My Bicentennial Summer: A True-Life Adventure Across America with G. Neri

Thursday, August 20th 2026 at 7:00 PM EDT

Event will begin in 33 days and 14 hours

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Offering a unique glimpse into the heart of America’s history - the good, the bad, and the ugly - celebrated author G. Neri invites readers for a journey through the U.S. in his funny and heartfelt book, My Bicentennial Summer. 

The year is 1976, and America is throwing its biggest birthday party ever: its bicentennial. What better way to celebrate than with an eight-thousand-mile road trip? In this vibrant follow-up to his travelogue, My Antarctica, author G. Neri recalls his family’s real-life journey in a station wagon crossing twenty-six states in seven weeks, from California to Washington, DC, with only the aid of paper maps and transistor radios rather than smartphones and GPS.

Young Greg is entranced by the variety of accents, strange foods, natural wonders, and historical attractions, from the Grand Canyon to the Statue of Liberty. He meets Civil War reenactors at Gettysburg, protesters in Philadelphia, pioneer wagon riders in Valley Forge, and his own rambunctious Texan cousins. And he glimpses the darker side of traveling as a family of color, pondering whether “We the People” includes people like him.

Register today to learn more about the book and G. Neri’s vision of a future “with freedoms and fairness for all.” 

About the Author:

G. Neri is the bestselling author of books for young people, including such notable titles as My Bicentennial Summer, Yummy, Tru & Nelle, My Antarctica and Ghetto Cowboy, which was made into the Netflix movie, Concrete Cowboy, starring Idris Elba. His stories have garnered a Michael L. Printz award, a Coretta Scott King Honor Award, an ALA/SLJ Young Adult Literary Award, a Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, as well as being honored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Museum of Tolerance. His books have been translated into multiple languages in over 25 countries. In 2017, he was awarded the first of two National Science Foundation grants that sent him to Antarctica; he is currently co-chair of the Antarctic Artists and Writers Collective. In 2023, he received an honorary doctorate degree from SUNY for his literary and science outreach. He writes full-time while living on the Gulf Coast of Florida with his wife. You can find him online at www.gneri.com.