Free Library taps new team to lead its Author Events program following abrupt staff departures last summer

The Free Library of Philadelphia has hired new staffers to run its Author Events program nearly four months after the abrupt departure of the team that formally handled it.

The library has tapped Jenny Bogoni to head its newly formed Department of Community Engagement and Public Programming, which oversees the library's Author Events, Read by 4th and One Book One Philadelphia initiatives. Bogoni previously served as the executive director of Read by 4th, an effort to improve the percentage of Philadelphia children who are reading at grade level by fourth grade.

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Bogoni's promotion and four other hires were announced in an email sent out by Free Library Director Monique Moore Pryor on Friday.

"Part of ensuring the success and growth of the new department, and the foundation overall, is making sure the right people are involved," Pryor wrote. "With that in mind, I am announcing several exciting updates to our team and leadership structure that reflect our commitment to enhancing our community and public programming."

Daniel Blank, a former Shakespeare scholar and professor at Durham University in England, will serve as managing director of public programs, leading the Author Events program. Amir Richardson, who previously served as a liaison for civic conversations between the library and WHYY, will be the director of event production. Oscar Almonte-Espinal, a former assistant bookseller at Uncle Bobbie's Coffee and Books in Germantown, will serve as manager of public events, and Rayna Guy, a former racial literacy trainer, will be the director of community programs and head One Book One Philadelphia.

The staffers who previously handled Author Events resigned en masse in June, prompting several days of confusion over the program's future. The team that resigned — Andy Kahan, Laura Kovacs, Jason Freeman and Nell Mittelstead — sent an email saying the the program had been cancelled and noting their departures. The library quickly followed up to clarify that scheduled events would still take place.

Several days later, the staffers released a statement saying they had planned to resign with one month's notice and sent the email because they found it impossible to "effectively manage these programs." Instead, they claimed the Free Library Foundation terminated them. In response, Jeffry Benoliel, the foundation's board chairman, said the four staffers had resigned, saying the email about the cancelled events had been sent without authorization.