Associates of the Boston Public Library

Applications are OPEN for the Associates of the Boston Public Library's 2026-27 Alan Andres Writing Fellowships!

📚 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).

📖 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).

Applications close on Friday, June 5, 2026.

For more details and the application form: https://www.associatesbpl.org/events-and-programs/writer-in-residence-program/

Join the Associates of the Boston Public Library for an evening with Associates board member Natalie Lemle for a panel discussion on her debut novel, Artifacts, published by Simon & Schuster, on June 9 at 6 PM in the Central Library in the Commonwealth Salon.

Natalie will be joined in a panel discussion by Nick De Pace, RISD Senior Critic of Art and Architecture, moderated by fellow Associates board member Lisa Fagin Davis, Executive Director of the Medieval Academy of America. An audience Q&A will follow the 30-minute panel discussion. Copies of Artifacts will be available for purchase from Trident Booksellers & Cafe. Natalie will sign books following the talk.

🎟️ Reserve free tickets here: https://artifacts.eventbrite.com/?aff=fb

Memorial Day honors the fallen and acknowledges the sacrifices made for the country. This Boston Pictorial Archive photo by Elmer Chickering from the Boston Public Library's Special Collections captures a Memorial Day ceremony held in 1886 at the Boston Common.

"Being selected as the Writer-in-Residence was a true turning point for me. It gave me the boost I needed at a time I needed it. It was also how I met my agent, which is how I sold my novel as part of a two-book deal! With one book in the world, and another coming out this year, I'll always be grateful to the Associates for helping me get my start!"

We are so proud to share that Top Heavy, Rhonda's novel written as a part of her residency, was longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Awards for the Middle Grade / Young Adult genre. Apply to this life-changing program now until June 5, 2026, here: https://www.associatesbpl.org/events-and-programs/writer-in-residence-program/

Hear from Yssis Cano-Santiago, the Associates’ 2024-25 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence, about how the fellowship helped her complete her manuscript in this special guest blog post: https://bit.ly/4fevFei

Applications for the 2026-27 Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence fellowship close on June 5, 2026, at 11:59 PM. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous investor, this prestigious fellowship awards an emerging writer a $70,000 stipend, editorial support, and an office in the Central Library. Open to unpublished writers of children's or YA fiction, nonfiction, poetry, scripts, or graphic novels. www.writer-in-residence.org

Congratulations to our Alan Andres Writer-in-Residence alumni, Annie Hartnett (2013-2014) and Rhonda DeChambeau (2022-2023) for their novels being chosen for the 2026 Mass Book Awards Longlists! https://www.massbook.org/mass-book-awards

Annie Hartnett’s novel, The Road to Tender Hearts, appeared on the Fiction Longlist, and Rhonda DeChambeau’s novel, Top Heavy, which she wrote during her residency, appeared on the Middle Grade / Young Adult Longlist.

Applications for the 2026-27 Writer-in-Residence cycle are now open until June 5, 2026! Visit the link in bio to learn more about this prestigious program and apply. https://www.writer-in-residence.org/

In honor of Mother’s Day, pictured here is George Bellows’ tender 1916 lithograph Mother and Children ("June Again") from the BPL's Art Department. Captured are his wife Emma and their daughters Anne and Jean during a summer in Ogunquit, Maine. Though the season was uneasy, marked by World War I wartime fears and reluctant compromise, it’s a reminder of the quiet strength of mothers.

https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:3t947f83w

There is just ONE MONTH left to apply for the Associates of the Boston Public Library's Alan Andres Writing Fellowships!

📚 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 Boston Public Library to complete a children’s or YA project (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, or graphic novels). https://ow.ly/U90t50YV630

📖 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). https://ow.ly/hUjv50YV631

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. View the respective application links above.

Hear directly from our inaugural Alan Andres Picture Book Writer Fellow, Jessica Ruan, about the impact of this program. 📣 Applications are now open through June 5, 2026!

This fellowship includes:
📚 $25,000 stipend
📚 $2,500 for professional development
📚 Opportunity to present your work to a live audience
📚 Networking with published authors

Who should apply?
Writers creating picture books for Ages 0–2 (board books) or Ages 3–8 (picture books & early readers). Applicants may apply to only one opportunity- either the Writer-in-Residence program or the Picture Book Fellowship.

This fellowship is made possible by the generosity of an anonymous donor committed to supporting writers in earning a living wage.

🔗 Learn more and apply here: https://ow.ly/1L4h50YV5yt

Please join us for the 8th annual Pierce Performance Series, We Hold These Truths. This evening of music and poetry is inspired by the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and will take place on Thursday, June 25, at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.

Produced by Lisa J Rafferty, the event will feature performances commissioned by the Associates of the Boston Public Library. The program includes the Handel & Haydn Society Youth Choir presenting a choral work by early American composer William Billings, alongside newly commissioned pieces by students from the New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, as well as Massachusetts's first Poet Laureate, Regie Gibson. Stay tuned for the announcement of our special guest speakers!

Book free tickets today 🎟️ https://pierce26.eventbrite.com/?aff=FB