’s delight at combining diverse passions remains the ultimate recipe for creativity. So, too, does his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His life should remind us of the importance to be imaginative and, like talented rebels in any era, to think different. Here, da Vinci “comes to life in all his remarkable brilliance and oddity in Walter Isaacson’s ambitious new biography…a vigorous, insightful portrait” (The Washington Post).

Guest Biograpies:
Walter Isaacson
Information coming soon..
Sarah Burns
Information coming soon..
Readers Club Hosts:
Heather Marie Montilla
Heather-Marie Montilla, a dynamic integrative leader, is an educator and nonprofit manager. She has worked in the nonprofit sector and libraries for over two decades, making a positive impact in arts, cultural, educational, and community-building arenas.
Having joined the PBS Books team as their Library Bureau Chief in Fall 2018, Montilla is now the National Director of PBS Books and has interviewed more than 150 writers. In addition, she is a faculty member at Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University for their Arts and Cultural/Entertainment Management Programs. Having been an Executive Director for 8 years, Heather has a wide range of experience in management, finance, strategic planning, marketing, and fundraising. Heather holds a MPA From Columbia University, a MLIS from Wayne State University, and a bachelor’s from Duke University. She lives in Chicagoland, and is married with four children, a dog, and a bird.
Princess Weekes
Princess Weekes is an award winning writer and video essayist who works at breaking down the intersections between race, gender, and pop culture. Formally an Assistant Editor at The Mary Sue, co-host of Netflix’s The Geeked Podcast, and co-host and co-writer on the PBS Digital Series It’s Lit. On weekends she works as a bookseller at a local bookstore. When not reading or writing she can be found playing TTRPGs of cuddling with her cat, Lola.
Lauren Smith
Executive Producer and host of national PBS programming at Detroit Public TV, Lauren develops content for PBS and other distributors of public media for broadcast, streaming, and other digital channels and has executive-produced and/or produced over 60 national broadcast and programs. Her passion is to develop inspiring, entertaining, and educational content alongside the best national and international talent, and to engage important content with communities across the country. Lauren loves to read and has worked to develop and produce PBS Books content for nearly ten years!
Fred Nahhat
Fred Nahhat is an Emmy Award-winning producer, host, and presenter for Detroit’s PBS station, where he serves as Sr. VP of Production. A 30-year broadcast veteran, Fred has hosted and produced numerous programs for Public TV – including music specials from Il Volo, Celtic Gold and the New Divas – as well as other series and specials “New Year’s Eve with the DSO”, “The Detroit Dream Cruise,” “The PBS Books Readers Club” and “Get Up, Get Out,” among others.
He is a graduate of Wayne State University and a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Michigan Chapter, USA Hockey, and Leadership Detroit.

Fernando Laposse - Design for Rural Reality | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2024-11-22 20:00 - 21:00
Fernando Laposse specializes in transforming humble natural materials into refined design pieces. He has worked extensively with overlooked plant fibers such as sisal, loofah, and corn leaves. Laposse’s works are the result of extensive research which culminates in objects of “endemic design” where materials and their historical and cultural ties to a particular location and its people take center stage. He often works with indigenous communities in his native Mexico to create local employment opportunities and raise awareness about the challenges they face in a globalized world.
Laposse’s projects are informative and educational and touch on topics such as sustainability, the loss of biodiversity, community dissolution, migration, and the negative impacts of global trade in local agriculture and food culture. He does so by documenting the issues and announcing possible resolutions through the transformative power of design.
Laposse’s projects have been exhibited in the Triennale di Milano, the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, The Design Museum in London, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the World Economic Forum, among others. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Design Museum Gent, Le centre national des arts plastiques, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Laposse studied at Central Saint Martins in London as a product designer and currently lives and works in Mexico City.
Presented in partnership with Design Core Detroit
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Radio.
Learn More>>

The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

Nayland Blake - Tear Down Our Walls | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2024-11-29 20:00 - 21:00
Tear down our walls: the creative drive and reimagining ourselves. Nayland Blake shares their history as an artist, curator and educator in a talk about how crucial the creative process is in imagining new possibilities for us as individuals and communities.
Since the late 1980s, Nayland Blake has constructed an influential body of work exploring play, eroticism, and the subjective experiences of desire, power, and loss. Inspired by feminist theory and queer subcultures, Blake addresses the contradictions of representation in sculptures, drawings, performances, and videos, particularly as it relates to their own identity as a nonbinary multiracial artist.
Nayland Blake is an interdisciplinary artist living in New York. Their work has been shown extensively and was included in the 1991 Whitney Biennial, the 1993 Venice Biennale, and the landmark exhibition “Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art” at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1994. In 2003, a retrospective of their video work was organized by the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Surveys of their work have been organized by Location One in New York and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. “Nayland Blake: No Wrong Holes,” a full-scale retrospective organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles opened in 2019 before traveling to the MIT List Visual Arts Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the following year.
Nayland Blake is part of Gender Euphoria, a semester-long explosion of queer artists and art-making. These performances, exhibitions, conversations, and provocations explore how to make art and find queer joy in a state of emergency.
“Teach it – Promote it – Create it – you are responsible for the continuation of the culture you love. Keep it alive through your actions.” – Nayland Blake
Presented in partnership with Gender Euphoria.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Radio.
Learn More>>

