As part of their “One Tank Trips” series, Philadelphia’s ABC Action News 6 featured The John Updike Childhood Home, with director Maria Lester on camera, leading the way. The station posted Bill Hartung’s video story on June 23, 2026. Here’s … Continue reading →

“I had a special link to John Updike, the celebrated writer who died in 2009. I once served as his muse,” began William Ecenbarger, who has won 17 writing awards from the Society of American Travel Writers. His latest feature, … Continue reading →

WFMZ, which covers the Lehigh Valley and Berks County, published a piece today by historian Frank Whelan on “History’s Headlines: John Updike of Berks County.” Like Adam Begley’s biography, it begins with a story about journalist William Ecenbarger following the … Continue reading →

Maria Lester, director of The John Updike Childhood Home that is owned and operated by the 501c3 John Updike Society, received word recently that the museum at 117 Philadelphia Ave. in Shillington, Pa. was awarded a $25,000 Chairman’s Grant from … Continue reading →

John Updike’s children recently donated more one-of-a-kind objects to The John Updike Childhood Home & Museum, among them two still life paintings that their father and mother had painted side-by-side while Updike was a student at the Ruskin School of … Continue reading →

If you’ve been accustomed to getting your Updike Society and John Updike Childhood Home news through Facebook, you might want to bookmark our webpages for future use instead. Yesterday Facebook suspended both sites because it was determined that they were … Continue reading →

If you’re planning on visiting The John Updike Childhood Home this summer, be aware that the museum just announced summer hours, restricted because of volunteer availability. The museum, which formally opened in October 2021, has been favorably reviewed and recommended … Continue reading →

Not everyone who recognizes themselves in a writer’s fiction or poetry is pleased, but William Ecenbarger took delight in recalling his 1983 interview with John Updike that inspired Updike to write “One More Interview.” Then a writer for the Philadelphia … Continue reading →

On Sept. 4, 2023, Philadelphia-based cultural reporter and critic Julia Klein’s review of The John Updike Childhood Home was published in The Wall Street Journal. Klein, an expert on museums, spent three hours walking through the house and taking notes … Continue reading →

John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick has become one of the author’s most popular books over the past decade, and maybe that’s because the 1987 film version has become a bit of a coven classic. Yesterday another list of top … Continue reading →

John Updike’s Olivetti Linea 88—”the only manual typewriter he used regularly from 1969-2009,” according to his son, David Updike—is now on display at The John Updike Childhood Home, 117 Philadelphia Ave., Shillington, Pa. The Childhood Home museum is owned by … Continue reading →

When John Updike was still alive, writer William Ecenbarger convinced the famed novelist to drive with him through Berks County to visit childhood haunts. That account first appeared in The Inquirer Sunday Magazine on June 12, 1983, and was reprinted … Continue reading →

In an opinion column (“Take That, ChatGPT!”) written for Boston Magazine, John D. Spooner voiced his reaction to a new artificial intelligence writing program and cited Updike as an example of “some things that only a human can do well. … Continue reading →

One day after what would have been John Updike’s 91st birthday, The John Updike Society acquired the Pulitzer Prizewinning author’s typewriter from his four children. The purchase was made possible by a donation from The Robert and Adele Schiff Family … Continue reading →

The John Updike Society thanked the volunteer docents that keep the John Updike Childhood Home running every weekend by treating them to a dinner at Victor Emmanuel, a local club. The idea for the dinner came from director Maria Lester, … Continue reading →

For the second year, The John Updike Childhood Home sponsored a Christmas ornament contest for area youths, with the winners prominently displayed on the Updike house tree in the parlor. In case you didn’t get to visit the museum when … Continue reading →

Civic-minded Berks Countians recently managed to get The John Updike Childhood Home an entry on the popular knowledge database Wikipedia. Now Updike Society members and Updike pilgrims know the exact house location coordinates:

Edward Vargo, who was among the first wave of Updike critics and scholars, has donated his Updike papers to The John Updike Childhood Home. The materials are mostly from his 1973 monograph, Rainstorms and Fire: Ritual in the Novels of … Continue reading →

On Monday, May 2, about 120 students from Governor Mifflin Middle School toured The John Updike Childhood Home with their teachers, Ms. Werle and Miss McKay. Organizing the event and leading the tour was Director of Education Maria Lester, who … Continue reading →

It was a soft (and occasionally noisy) spring day in Shillington when a crowd of around 30 gathered on the side lawn of The John Updike Childhood Home, 117 Philadelphia Ave., in Shillington, Pa. They came on Friday, March 18, … Continue reading →