Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz: The Ballad of the Fugitive William Parker on 9/9

Join and Barnes & Noble Philadelphia on Wednesday, September 9th at 6pm at Barnes & Noble Philadelphia (1708 Chestnut Street) for a discussion of , the extraordinary forgotten story of an event known in its day as “the first shots of the Civil War,” from the New York Times bestselling author of Dr. Mütter’s Marvels.

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To make this event safe and enjoyable for all attendees, please read the guidelines below before purchasing a ticket so that you know what to expect on the day of the event.

TICKET INFORMATION

Seated Admission w/ Book: $33.48 (Admission + one copy ) **LIMITED QUANTITY AVAILABLE**: A ticket PER PERSON includes:

• One copy of (published 09/08/2026)

• Admission and seat in the event space and signing line with .
• For Seated Tickets: A limited quantity is available and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Purchase of a ticket guarantees entrance to the event for the discussion and signing. However, this ticket may not necessarily guarantee a seat at the event, as arrivals after the start of the event may be placed in standing room behind the seated audience.

ADDITONAL GUIDELINES:

• Any gifts for the author will be collected prior to the signing line.

• Other books by the author will be available for purchase at Barnes & Noble - Philadelphia.

• Please arrive on time according to your ticket in order to secure your seat in the event space. Late arrivals may only have access to standing room and may not have the opportunity to enter the event space.

• The exact time at which the event ends will be determined on the day. To avoid disappointment, we strongly advise you to arrive on time for the event. Late arrivals may not have the opportunity to meet the author.

• All event guidelines are subject to change.

• If you have any additional questions, please can call the store directly at: (267) 234-9790.

• Barnes & Noble may cancel this event at any time with or without notice to the ticket holders.

Please note that Eventbrite is the only authorized dealer for this event. Each person must have a ticket to enter.

REFUNDS

Attendees can receive refunds up to 1 day (24 hours) before your event start TIME OF 6 pm.

If you are unable to attend the event, Barnes & Noble - Philadelphia, PA will hold your books for seven days after the event. Please contact the store to arrange your pickup.

Event guidelines are subject to change.

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Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is the New York Times bestselling author of Dr. Mütter’s Marvels, as well as eight collections of poetry. A seventh generation Pennsylvanian, she lives in Philadelphia with her husband, the novelist Ernest Cline, and their children.

The year, 1851. The place, a Quaker farming community turned Underground Railroad stronghold, where a Maryland enslaver had journeyed in pursuit of four men who’d fled his plantation years before. In a few hours, he’d be dead…and twenty-seven men from the village of Christiana would be rounded up and put on trial. Not for his M**der, but for treason—for waging war against the United States, at a time when it was a crime against the government to obstruct an enslaver looking to reclaim his “property.”
This is story of what happened in Christiana that September morning—and in the ensuing “trial of the century,” which saw the president himself advise the prosecution on strategy and a sitting congressman serve as lead attorney for the defense. But The Ballad of the Fugitive William Parker is also a much larger tale, one spanning decades, following a whole startlingly diverse community of abolitionists in their fight to convince their fellow Americans of the subversive idea that now found itself on trial: that the nation ought to live up the ideals it was founded on, and respect all men as equals.
It’s a story that whisks readers from the quiet farmlands of Lancaster County—where a self-emancipated man named William Parker, whom legend had it bullets could not K*ll, rallied his neighbors to ride out each night to battle the slavecatchers who stalked their countryside—to Philadelphia’s genteel Society Hill, where socialite Harriet Forten Purvis had the ear of the mayor (and a cellar filled with fugitives). It’s a stylish, propulsive, intimately human tale of bravery, ingenuity, and hope—and of ordinary people with little in common who came together to stand against injustice…and won.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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