The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

Ty Jeffries - Miss Hope Springs | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2024-12-05 20:00 - 21:00
Ty Jeffries is a prolific composer, lyricist, pianist, singer, and character comedian, whose critically acclaimed works are influenced by the combination of his classical training and his love of both the golden age of Hollywood and the Great American and British Songbooks. He is the son of the late British character actor, screenwriter, and director Lionel Jeffries, who is famous for starring in Camelot and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Jeffries is best known for his onstage persona of Miss Hope Springs, a blonde ex-Vegas showgirl alter-ego who plays the piano and sings cabaret songs. Jeffries plays Springs as a tragicomic “recovering showgirl” looking back on her life and career. The character is inspired partly by memories of fading Hollywood icons visiting his childhood home, as well as memories of old black-and-white films he and his father watched together.
Jeffries won Best Cabaret Brighton Fringe in 2011 and was invited to open the new cabaret room The Crazy Coqs in London, where Miss Hope Springs Sunday Soirées became an institution. Jeffries went on to be resident at The Matcham Room in the Hippodrome Casino (better known as The Talk of the Town where Judy Garland once played), and headlined at the Rah Rah Room in the old Pigalle Nightclub.
In 2016, Jeffries toured the United States with Miss Hope Springs, performing shows in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and New Hope, Pennsylvania, with an appearance at Lincoln Centre. In 2019, Jeffries won Broadway World Awards “Best Cabaret” at Edinburgh Fringe Festival for his show It’s Miss Hope Springs. In 2021, his solo recorded concert at Wigmore Hall for the iconic Pride 2021 celebration was praised by NYC Bistro Awards. In 2022, Miss Hope Springs celebrated 10 years of residency at Crazy Coqs with a sold out rave review week of shows, with the residency continuing into 2023.
—
With support from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Radio.
Learn More>>

The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

Our Favorite Books of the Year
2024-12-11 20:00 - 21:00
Join hosts Lauren, Fred, Princess and Heather as they reminisce the exciting first season of the PBS Books Readers Club! They’ll highlight the most incredible author moments and fascinating reads from the series this year that were heartfelt, funny, and inspiring! Plus, hosts dish out their favorite book picks for 2024 — providing readers with an ultimate gift guide for the holiday season!
This year’s book picks explored an array of genres, from historical fiction (Geraldine Brooks, Horse), suspense (Tana French, The Hunter), American history and religion (Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song), biography (Walter Isaacson, Leonardo da Vinci), family drama (Rachel Khong, Real Americans), and modern classics (Percival Everett, James).
More than a book club, the monthly episodes complement the PBS mission to educate, inspire, entertain and express a diversity of perspectives—often pairing author conversations that align with beloved PBS shows, including Masterpiece® dramas (Robert Thorogood, The Marlow Murder Club), American Masters profiles (Julia Alvarez, The Cemetery of Untold Stories), and exciting series, like The Great American Recipe which harmonized with Olivia Ford’s baking-driven coming-of-old-age novel, Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame.
Don’t miss the season finale of the PBS Books Readers Club on December 11 at 8 PM (ET) to celebrate the writers and creatives works explored this year, and reminisce the most heartfelt, funny, and inspiring author moments—plus get a jump-start on holiday gifting ideas for the book lover on your list, as hosts share their top reads of 2024!

Author Talk | David Brooks
2024-12-16 20:00 - 21:00
Episode Description:
Best-selling author, New York Times columnist and PBS NewsHour correspondent, David Brooks talks about his latest book, “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.” In this conversation with PBS Books contributor, Zoe Clark, he offers a personal, practical guide for how each of us can deal with what he calls the nation’s loneliness epidemic, how to relate to the people we meet, how to practice aggressive friendliness, and why your hometown is a better place to look for happiness than politics. It’s a book for the soul and for our times.
About the Book:
As David Brooks observes, “There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen—to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood.”
And yet we humans don’t do this well. All around us are people who feel invisible, unseen, misunderstood. In How to Know a Person, Brooks sets out to help us do better, posing questions that are essential for all of us: If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them? What kind of conversations should you have? What parts of a person’s story should you pay attention to?
Driven by his trademark sense of curiosity and his determination to grow as a person, Brooks draws from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history, and education to present a welcoming, hopeful, integrated approach to human connection. How to Know a Person helps readers become more understanding and considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen. Along the way it offers a possible remedy for a society that is riven by fragmentation, hostility, and misperception.
The act of seeing another person, Brooks argues, is profoundly creative: How can we look somebody in the eye and see something large in them, and in turn, see something larger in ourselves? How to Know a Person is for anyone searching for connection, and yearning to be understood.
Guest Biography:
David Brooks
David Brooks is one of the nation’s leading writers and commentators. He is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, a writer for The Atlantic, and appears regularly on PBS Newshour. He is the bestselling author of The Second Mountain, The Road to Character, The Social Animal, Bobos in Paradise, and On Paradise Drive.
About the Host:
Zoe Clarke
Interim General Manager and Political Director at Michigan Radio, NPR & Co-host, It’s Just Politics, One Detroit Contributor

2025 Carnegie Medal Finalist Preview
2024-12-18 20:00 - 21:00
Tune in Wednesday, DEC 18 at 8 pm ET | 5 pm PT as PBS Books and Booklist Reader highlight the six 2025 Finalists for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Awards.
Fiction Finalist:

Cinema Love, by Jiaming Tang
James, by Percival Everett
Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar

Nonfiction Finalist:

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, by Adam Higginbotham
Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV, by Emily Nussbaum
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon, by Kevin Fedarko

The two medal winners will be announced at the Reference and User Services Association’s Book and Media Awards livestreaming event, on Sunday, January 26. A celebratory event, including presentations by the winners and a featured speaker, will take place in June 2025 at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Philadelphia.
#ALA_Carnegie hashtag!

Filmmaker Talk with Zach OHora - Carl the Collector
2025-01-15 20:00 - 21:00
Join PBS Books as we meet the newest member of the PBS Kids Family Carl the Collector and all his friends with show creator, author and illustrator Zach OHora. This new series, which premiered last fall, is the first PBS Kids program to center on a neurodiverse character. Learn more about Carl and all his adventures while celebrating the diverse way kids think and express themselves.

About the Author
Zachariah OHora
Illustrator, Author & Creator “Carl the Collector”
New York Times best-selling illustrator and author Zachariah OHora is creator and executive producer of “Carl the Collector,” which is produced by his Fuzzytown Productions along with Spiffy Pictures.
The series, PBS KIDS’ first to center on a neurodiverse character, follows the everyday adventures of Carl, a warm-hearted autistic raccoon who loves collecting things. The series celebrates the diverse ways kids think and express themselves while helping them develop a strong sense of self and community.
OHora’s award-winning books include My Cousin Momo!, Niblet & Ralph, The Not So Quiet Library and Fuzzy (Inside & Out).
OHora also created the Rivian Gear Guard avatar featured in all the cutting-edge electric vehicle company’s security systems.
OHora resides in Narberth, Pennsylvania with his wife and two kids.

