Authors at the Library
with PHILL BR ANCH

Wednesday\, September 9 | 6 p.m.
Martin Luther King Br anch | 1467 E. Long St.

5:30 p.m. | Seating begi ns\, Book Sale by The Book Loft
6:00 p.m. | Damon Mo sley In Conversation with PHILL BRANCH
6:45 p.m. | A udience Q&\;A \;
7:00 p.m. | Book Signing
\;

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Phill Branch \;is a writer\, live performance storyteller\, and reg ional Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. He is a 2025 recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council&rsquo\;s Creativity Grant and received the Council's h ighest honor\, the Individual Artist Award\, for Theater (Solo Performance ) in 2019. He was the GrandSLAM Champion of The Moth in D.C. in 2018 and h as since traveled all over the country and overseas to tell stories with t he organization. Branch was a 2014 Lambda Literary Nonfiction Emerging Voi ces Fellow and is the founder and Creative Director of Baltimore Story Fes t\, a showcase for live\, personal storytelling. An alumnus of the America n Film Institute\, Branch has an MFA in Screenwriting. He earned his BA in Mass Media Arts at Hampton University and later returned as a professor i n the English department to teach writing and develop the Film Studies pro gram. Currently\, Branch is a Resident Artist at the Howard County Center for the Arts in Maryland.

~~ABOUT THE BOOK~~

Long before every moment of ou r lives was tracked by technology\, Phill Branch was under surveillance. H is father was a football-playing\, weed-smoking\, Army vet&mdash\;the guy men wanted to be around\, and women loved. Phill was different. His father treated him as if he were defective and continually searched for proof to support this belief. Phill paid greatly for his failures at boyhood\, esp ecially when he was caught playing jump rope with girls. This taught him t here were standards to be met\, codes that were not to be violated\, and s trict punishment for any deviation from a Black man&rsquo\;s assigned posi tion in the world.

In this poignant\, illuminating pe rsonal narrative\, Branch reckons with the patriarchy and tradition of the se social structures in Black America\, their legacy\, and how they molded and silenced him. Taking us from Newark\, New Jersey\, to Los Angeles\, C alifornia\, Branch writes unflinchingly about growing up as the queer blac k son of a complicated and often absent father with rigid ideas of masculi nity. From early inappropriate relationships with men twice his age\, to h is successful rebranding at Hampton University\, to the dichotomy of Holly wood&mdash\;living in a world of wealthy celebrities while struggling to s urvive as a writer&mdash\;Branch navigates his complex emotions surroundin g success\, perceptions of manhood\, and ultimately his father.

The Double Dutch Fuss \;recounts growing up under the heavy burden of expectatio n&mdash\;to be a boy\, to be Black\, and to be queer in ways that conform to rigid\, often unforgiving norms. It is about the knotted path of becomi ng\, while navigating the always-present fear of emotional and physical vi olence\, and the threat of isolation for simply being who you are. Branch explores the cosmic pull between fathers and sons\, and how healing wounds can open a pathway toward freedom and wholeness. His is an insightful and surprisingly humorous reflection on identity\, masculinity\, and the quie t\, radical act of choosing to exist on your own terms.

ABOUT THE MO DERATOR

Damon \;Mosley is a Col umbus\, Ohio based writer\, producer\, and filmmaker. \;

~~The secret love child of Columbia University and the corner stor e\, he is the author of \;Smile For We \ ;- a photo book celebrating positive Black men. And \;~~Sole Mates\, a kids&rsquo\; book ode to a boy and his imaginary talking shoes. Wanting to bridge art with social impact\, he is also the director of the award-winning &ldquo\;Love The Band&rdquo\; video campaign that raised $50K to buy new instruments for a local high school in need.& nbsp\;Keeping up the momentum\, 2026 is poised to be his biggest year yet\ , as he completes finishing touches on his first feature film and a TV sho w based on his life.

ABOUT THE EVENT

Th e event is free to the public but due to limited seating registration is r equested. \;

Phill's books will be sold on site by The Book Lo ft.

Authors at the Librarywith PHILL BR ANCH

Wednesday\, September 9 | 6 p.m.Martin Luther King Br anch | 1467 E. Long St.

Authors at the Library
with PHILL BR ANCH

Wednesday\, September 9 | 6 p.m.
Martin Luther King Br anch | 1467 E. Long St.