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  • About Us
    • 60+ Years of Friends
    • Board
    • Staff
    • Our Supporters
    • Financials
    • Blog >
      • History Series
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
    • Sign-Up for Newsletter
  • Support Us
    • Donate
    • Leadership Circle
    • Innovation Circle
    • Leave a Legacy Gift
    • The Pacifics
    • Gift of appreciated stock
    • Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)
    • Other ways to give
    • Library Preservation Fund
  • Laureates
    • Laureates 2025
    • The Laureates Afterparty
  • What We Fund
  • Buy & Donate Books
    • Bookstore
    • Donate Books
  • Store
  • Events
  • Residencies
    • Lisa Brown and Daniel Handler Residency ​
    • James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Fellowship
  • Volunteer
  • West Portal Memorial Donation
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We are thrilled to announce Library Laureates 2025, an evening of celebration, renewal, and growth that honors both the San Francisco Public Library and the vibrant literary world of San Francisco. The Library is a steadfast presence in uncertain times and a guiding light for our community. As it blossoms with new possibilities to meet the ever-changing needs of our time, the Library continues to foster curiosity, equity, and opportunity for all, serving as a cornerstone of democracy and lifelong learning. 
Library Laureates 2025 will recognize 30 Bay Area writers and creatives who illuminate our world through their books, poetry, and other creative work. These Laureates inspire us to reflect on our experiences, understand diverse perspectives, and envision a brighter future built on empathy, knowledge, and connection. 
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Since 1961, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library has worked to support one of the world’s most successful library systems by advocating for the institution and raising funds for vital programs and infrastructure. Proceeds from this year’s event will support key Library initiatives, including children and youth programs, lifelong learning, arts and culture, and continued renovations of Library branches. 
As a sponsor, you’ll enjoy the signature experience of dining at a table with a Laureate—one of the Bay Area’s most esteemed writers and creatives. The evening will begin with an exclusive Sponsor Reception featuring the Laureates, Event Co-Chairs, the Board of Directors of Friends, City Librarian Michael Lambert, and Library Commissioners. 
​

Corporate and individual sponsorship opportunities are available now. Additional details about the programs funded by event proceeds can be found at FriendsSFPL.org/WhatWeFund. 
​
Laureates List
Spring Awakening
A Tribute to San Francisco
Libraries in Bloom

​​
Saturday, May 3, 2025
San Francisco Main Library
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM 

Co-Chairs 
Roselyne Chroman Swig
Susan Swig
Adam Swig 

San Francisco Poet Laureate Genny Lim
Honorary Committee
(as of April 10, 2025)

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi
Juana Alicia

Robert Mailer Anderson
Lisa Brown
​Claudine Cheng

Ruth and William Isenberg
Kate Goldstein-Breyer

Daniel Handler
Luis Herrera
Michael Lambert
Daphne Li
Nicola Miner
Sarah Smith Jones
Kristi Yamaguchi
Connie Wolf
​
Sponsor Packet
Sponsor Form
Online Payment
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From left: Former City Librarian Luis Herrera, Event Chair Roselyne Chroman Swig, and Friends' Director of Finance Bob Daffeh
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Sponsors​
(As of April 29, 2025)
​

Lead Event
Ruth and William Isenberg
Camilla and George Smith

Library Salon
Roselyne Chroman Swig

Leadership
Sarah Ives and Mike Montgomery
Alissa Lee and Erik Christoffersen
Jessica Lipnack and Peter Booth Wiley

Partner
Robert Mailer Anderson and Nicola Miner
Andy and Renée Charnas
Rebecca Charnas Grant and Scott Grant
Chrysty Esperanza and Scott Jones
Dr. Stephen Leavitt and Dr. Maribelle Leavitt
Barbro and Bernard Osher
Baker Tilly
Dodge & Cox

Innovation
Lisa Brown and Daniel Handler
Claudine Cheng
Randi and Bob Fisher
Sako and William Fisher
Lisa Pritzker
Jessica Rubin and Ben Solarz
Marcia Graham Schneider
Kimberlee Swig
Connie Wolf
​
Activation
Barbara Berman
Marie Ciepiela
Patricia S. Dinner
Judy Ford and Daniel Mathalon
Emily and John Garvie
Dr. Patricia Hellman Gibbs and Dr. Richard Gibbs
Louis Jaffe and Kitty Whitman
Whitney and Zach Jones
Barbara and David Kimport
Katrina Kimport and Matthew Villeneuve
Kendall Luck Laidlaw
Chronicle Books
eCIO
Hoopla Digital
Perkins Coie Foundation
The Swig Company

Friends of the SF Public Library
Library Laureates 2025
Kevin F. Adler – When We Walk By

Robert Mailer Anderson – My Fairy Godfather


Elaine Castillo – Moderation

Dr. Monica Gandhi – Endemic: A Post-Pandemic Playbook 

Katy Hays – Saltwater

Leticia Hernández-Linares – Alejandria Fights Back! / ¡La Lucha de Alejandria!