More from the Author:
Twenty-five years in the Big House and A. Wolf is still sticking to his story: he was framed! As for that huffing and puffing stuff? A big lie. A. Wolf was just trying to borrow a cup of sugar to make his poor old granny a birthday cake.
Who should you believe, the pigs or the wolf? You read. You decide.
A quarter-century after publication, with over two million copies sold, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs remains as funny and irreverent as the inventive minds of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. Viking is celebrating this landmark anniversary with a handsome gift edition, featuring a stunning new jacket with lots of silver. And there’s a surprise inside as well!
A captivating informational picture book about Paul Horn, a musician who communicated with orcas through the power of music. For fans of Shark Lady and Margaret and the Moon.
Unbelievable but true, this is the story of two whales, two Pauls and two boys.
The whales are Haida and Chimo, captive orcas who lived in an aquarium called Sealand of the Pacific in the 1970s.
The Pauls are Paul Horn, a professional flute musician, and Dr. Paul Spong, a scientist studying the orcas in order to learn more about these mystifying creatures.
And the boys are Marlen and Robin, Paul Horn’s sons, who are fascinated with the orcas despite their father’s fear of the giant whales.
What follows is the spellbinding story of how the Pauls, through the power of music, learn to communicate with the orcas — and set into motion an entire anti-captivity movement dedicated to protecting these intelligent and majestic animals.
Zachariah OHora’s distinctive retro art and kid-friendly humor take the stage in this story about accepting and celebrating differences.
Momo is coming to visit, and his cousins are SO excited! But even though Momo is a flying squirrel, he won’t fly for his cousin’s friends. Plus, his games are weird. He can’t even play hide and seek right! But when Momo’s cousins give his strange ways a chance, they realize that doing things differently can be fun…almost as much fun as making a new friend.

Restless Dissatisfaction: An Urgent Call for the Pursuit of Justice and Equality
2025-01-20 09:30 - 11:00
Famed actress, activist and filmmaker, Erika Alexander presents the keynote lecture at the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium at the University of Michigan, which PBS Books will be livestreaming on Jan. 20.
Alexander is an actress, trailblazing activist, entrepreneur, creator, producer, director and one of the country’s boldest, most daring, and powerful voices. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Maxine Shaw in “Living Single,” Detective Latoya in “GET OUT,” Cousin Pam in “The Cosby Show,” and recently Coraline in the hit movie, “American Fiction.
Recognizing the power of storytelling, Alexander believes that although content must be entertaining, stories have tremendous capacity to create impact and meaningful social change. As co-founder of Color Farm Media, she is on a mission to bring greater equity, inclusion, and diverse representation to both media and electoral politics.
A critical thought leader on racial and gender equity and leadership, she serves as a board member for One Fair Wage and is highly involved with social and racial justice organizations including The Poor People’s Campaign, Color of Change, NAACP, UNCF, among others.
This special PBS Books presentation is offered in conjunction with the University of Michigan Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives.
Learn more at https://oami.umich.edu/mlk-symposium/
Erika Alexander
Actress, Activist, Entrepreneur, Creator, Producer and Director
Erika Alexander is an actress, trailblazing activist, entrepreneur, creator, producer, director and one of the country’s boldest, most daring, and powerful voices. Recognizing the power of storytelling, Erika believes that though content must be entertaining, stories have tremendous capacity
to create impact and meaningful social change. As co-founder of Color Farm Media, she is on a mission to bring greater equity, inclusion, and diverse representation to both media and electoral politics.
Erika has recently stepped boldly into the arena of film director, with her debut film THE BIG PAYBACK, co-directed with Whitney Dow. The film debuted at Tribeca Festival and premiered on PBS on MLK Day 2023. The documentary chronicles the story of the first reparations bill for African Americans in U.S. history.
She is also creator/writer/producer of 2022 Audible Original’s Best True Crime Series and DuPont Columbia award-nominee, FINDING TAMIKA, and producer of the three-time, Emmy-nominated Best Documentary and winner, NAACP Best Documentary, JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE.
Her upcoming projects include THE UNTITLED NOVELIST project, directed by Cord Jefferson; with Jeffrey Wright, Tracy Ross, Sterling K. Williams and Issa Rae.
A critical thought leader on racial and gender equity and leadership, she serves as a board member for One Fair Wage and is highly involved with social and racial justice organizations including The Poor People’s Campaign, Color of Change, NAACP, UNCF, among others.

Rashaad Newsome - Engineering Futures: Art, Code, and the Architecture of Liberation | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2025-01-24 20:00 - 21:00
Rashaad Newsome is a multidisciplinary artist whose work blends several practices — collage, sculpture, video, music, computer programming, and performance — to form an altogether new field. He seamlessly merges art, code, film, and community-building to create immersive experiences that explore the intersections of Blackness, queerness, and futurism. Using the equalizing force of sampling, he crafts compositions that surprise in their associative potential and walk the tightrope between identity politics, social practice and abstraction.
Assembly, his groundbreaking exhibition and film, brings together dancers, artificial intelligence, animation, collage, sculpture, holography, and soundscapes to reimagine collective liberation. Central to this work is Being, the Digital Griot — an AI-powered entity that embodies radical storytelling. Acting as both mirror and provocateur, Being demonstrates AI’s potential as a tool for liberation rather than control.
Newsome will offer an in-depth exploration of the conceptual frameworks and processes behind Assembly and Being. He will discuss how his work dismantles systems of oppression and reimagines physical and digital spaces as arenas for liberation. Through dynamic storytelling, dance, and the collaboration between human and non-human performers, Newsome pushes artistic boundaries while sparking critical conversations about how art and technology can shape futures beyond binary thinking, paving the way for a more liberated world.
Newsome has exhibited and performed in galleries, museums, institutions, and festivals throughout the world, including The Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum, MoMA PS1, SFMOMA, New Orleans Museum of Art, Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture. He has received multiple honors and awards for his work, including a 2014 Headlands Center for the Arts Visiting Artist Residency, and a 2011 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award.
In tandem with Newsome’s appearance in the Penny Stamps Series, the Institute for the Humanities is hosting Chimera, an immersive exhibition built around a newly commissioned film of the same name. This exhibition reflects a bold shift in Newsome’s practice toward sci-fi filmmaking, layering the architecture of film, movement, and world-building to probe themes of identity, resistance, and creation. Chimera opens directly following this event at the Institute for the Humanities gallery with an opening reception and artist meet and greet. Chimera will be on view from January 16 through February 28, 2025 at the Institute for the Humanities Gallery.
Presented in partnership with the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities. This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.
The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

