This event is for everyone so bring your young family or friends and join in. Different blocks will be appropriate for different age groups. Beginning at 10:30am with a storytime for kids ages 6 and under, the event will wrap up at 1:30pm with readings for teens. This event will be held in the backyard of Hilltop Books, but will move indoors in the case of inclement weather. Snacks provided.

10:30am-11am – Storytime for kids 6 and under. Books featuring LGBTQ+ families.

11-11:30am – Musical Performance: Ants on a Log plays music for children and childlike people. Their award-winning music centers positivity, social justice, and silliness and has been featured widely in national media, serving as a soundtrack for social justice education and progressive parenting. Full of humor and harmony, Ants shows are energetic, interactive, and engaging for both children and adults. Join us for this special concert, which is part of Ants on a Log’s Pride Month Tour! Performed by trans/nonbinary musicians, the Ants’ Pride show features themes of inclusion, self-expression, community, and allyship. Visit www.AntsonaLogMusic.com for all summer tour dates, and follow the Ants @antsonalogmusic.

Author Readings & Signings:

11:30-12:30 – Children’s/Middle Grade Author Readings & Signings. Short readings for ages 5-12.

Rashad Malik Davis is a big fan of magic, fantasy, Black/Queer joy, and big emotions, and he hopes you are too! He is an award-winning author/illustrator based out of NJ, and is the creator of the Carefree, Like Me! series. Ch. 1 won the Best Indie Book Award in 2017, and Ch. 2 won the Best Indie Illustrator Award in 2019. Rep. by Sera Rivers at Speilburg Literary Agency.

Alex London is the acclaimed author of more than thirty books for children and teens, including the picture book Still Life, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. His middle grade novels include The Princess Protection Program, Search & Rescue, Dog Tags, and two titles in the 39 Clues series. For young adults, he’s the author of the cyberpunk duology Proxy and the epic fantasy series Black Wings Beating, which were both named to numerous state award and LGBTQ reading lists. He has been a journalist and human rights researcher reporting from conflict zones and refugee camps, a young adult librarian with the New York Public Library, and a snorkel salesman. He lives with his husband, daughter, and hound dog in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Rachel E. Simon, MSW, LCSW, MEd (she/her)
Rachel is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist who offers therapy, gender and sexuality education, and consulting to youth, parents, families, educational faculty, professional organizations, and health professionals. She received both Masters degrees from Widener University, and received her BA in Psychology and LGBT Studies from the University of Maryland. Rachel has provided training and consultation on gender, sex, and LGBTQ issues for groups in the US and abroad. She currently runs her private psychotherapy practice in Philadelphia, specializing in treating queer and transgender youth and young adults. Rachel is the author of the award-winning sexuality education book for children, The Every Body Book: The LGBTQ+ Inclusive Guide for Kids About Sex, Gender, Bodies, and Families, and the upcoming book The Every Body Book of Consent: An LGBTQ+ Inclusive Guide to Respecting Boundaries, Bodies, and Beyond.

12:30-1:30pm – Young Adult Author Readings and Signings – readings for teens.

Vincent Tirado is a non-binary Afro-Latine Bronx native. Their first novel, BURN DOWN, RISE UP (2022) was recognized with the Pura Belpré Award, a Bram Stoker and Lambda Literary award finalist. Since then, they have published WE DON’T SWIM HERE (2023) and a
short story in the horror anthology, THE BLACK GIRLS SURVIVE IN THIS ONE (2024). Their latest novel, WE CAME TO WELCOME YOU (2024) is now available for pre-orders. When they are not busy being a menace to society, you can find them harassing their cat, Bugsy. Visit them on their website www.v-e-tirado.com for more information.

Jadzia Axelrod is the author of Galaxy: The Prettiest Star and Hawkgirl for DC Comics, The DC Book of Pride for DK, The Battle of Blood & Ink for Tor, Frankenstein’s Support Group for Quirk Books, and Cat Ninja for Epic! Books. She lives in Philadelphia where she cooks needlessly elaborate meals for her wonderful wife and delightful child.

Charles A. Bush lives in Philadelphia where he attended Cabrini University before honing his craft at the University of Oxford. In addition to writing young-adult novels, he spends far too much time obsessing over all things Marvel, has long run out of places to store his mountains of books, and dreams of someday debating literature with Rory Gilmore. In addition to receiving the 2022 Moonbeam Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction and being selected by the New York Public Library as “One of the best YA books of 2022,” his debut young-adult novel, EVERY VARIABLE OF US, has been featured in publications like Teen Vogue, BookRiot, The Nerd Daily, and The School Library Journal.