Cathy Park Hong – Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning

E. Hughes – Ankle Deep in Pacific Water: Poems

R. O. Kwon – Exhibit

Dorothy Lazard – What You Don't Know Will Make a Whole New World

Genny Lim –
Island - Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940

Eve Marie Little – Who Wants to be Friends with a Dragon?

Alexis Madrigal – The Pacific Circuit

Lauren Markham – A Map of Future Ruins: On Borders and Belonging

Abi Maxwell – One Day I'll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman: A Mother's Memoir

Tomas Moniz – All Friends Are Necessary


Brittany Newell – Soft Core

Hieu Minh Nguyen – Not Here

Alison Owings – Mayor of the Tenderloin: Del Seymour's Journey from Living on the Streets to Fighting Homelessness in San Francisco

Kenard Pak – On a Summer Night

Beverly Parayno – Wildflowers


Samantha Rajaram – The Company Daughters

Ingrid Rojas Contreras – The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir

Sam Sax – Yr Dead

Rebecca Solnit – Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility


Kara Swisher – Burn Book

Lava Thomas – Homecoming and Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman (the Dr. Maya Angelou Monument at San Francisco Public Library)

Jim Van Buskirk – There at the End: Voices from Final Exit Network

Hetal Vasavada – Desi Bakes: 85 Recipes Bringing the Best of Indian Flavors to Western-Style Desserts

Steve Wasserman – Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It's a Lie

Colin Winnette – Users

​(as of April 10, 2025)
Library Laureates 2025 Sponsorship Benefits & Tickets
All sponsors who commit by Monday, March 17, 2025, will be listed in the event invitation. 
  • Call or email Sharon Chen, Development Associate at 415-477-5232 or [email protected], including questions about paying for sponsorships through a DAF or foundation. (The fair market value of goods and services exchanged is $309 per sponsor attending the event.) ​
  • Make a convenient online payment here.​
Sponsor Form
Sponsor Packet
Online Payment

$50,000 
​
LEAD EVENT SPONSOR  
  • Top billing as event sponsor 
  • Full-page acknowledgment in program and event website 
  • Acknowledgment from the podium 
  • First choice of Laureate at your table 
  • Invitation for 8 guests to the Sponsor Reception with Laureates 
  • Table of 10 for dinner, with 8 seats for you and your guests, a Laureate, and their guest 
  • Complimentary signed copy of your chosen Laureate’s book or creative work for each guest ​
$25,000 
​LIBRARY SALON SPONSOR
  • Salon room where dinners take place named for you  
  • Half-page acknowledgment in program and event website  
  • Acknowledgment from the podium  
  • Ability to request a specific Laureate at your table  
  • Invitation for 8 guests to the Sponsor Reception with Laureates  
  • Table of 10 for dinner, with 8 seats for you and your guests, a Laureate, and their guest 
  • Complimentary signed copy of your chosen Laureate’s book or creative work for each guest ​
$15,000 
​LEADERSHIP SPONSOR
  • Placement of name/logo on a table  
  • Quarter-page acknowledgment in program and event website  
  • Acknowledgment from the podium  
  • Ability to request a specific Laureate at your table  
  • Table of 10 for dinner, with 8 seats for you and your guests, a Laureate, and their guest
  • Complimentary signed copy of your chosen Laureate’s book or creative work for each guest ​
​
$10,000 
PARTNER SPONSOR
  • Acknowledgment from the podium 
  • Placement of name/logo in the program and acknowledgment on the event website 
  • Table of 10 for dinner, with 8 seats for you and your guests, a Laureate, and their guest 
  • Complimentary signed copy of your chosen Laureate’s book or creative work for each guest ​
$5,000 
​INNOVATION SPONSOR
  • Placement of name/logo in the program and acknowledgment on the event website 
  • Half-table for dinner, with 4 seats for you and your guests, a Laureate, and their guest 
  • Complimentary signed copy of your chosen Laureate’s book or creative work for each guest ​
$2,500 
ACTIVATION SPONSOR
  • Placement of name/logo in the program and acknowledgment on the event website 
  • Two tickets for dinner
  • Complimentary signed copy of your chosen Laureate’s book or creative work for you and your guest​
$500 
​SINGLE TICKET
  • A single ticket for dinner
  • Complimentary signed copy of your chosen Laureate’s book or creative work for you and your guest​

​ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES &
Donation center Location
1630 17TH STREET
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107

​Administrative Phone: (415) 626-7500
BOOK DONATION CENTER: (415) 522-8606 

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​Tax ID Number:
 94-6085452 
©2021 Friends of the San Francisco Public Library