PBS Books Readers Club - "Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt
2025-01-29 20:00 - 21:00
PBS Books Readers Club launches season two with award-winning author Shelby Van Pelt to examine her extraordinary story, Remarkably Bright Creatures
Join PBS Books Readers Club on Wednesday, January 29 for a captivating conversation with Shelby Van Pelt as she discusses her heartwarming debut novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures. This engaging virtual event will offer an in-depth exploration of Van Pelt’s extraordinary narrative, which blends humor, emotion, and an unforgettable bond between a widowed woman and an octopus named Marcellus.
Remarkably Bright Creatures tells the story of Tova Sullivan, a grieving widow who forms an unlikely friendship with Marcellus, an intelligent and insightful octopus at the local aquarium. As their lives intertwine, Tova embarks on a journey of self-discovery and healing, with Marcellus offering wisdom in ways no one could have expected. The novel celebrates themes of connection, loss, and second chances, drawing readers into a world full of compassion and surprises.
In this PBS Books exclusive event, Shelby Van Pelt will share the inspiration behind her novel, delve into the unique characters that drive the story, and explore the ways in which art and storytelling can bridge the gap between humans and the natural world. Readers will delight in learning about her writing and research process and discover the family member who inspired the central protagonist, Tova, in this heartwarming story about unexpected friendships and second chances.
Remarkably Bright Creatures is the perfect pairing for fans of the PBS Masterpiece series All Creatures Great and Small, highlighting the unique bonds we share with our animal friends.
Don’t miss this special opportunity to engage with one of today’s most exciting new authors and to discover the magic of Remarkably Bright Creatures. This unforgettable evening of literary discussion takes place on the PBS Books Facebook and YouTube channel, January 29 at 8pm ET.

About the Book
Dazzling and unexpected, Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel, REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, is set over the course of a summer in a fictional town on Puget Sound. This is a witty and warm tale of a widow’s friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium—and the truths she finally uncovers about her son’s disappearance thirty years ago.
Tova Sullivan began mopping floors and tidying up on the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium after her husband died. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Finding the sea creatures around her easier to talk to than the humans in her life, Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms an unlikely friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. As his affection for Tova grows, Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Shelby Van Pelt vividly renders the small town of Sowell Bay and the characters that live within it. Inspired by her own pragmatic, first-generation Swedish-American grandmother, Van Pelt imbues the character of Tova with warmth and specificity, from her love of coffee to her fondness for stray cats. Our favorite octopus Marcellus, however, began as a writing exercise. Long fascinated by the creatures, Van Pelt immediately thought of a captive octopus when asked to write from an unexpected point of view. How bored must it feel? How indignant at the thought that it wouldn’t be able to slip out of its tank? Over the course of writing the book, Van Pelt spent a lot of time wandering aquariums, staring at octopus’ tanks, and hoping that the occupant might emerge from its hiding place to stare back.
Charming, compulsively readable, and full of wit, Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a beautiful exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope—a reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
As Van Pelt says in her author’s note, “To gaze at an octopus and have it gaze back at you will make anyone wonder who the brighter creature is.”

Guest Biography
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Shelby Van Pelt lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her family. Remarkably Bright Creatures is her first novel.

Readers Club Hosts
Heather-Marie Montilla
Heather-Marie Montilla, a dynamic integrative leader, is an educator and nonprofit manager. She has worked in the nonprofit sector and libraries for over two decades, making a positive impact in arts, cultural, educational, and community-building arenas.
Having joined the PBS Books team as their Library Bureau Chief in Fall 2018, Montilla is now the National Director of PBS Books and has interviewed more than 150 writers. In addition, she is a faculty member at Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University for their Arts and Cultural/Entertainment Management Programs. Having been an Executive Director for 8 years, Heather has a wide range of experience in management, finance, strategic planning, marketing, and fundraising. Heather holds a MPA From Columbia University, a MLIS from Wayne State University, and a bachelor’s from Duke University. She lives in Chicagoland, and is married with four children, a dog, and a bird.
Princess Weekes
Princess Weekes is an award winning writer and video essayist who works at breaking down the intersections between race, gender, and pop culture. Formally an Assistant Editor at The Mary Sue, co-host of Netflix’s The Geeked Podcast, and co-host and co-writer on the PBS Digital Series It’s Lit. On weekends she works as a bookseller at a local bookstore. When not reading or writing she can be found playing TTRPGs of cuddling with her cat, Lola.
Lauren Smith
Executive Producer and host of national PBS programming at Detroit Public TV, Lauren develops content for PBS and other distributors of public media for broadcast, streaming, and other digital channels and has executive-produced and/or produced over 60 national broadcast and programs. Her passion is to develop inspiring, entertaining, and educational content alongside the best national and international talent, and to engage important content with communities across the country. Lauren loves to read and has worked to develop and produce PBS Books content for nearly ten years!
Fred Nahhat
Fred Nahhat is an Emmy Award-winning producer, host, and presenter for Detroit’s PBS station, where he serves as Sr. VP of Production. A 30-year broadcast veteran, Fred has hosted and produced numerous programs for Public TV – including music specials from Il Volo, Celtic Gold and the New Divas – as well as other series and specials “New Year’s Eve with the DSO”, “The Detroit Dream Cruise,” “The PBS Books Readers Club” and “Get Up, Get Out,” among others.
He is a graduate of Wayne State University and a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Michigan Chapter, USA Hockey, and Leadership Detroit.

