Woodland Hills Interaction Series

We're excited to announce our first Woodland Hills Interaction Series guest for this school year: Tony Buba!

Buba is a Braddock native and the director of several films including "Lightning Over Braddock: A Rust Bowl Fantasy," which was nominated for Best First Feature Film at the Independent Spirit Awards. He was also a close friend of horror director George A. Romero and worked on his film "Dawn of the Dead." We can't wait for him to interact with our students!

Author Deesha Philyaw has a 7-figure deal for her next two books Deesha Philyaw struggled to find a publisher for what became her acclaimed debut “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.”

25 books for creating the ultimate Pittsburgh bookshelf (updated!) If you've ever been curious about Pittsburgh, and why it is the way it is, here are a few books to read.

We are excited to announce the upcoming dedication of a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker in honor of Braddock native Thomas Bell's novel OUT OF THIS FURNACE. Throughout this month, we will share insights into the novel and its author across our social media platforms. We are beyond thrilled to honor this novel and our community in this unique way.

Special thanks to the Woodland Hills Foundation for their generous support of this project.

Pittsburgh author's memoir explores 'working-class addictions' Dave Newman's memoir "The Same Dead Songs" recounts his relationship with a friend who abuses drugs and alcohol.

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/video/leon-ford-talks-new-memoir-unspeakable-hope-99250162

It was great to catch Leon Ford on Good Morning America this morning. We can’t wait to share AN UNSPEAKABLE HOPE with our students at a Woodland Hills Interaction Series event next week!

It was great to catch Leon Ford on Good Morning America this morning. We can’t wait to share AN UNSPEAKABLE HOPE with our students at a Woodland Hills Interaction Series event next week!

Author, poet, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib will join us this Monday for a Woodland Hills Interaction Series event thanks to our partnership with Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures and their Authors to Schools program.

Mr. Abdurraqib the New York Times bestselling author of "A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance," which was shortlisted for the National Book Award and won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. He has been celebrated as one of the "most exciting writers of his generation" and we can't for our students to meet him!

It's March and with March comes MADNESS!

We're having our own fun here with an Elite 8 bracket. Vote for your favorites from recent Woodland Hills Interaction Series guests and help us get to the Final Four! Voting due Tuesday, March 28.

https://forms.gle/heUH4VZeJgBAoR5t5

Jennifer Egan’s Disciplined Restlessness The author, who has two new book projects under way, says, “I feel such a hunger to do things that I don’t feel I’ve done before.”

Ruth Ozeki Monday, March 13, 2023 tickets or livestream passes available | Ten Evenings lecture presented in-person at the Carnegie Music Hall (Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA)

We are excited to announce an upcoming Woodland Hills Interaction Series event with Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Emmai Alaquiva! Thank you to our friends at Film Pittsburgh for coordinating this opportunity for our students.

Our community read of LONG DIVISION continues! More discussions this week and culminating with our Zoom with Kiese Laymon next Thursday, March 2. onebookonedistrict.com

Author Stewart O’Nan interacting with students that read his book “Ocean State”!

What a great experience for the students that worked their tails off to meet her!

Went to an area high school last week, Woodland Hills. Three classes had each read The Life I'm In. Got to meet with the students, take their questions and listen to their insights. Had an amazing day thanks to a great library staff.

Thank you, Sharon G. Flake! You are a rock star.

Last week, the Woodland Hills Interaction Series hosted Oscar and Tony winning actor Sir Mark Rylance. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for our students - acting advice from a master of his craft! See the full interaction:

WHIS: Sir Mark Rylance On 10/12/2022 Sir Mark Rylance interacted with students at Woodland Hills High School as part of the Woodland Hills Interaction Series.Sir Mark Rylance is a ...

Our 1st Woodland Hills Interaction Series event of the school year, with Oscar and Tony award winning actor Mark Rylance, is underway!

We are excited to announce our first Woodland Hills Interaction Series event of this school year: Academy Award winning actor Sir Mark Rylance! He will be meeting with our students next week.

In 2015, the Woodland Hills Interaction Series was honored to host Pulitzer Prize winner Dr. Sheri Fink, author of FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL. Catch the television adaptation now streaming on APPLE TV+.

Our "Library Cards for All" project within the Woodland Hills School District was highlighted in Allegheny County Library Association's annual report!

This spring the WHHS Library's book club will be reading "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Pulitzer Prize winning author Isabel Wilkerson. On Monday, May 9, Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures is hosting Ms. Wilkerson and we have an opportunity to take 20 students to an event at the Carnegie Museum to meet her. Students will also receive a free copy of the book! Sign up via the link on Schoology!

Tomorrow is the day! Our One Book, One District event with two-time National Book Award winning author Jesmyn Ward!

Booker Prize Winning Author Interacts with Students On Monday, January 24, author Douglas Stuart visited as a guest of the Woodland Hills Interaction Series to discuss his debut novel, "Shuggie Bain." Mr. Stuart's novel won the prestigious Booker Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award. His visit was sponsored by Pittsburgh...

Monday is the day! We are beyond thrilled to welcome Booker Prize winning author Douglas Stuart to interact with our students. We can't thank Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures enough! SHUGGIE BAIN is a must read.

WHIS Welcomes Deesha Philyaw On Wednesday, December 8, the Woodland Hills Interaction Series hosted award winning author Deesha Philyaw. Students in Mr. Maloney's English 11 classes and the book club participated in a Q&A with Ms. Philyaw after reading and studying her book "The Secret Lives of Church Ladies"....

WHIS Welcomes Award Winning Author Brian Broome On Friday, September 24, author Brian Broome virtually visited students as part of the Woodland Hills Interaction Series. Mr. Broome is the author of the new book Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir, which was recently nominated for the prestigious Kirkus Award. His visit was sponsored by Pittsburgh A...

Our next guest:

Pittsburgh author Brian Broome named as a finalist for the 2021 Kirkus Prize Earlier this year, Pittsburgh author Brian Broome released his memoir Punch Me Up to the Gods, and the book has received much acclaim from readers...

WHIS: Cameron Barnett On Friday, April 30, the Woodland Hills Interaction Series hosted poet Cameron Barnett to celebrate National Poetry Month. Mr. Barnett is the author of the collection The Drowning Boy's Guide to Water, which earned him a nomination for an NAACP Image Award. For the past several weeks, students i...

We are ready to begin our interaction with Cameron Barnett!

We are thrilled for our next Woodland Hills Interaction Series event with poet Cameron Barnett. Our students will be chatting with Mr. Barnett on Friday during a virtual visit.

Many thanks to Mr. Maloney and his well prepared students!

BHM - February 3 Tayari Jones

We're still thinking about our amazing visit yesterday with New York Times bestselling author Lily King! Thank you to Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures for another amazing Authors to Schools partnership. Our students had the opportunity to ask Ms. King questions after studying her novel "Euphoria." Ms. King also led an intimate writing workshop with a group of our students.

We were grateful to be able to connect with Ms. King during this period of remote learning and look forward to more events in the future!