1491s - The Full Migizi | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2025-01-31 20:00 - 21:00
The 1491s are a dynamic Native American sketch comedy group known for their razor-sharp wit and fearless approach to storytelling. Comprising a collective of Indigenous creators, including writers, performers, and filmmakers, The 1491s challenge stereotypes and celebrate Native culture through humor, satire, and an unflinching lens. Their work spans viral videos, stage performances, and contributions to acclaimed television projects, such as the groundbreaking series Reservation Dogs.
Rooted in their identities and histories, The 1491s use comedy as a tool for activism and cultural expression, engaging audiences with narratives that amplify Indigenous voices. Their performances often blend traditional storytelling with contemporary issues, fostering a greater understanding of Native experiences while sparking joy and laughter.
Their first video, a Twilight parody called New Moon Wolf Pack Auditions, went viral in 2009, as have many of their subsequent videos. The 1491s have traveled the country and the world sharing their satirical, stereotype-busting humor through live performances, panels, discussions, and appearances on major media outlets including The Daily Show on Comedy Central, Reservation Dogs on FX, and Dallas Goldtooth’s TikTok. They have also used their talents to address social and legislative issues, such as the full inclusion of Indigenous women in the Violence Against Women Act.
Four of the five 1491s members will be in conversation with Eric Ting, Chinese-American Obie award-winning director.
Dallas Goldtooth (Mdewakanton Dakota/​Diné) is a writer, artist, actor, and Dakota language instructor, known for his roles in Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Falls, and Ghosts.
Migizi Pensoneau (Ponca/​Ojibwe) is a writer, producer, and cultural consultant with credits on Barkskins, Rutherford Falls, and Reservation Dogs.
Ryan RedCorn (Osage Nation) is a graphic artist, writer, and actor, contributing to Reservation Dogs as a writer and performer, and appearing in Barking Water.
Bobby Wilson (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota) is an artist and actor, with work on Rutherford Falls, Reservation Dogs, and Spirit Rangers.
Presented in partnership with the University Musical Society. This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.
The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

The Wright Conversations featuring LaTosha Brown
2025-02-05 20:00 - 21:00
PBS Books is proud to share a conversation from the Charles H. Wright Museum! LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, delivers a powerful keynote address about MLK Day. Her speech explores the critical need for African Americans and all disenfranchised members of our community to exercise the right to vote as a means of achieving social justice. Her remarks highlight the healing power of love amidst personal grief and loss. Brown emphasizes that understanding our shared humanity requires embracing pain and compassion providing a perfect start to the Wright’s annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s enduring legacy.
Website: MsLaToshaBrown.com
IG: @MsLaToshaBrown
Twitter: @MsLaToshaBrown

George Rodriguez - Guardians, Altars, and Community | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2025-02-07 20:00 - 21:00
Born and raised in the border city of El Paso, TX, George Rodriguez creates highly ornamented ceramic sculptures, largely unified by a connection to sociopolitical themes. Drawing inspiration from his Mexican American upbringing and experience with global travel, his guardian figures, tomb sculptures, and installations commemorate and build community. Realized with ornamentation, humor, and reverence for heritage and celebration, his art aims to build bridges between cultures and across time.
Recent projects include a permanent installation at the new Kansas City International Airport, a community tile mural at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, and an outdoor public sculpture at CASA of Maryland, an immigration advocacy organization in Baltimore. His work has shown extensively throughout the U.S. including the Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; Canton Art Museum, Canton, OH; amongst others.
Rodriguez’s sculptures are part of the collections of the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL; the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen College of Computer Science and Engineering, Seattle, WA; Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C., and the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. He was featured on PBS Craft in America’s ​“Storytellers” episode.
Rodriguez is an educator and assistant professor at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia. His teaching extends beyond the university to engage diverse communities in collaborative building projects, such as tile murals and collectively designed large-scale sculpture. The interchange of ideas from teaching and mentorship recharges Rodriguez’s creative practice.
Presented in partnership with Institute for the Humanities. This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.
The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

Stacey Kirby - The Bureau of Personal Belonging | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2025-02-14 08:00 - 17:00
Stacey Kirby is a queer, white-bodied, self-appointed civil servant and interdisciplinary artist known for creating participatory installations that explore themes of identity, community, and civil rights. Through interactive performances and immersive environments, she invites audiences to reflect on their roles in civic and social engagement. Kirby’s work takes place in traditional art spaces and alternative public spaces such as restrooms, on billboards and at protests.
As the recipient of the 2025 Roman J. Witt Artist-in-Residence Award, Kirby will collaborate with the campus community to create a new iteration of The Bureau of Personal Belonging, reflecting the current cultural, societal, and political landscape. The Bureau, a series of performances set within site-specific art installations, utilizes bureaucratic forms, postures, and language in vintage office environments to engage participants and community performers in exploring questions of civil authority. With a history spanning two decades, including over 200 performances, involving 300 community performers, and engaging 10,000 participants, Kirby’s work employs humor and satire to foster an on-going dialogue about identity, community, and human rights.
Kirby is a recipient of numerous awards, including the ArtPrize 8 Juried Grand Prize and an NC Arts Council Artist Fellowship for Visual Artists; has been nominated for the United States Artists Award and the Anonymous Was A Woman Award; and was a finalist for the 1858 Prize. Kirby has also been awarded artist residencies at the Headlands Center for the Arts, Barton College, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Gibbes Museum of Art, and was a visiting artist at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Her work is represented in the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University Rare Book Collection, and other private collections. Kirby has a dual degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Studio Art and Journalism and Mass Communication. Kirby serves her community on the Nasher Museum of Art’s Friends Board at Duke University and as a member of the Scrap Exchange Board of Directors.
Presented in partnership with Stamps Gallery and Roman J. Witt Artist Residency Program. This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.
The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

The Magic of Masterpiece | All Creatures Great and Small | Filmmaker Talk with Melissa Gallant
2025-02-14 20:00 - 21:00
Join Heather-Marie Montilla for an engaging conversation with Melissa Gallant, Executive Producer of All Creatures Great and Small, as they share exclusive behind-the-scenes insights into the highly anticipated Season 5 of this cherished series.

Slavery After Slavery Author Talk with Dr. Mary Frances Berry
2025-02-19 20:00 - 21:00
Discover Untold Stories of Resilience: PBS Books Author Talk with Dr. Mary Frances Berry
Join us for a powerful and thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Mary Frances Berry, celebrated historian and author of Slavery After Slavery. Hosted by Heather-Marie Montilla, this PBS Books Author Talk traces the stories behind individual cases from southern supreme courts to demonstrate how formerly enslaved families and their descendants were systemically injured through white supremacist practices, perpetuated by the legal system. Dr. Berry calls upon us to have empathy and understanding for marginalized people today.

asses.masses - Ya Herd? Theatre, Games, Democracy and Donkeys | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2025-02-21 20:00 - 21:00
asses.masses is a custom video game designed to be played from beginning to end by a live audience, one person at a time. It’s the 7+ hour epic story of a herd of unemployed donkeys trying to get their jobs back, all while navigating the perils of a post-Industrial society in which they’ve been made redundant. Cheeky, political, and best described as Animal Farm meets Pokémon meets Final Fantasy, asses.masses puts the control(ler) in its audience’s hands and asks them to discover the space between the work that defines us and the play that frees us.
asses.masses creators Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim are conceptual artists exploring urgent questions around the social value of art, digital labour, and the political potential of games. Mixing their backgrounds in performance, philosophy, psychology, and digital media, their collaborations have manifested in video games, participatory installations, digital archives, and card games. In addition to asses.masses, Patrick and Milton are also the co-founders of the Canadian national video archive of performance (videocan) and the co-creators behind a performing arts economy trading card game (culturecapital). Their projects have been presented across Canada, as well as in Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, the USA, and the UK, in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Catalan.
In tandem with their appearance in the Penny Stamps Series, asses.masses will be in performance as part of the UMS season on February 15 and 16, 2025 at the Stamps Auditorium, Walgreen Drama Center.
Presented in Partnership with University Musical Society. This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.
The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

PBS Books Readers Club - 'Good Dirt' & 'Black Cake' by Charmaine Wilkerson
2025-02-26 20:00 - 21:00
PBS Books Readers Club is delighted to welcome critically acclaimed author Charmaine Wilkerson to discuss her captivating new novel Good Dirt and her bestselling debut, Black Cake. The episode premieres on February 26 at 8PM ET as a PBS Books Facebook Live event, on the PBS Books YouTube channel, pbsbooks.org, and the PBS app.
Good Dirt tells the story of Ebby Freeman, a woman who unravels the connections between a childhood tragedy, a treasured family heirloom, and her ancestors’ enduring legacy. Through multiple generations, Wilkerson masterfully explores themes of family, identity, and how the past shapes the future. Good Dirt is a poignant and complex narrative that highlights the emotional and historical ties that define us.
We’ll also delve into her debut novel, Black Cake, which captivated readers with its compelling tale of family secrets, the search for identity, and a mysterious inheritance.
Both Good Dirt and Black Cake display Wilkerson’s rich, layered storytelling and unique ability to craft vivid characters and intricate plots, blending both historical and contemporary issues with the timeless exploration of identity and belonging.
Our PBS watch alike this month is Great Migrations: A People on the Move, the latest docuseries from Henry Louis Gates Jr., which premieres on January 28, 2025. Preview it now on the PBS App.

About the Author
The daughter of an affluent Black family pieces together the connection between a childhood tragedy and a beloved heirloom in this moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake, a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick

Read More

When ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot, time stopped. And when she saw her brother, Baz, lying on the floor surrounded by the shattered pieces of a centuries-old jar, life as Ebby knew it shattered as well.

The crime was never solved—and because the Freemans were one of the only Black families in a particularly well-to-do enclave of New England—the case has had an enduring, voyeuristic pull for the public. The last thing the Freemans want is another media frenzy splashing their family across the papers, but when Ebby's high profile romance falls apart without any explanation, that's exactly what they get.

So Ebby flees to France, only for her past to follow her there. And as she tries to process what's happened, she begins to think about the other loss her family suffered on that day eighteen years ago—the stoneware jar that had been in their family for generations, brought North by an enslaved ancestor. But little does she know that the handcrafted piece of pottery held more than just her family's history—it might also hold the key to unlocking her own future.

In this sweeping, evocative novel, Charmaine Wilkerson brings to life a multi-generational epic that examines how the past informs our present., We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?

In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.

Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.

Read Less

Tiff Massey - Whatupdoe | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2025-02-28 20:00 - 21:00
Tiff Massey is an artist whose practice centers around adornment and community. Massey creates jewelry, sculpture, performance, video, music, and immersive environments with large-scale jewelry pieces and quilts. Massey was the first Black woman to earn an MFA in metalsmithing from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. She draws on 1980s hip-hop culture and her experiences as a Detroit native to explore the concept of adornment in African diaspora and contemporary issues surrounding race, class, and popular culture.
Massey merges her art practice with meaningful community engagement to explore the relationship between identity, public space, and community. Her installation 7 Mile + Livernois, currently on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts, refers to the neighborhood at the heart of Detroit’s Black business and fashion district. It is also where Massey grew up, and the site of a new art and community space Massey is building that blends her craft with her drive for community kinship.
Tiff Massey’s art has been featured in solo and group shows around the US and internationally, and has garnered multiple awards. Massey’s work is in the permanent collections of many institutions, including the Museum of Art and Design in New York and the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia. She is the winner of the 2021 United States Artists Fellowship and the 2019 Art Jewelry Forum Susan Beech Mid-Career Artist Grant, a two-time winner of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knights Arts Challenge, and a 2015 Kresge Artists Fellowship recipient.
This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.
The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

Author Talk: A Conversation with Juhea Kim & the Ballerina Book Club
2025-03-12 20:00 - 21:00
PBS Books Author Talk: A Conversation with Juhea Kim & the Ballerina Book Club
Join PBS Books for a captivating Author Talk featuring Juhea Kim, acclaimed author of City of Night Birds, in conversation with Ballerina Book Club’s Isabella Boylston and Connor Holloway, renowned dancers from American Ballet Theatre, alongside Heather-Marie Montilla, National Director of PBS Books.
This special live-streamed event celebrates Youth Art Month, highlighting the beauty of art and literature—because we are all young at heart and should celebrate the arts! The discussion will highlight two remarkable books: City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim, a lyrical and immersive novel set in the ballet world.
Kim will take center stage to share insights into her writing process, the challenges of bringing a ballet-themed novel to life, and the deep artistic and spiritual connections between writing and dance. Boylston and Holloway—of the Ballerina Book Club—join as hosts, sharing their love of literature and how their club, in partnership with WNET’s All Arts, brings storytelling of their arts education journey and ballet together in new and exciting ways.
Don’t miss this extraordinary conversation celebrating the power of books, the beauty of ballet, and the art of creative expression. Be part of the PBS Books community and tune in live!

About the Book
A once-famous ballerina faces a final choice—to return to the world of Russian dance that nearly broke her, or to walk away forever—in this incandescent novel of redemption and love On a White Night in 2019, prima ballerina Natalia Leonova returns to St. Petersburg two years after a devastating accident stalled her career. Once the most celebrated dancer of her generation, she now turns to pills and alcohol to numb the pain of her past. She is unmoored in her old city as the ghosts of her former life begin to resurface: her loving but difficult mother, her absentee father, and the two gifted dancers who led to her downfall. One of those dancers, Alexander, is the love of her life, who transformed both Natalia and her art. The other is Dmitri, a dark and treacherous genius. When the latter offers her a chance to return to the stage in her signature role, Natalia must decide whether she can again face the people responsible for both her soaring highs and darkest hours. Painting a vivid portrait of the Russian ballet world, where cutthroat ambition, ever-shifting politics, and sublime artistry collide, City of Night Birds unveils the making of a dancer with both profound intimacy and breathtaking scope. Mysterious and alluring, passionate and virtuosic, Juhea Kim’s second novel is an affecting meditation on love, forgiveness, and the making of an artist in a turbulent world.
About the Author
Juhea Kim is the author of the novel Beasts of a Little Land, which was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the winner of the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award, Russia’s largest annual award in literature. It has been translated around the world and is being adapted for television. She is also the author of City of Night Birds, which was a Reese’s Book Club pick. A graduate of Princeton University, her writing has been published in Granta, the Times Literary Supplement, the Independent, Zyzzyva, Guernica, and other outlets. She is an advocate for wildlife conservation, animal rights, and education and aid in Africa. Born in Korea and raised in Portland, Oregon, Kim now lives in London.
Learn More About Juhea Kim
About Ballerina Book Club
Ballerina Book Club, hosted on ALL ARTS, was created as a space for readers to connect over a shared love of literature. Founded by Isabella Boylston, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, the club offers a place for book lovers to engage in meaningful discussions. Inspired by her lifelong passion for reading, Boylston sees literature as a way to explore different worlds—much like the immersive experience of dance. “Often, people have the misconception that dancers aren’t intellectually curious, but I’ve found the opposite to be true,” she says. Ballerina Book Club welcomes everyone: “All you need is an open book and an open mind!”
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Founder, Ballerina Book Club
Isabella Boylston is an international ballet star and Principal Dancer of American Ballet Theatre. She has appeared as a guest star with Paris Opera Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, National Ballet of China and many others. She transcended onto the big screen in the film Red Sparrow, as well as recently starring in Laufey’s Santa Baby music video along with Bill Murray. In addition to having an active social media presence, she runs Ballerina Book Club with her cohosts Connor Holloway and AllArts to share her lifelong love of reading.
Co-Founder, Ballerina Book Club
Connor Holloway (they/them) born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, is a dancer, reader, writer, producer and content creator. Connor moved to NYC in 2013 to dance with American Ballet Theatre where they met Isabella Boylston and launched the Webby-nominated, Ballerina Book Club in partnership with ALL ARTS (2020). Some favorite books include: David Leavitt’s The Lost Language of Cranes, James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles.
About ALL ARTS
ALL ARTS is the destination for inspiration, creativity and art of all forms. This New York Emmy-winning arts and culture hub is created by The WNET Group, the community-supported home of New York’s PBS stations.
The Mission of ALL ARTS is to enrich lives through the transformative power of art by providing a free, multi-platform portal for the arts, accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Learn More and Sign Up for the ALL ARTS Newsletter
About the Host
Heather-Marie Montilla, a dynamic integrative leader, is an educator and nonprofit manager. She has worked in the nonprofit sector and libraries for over two decades, making a positive impact in arts, cultural, educational, and community-building arenas.
Having joined the PBS Books team as their Library Bureau Chief in Fall 2018, Montilla is now the National Director of PBS Books and has interviewed more than 150 writers. In addition, she is a faculty member at Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University for their Arts and Cultural/Entertainment Management Programs. Having been an Executive Director for 8 years, Heather has a wide range of experience in management, finance, strategic planning, marketing, and fundraising. Heather holds a MPA From Columbia University, a MLIS from Wayne State University, and a bachelor’s from Duke University. She lives in Chicagoland, and is married with four children, a dog, and a bird.

Gary Tyler - Art as Resilience | The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series
2025-03-21 20:00 - 21:00
For over four decades, Gary Tyler has worked at the intersection of art and social justice. After enduring nearly 42 years wrongfully imprisoned at Angola State Penitentiary, Tyler uses his textile-based practice to highlight issues of mass incarceration, instilling messages of hope and resilience.
Tyler first learned to quilt to support the Angola Prison Hospice program, where he was a volunteer. Notably, Tyler was the President of the Angola Prison drama program for almost three decades, using the position to promote a culture of community, civic responsibility and introspection.
Material, symbolism, and quilting traditions are central to Tyler’s work. Since his release in 2016, Tyler’s appliqué quilts feature motifs of transformation, self-portraits and intricate allegorical landscapes, depicting memories of his time incarcerated, including the legendary Angola Rodeo and his time as president of the drama program. Through his work, Tyler honors the lives of those depicted and creates a dialogue around the lasting impact of mass incarceration and its roots in slavery, with the hope of inspiring meaningful change.
Gary Tyler is a 2019 and 2020 Art Matters Awardee, and in 2024 he received an honorary Doctorate Degree in Art and Design from the Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Tyler was awarded the 2024 Right of Return Fellowship by the Center for Art and Advocacy, as well as the Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize, which recognizes an artist who has made a significant impact on society with their work. His work can be seen at the Historical New Orleans Collective Museum in New Orleans, and is in the collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. as well as the City of Santa Monica’s Art Bank.
Presented in partnership with the Library Street Collective, with support from the Prison Creative Arts Project. The Annual Exhibition of Artists in Michigan Prisons is the largest curated exhibition of art by incarcerated artists in the world and features art from every prison in the state of Michigan. The 29th Annual Exhibition will run from March 18 through April 1 in the Duderstadt Gallery on the University of Michigan campus. All of the art is for sale and the proceeds of the sales go to the artists themselves.
This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.
The Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Fall 2024 Season
This fall, the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series brings respected leaders and innovators from a broad spectrum of creative fields to Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater for weekly in-person events.
Detroit PBS and PBS Books, in partnership with the Stamps School, will stream each week’s event Fridays at 8pm.
See the full schedule of events livestreamed by PBS Books here.
Some programs may not be available online, depending on artist requests. Interested in receiving notifications before online videos go live? Sign up to receive a reminder before each event begins streaming.
Watch Past Penny Stamps Episodes

PBS Books Readers Club - 'The Women' by Kristin Hannah
2025-03-26 20:00 - 21:00
PBS Books Readers Club welcomes international best-selling author, Kristin Hannah to discuss her powerful and most recent novel The Women. The episode premieres on March 26th at 8PM ET as a PBS Books Facebook Live event, on the PBS Books YouTube channel, pbsbooks.org, and the PBS app.
In The Women, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a twenty-year-old nursing student, impulsively decides to join the Army Nurse Corp after her brother is shipped out to fight in the Vietnam War. Her life is changed forever as she is thrust into the chaos and destruction of war, where friendships are forged, tested and lost. As she faces the violence and trauma of war, Frankie also struggles with the challenge of returning home to a nation torn apart by political division, feeling just as lost and out of place as the soldiers who fought beside her.
The Women shines a spotlight on the unsung heroes of the Vietnam War — female nurses who served courageously, risking their lives to care for others in the midst of danger.
In honor of Woman’s History month, our PBS watch-alike is Call the Midwife, a period piece about nurses, midwives and nuns from Nonnatus House as they serve the expectant mothers in London’s East End. Watch past seasons now on the PBS app. Season 14 premiers on March 30th on PBS.

About the Author
Kristin Hannah
Kristin Hannah is the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Her last book, The Four Winds, was the biggest selling hardcover fiction title of 2021. Her previous novels, The Four Winds, The Great Alone, The Nightingale and Firefly Lane were all named Goodreads Best Historical Fiction and her international blockbuster, The Nightingale, won the coveted People’s Choice Award for best fiction and was a selection of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club in 2023 and named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week. In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller, as did The Four Winds when it was published in February of 2021 as well as becoming #1 on the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstores’ bestseller lists. It was selected as a book club pick by the both the Today Show and the Book Of the Month Club, which named it the best book of 2021. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world in the week it came out. A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.

About the Hosts
Princess Weekes
Princess Weekes is an award winning writer and video essayist who works at breaking down the intersections between race, gender, and pop culture. Formally an Assistant Editor at The Mary Sue, co-host of Netflix’s The Geeked Podcast, and co-host and co-writer on the PBS Digital Series It’s Lit. On weekends she works as a bookseller at a local bookstore. When not reading or writing she can be found playing TTRPGs of cuddling with her cat, Lola.

Lauren Smith
Executive Producer and host of national PBS programming at Detroit PBS, Lauren develops content for PBS and other distributors of public media for broadcast, streaming, and other digital channels and has executive-produced and/or produced over 60 national broadcast and programs. Her passion is to develop inspiring, entertaining, and educational content alongside the best national and international talent, and to engage important content with communities across the country. Lauren loves to read and has worked to develop and produce PBS Books content for nearly ten years!

National Library Week - A Conversation with ALA President Cindy Hohl
2025-04-09 20:00 - 21:00
Join PBS Books for a special celebration of National Library Week (April 6-12) as we explore the enduring impact of public libraries in our communities. In anticipation of the Independent Lens documentary Free for All: Inside the Public Library (premiering April 29 on PBS and the PBS App), host Heather-Marie Montilla sits down with Cindy Hohl, President of the American Library Association, to discuss the important role of libraries in American society.
From the vital work of librarians to the challenges of Freedom To Read and budget cuts, this conversation delves into how libraries remain cornerstones of democracy, knowledge, and inclusion. We also take an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Free for All with filmmakers Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor, exploring the untold stories behind these beloved institutions.

The Wright Conversations featuring Kwame Alexander
2025-04-16 20:00 - 21:00
Internationally renowned poet, New York Times bestselling author of 40 books, Emmy-winning producer, and educator Kwame Alexander is on a mission to change the world one word at a time.
Alexander comes to The Wright to discuss his newest book, This is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets and read excerpts from his many writings. In an op-ed published last year in the Los Angeles times Alexander captured the challenges and opportunities of the present moment when he wrote so eloquently that “too many of us have lost our way, our will and our sense of historic purpose. The good and righteous in us knows what’s necessary for a renewal. For a healing. For a reclamation of the most important values that have eluded us, but still define our journey as human beings: freedom, democracy and equality of opportunity. The problem is we don’t know where to go, or we’re too afraid of how we get there.”
