105. Reading the City
November 17 to 23
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in NYC.
I’ll be sharing a story this week for the House of Speakeasy’s Seriously Entertaining at Joe’s Pub and it would be lovely to see you there—though really come along for the other great authors on the lineup! (There’s only a handful of tickets left!)
It’s National Book Awards week again—you can attend the finalist reading on Tuesday night, and then, if you’re not amongst the invitees, register to watch the Wednesday night ceremony here—or better still, get a group together for the McNally Jackson watch party. We also have a bunch of reading series on: Ditmas Lit, The Palace, Pete’s Reading Series, and the Sunday Salon. Enjoy!
As ever, get in touch with events I should have on my radar (details on how to submit are here), and please share the love with your bookish friends!
Monday, November 17
ONE-OFF | A Tribute to Seamus Heaney
An all-star tribute to Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney celebrating the first-ever collection of his entire poetic oeuvre, The Poems of Seamus Heaney. With actor Brian Cox and poets Robert Pinsky, Kevin Young, Paul Muldoon, Mary Jo Salter, Jorie Graham, and Peter Sacks.
From $35; 7.30pm; 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave, Manhattan, and livestreamed
LAUNCH | Andrea Bajani: The Book of Homes
Prizewinning Italian author Andrea Bajani celebrates the U.S. launch of The Book of Homes, translated by Elizabeth Harris—the secrets of a man and his country as seen through the eyes of the homes that have guarded them—in conversation with Jhumpa Lahiri (The Namesake).
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Tuesday, November 18
STORYTELLING | Seriously Entertaining: My Family and Other Tragedies
Seriously Entertaining is House of SpeakEasy’s literary cabaret series. Each show brings together four writers for a night of original storytelling, connected by a common theme. November’s theme is “My Family and Other Tragedies.” Hosted by Isaac Mizrahi, this show features Glory Edim (Well-Read Black Girl), Peter Godwin, Boo Trundle (The Daughter Ship), and Tyler Wetherall (me! Amphibian), with a special appearance from Ellen Hagan (Crowned) and David Flores as quizmasters.
From $30; 7pm; Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, Manhattan
READING | 2025 National Book Awards Finalist Reading
Each year, the Finalists in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature gather the evening before the National Book Awards Ceremony to read excerpts from their honored works. The 2025 National Book Awards Finalist Reading will be hosted by author and musician Michelle Zauner (Crying in H Mart).
$10; doors, 6.30pm; NYU Skirball, 566 LaGuardia Pl, Manhattan, and livestreamed
SALON | The Palace Reading Series
The Greenpoint reading series this month features: Ellie Leonard, Tré Miller Rodriguez (Splitting the Difference: A Heart-Shaped Memoir), Jackie Corley, Vito Ricci, DW Ardern (Master of Starlight), Victoria Buitron (Unburying the Bones), and Rich Piepho, with hosts Marisa Cadena and Rita Puskas.
Free; 7-9pm; The Greenpoint Palace, 206 Nassau Avenue, Brooklyn
TALK | Ann Powers: Writing Joni Mitchell
NPR music critic, biographer, and memoirist Ann Powers discusses her recent biography, Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell. Powers has made a career of telling the stories of storytellers. Powers will discuss her approach to craft, ethics, and genre, with plenty of opportunity for lively conversation.
Free, with RSVP; 6.30pm; CUNY Graduate Center, 365 5th Avenue, Manhattan
ONE-OFF | I Guess It Was My Destiny To Live So Long
A three-day multi-disciplinary series honoring the legacy of poet June Jordan, curated by BAM Curator at Large and MacArthur Genius Hanif Abdurraqib. This dynamic program of events invites a constellation of artists, writers, and performers to illuminate the truths of our moment via poetic imagination.
Various; November 18-21; Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn
Wednesday, November 19
LAUNCH | Oyinkan Braithwaite: Cursed Daughters
Oyinkan Braithwaite (My Sister, the Serial Killer) celebrates the launch of Cursed Daughters—a young woman must shake off a family curse and the widely held belief that she is the reincarnation of her dead cousin in this wickedly funny, brilliantly perceptive novel about love, female rivalry, and superstition—in conversation with Lovia Gyarkye, an editor at Hammer & Hope.
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
SALON | Ditmas Lit
Hosted by Lena Valencia (Mystery Lights) and Sarah Bridgins (Death and Exes), Ditmas Lit welcomes Deena ElGenaidi (Dust Settles North), Laura Venita Green (Sister Creatures), Eve M. Kahn (Queen of Bohemia Predicts Own Death: Gilded-Age Journalist Zoe Anderson Norris), and Leah Umansky (Of Tyrant).
Free, with RSVP; 7.30-10.30pm; The Urbane Arts Club, 1016 Beverley Road, Brooklyn
LAUNCH | Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore: Terry Dactyl
Author and activist Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore discusses her new book Terry Dactyl—a breathless search for intimacy and connection, ranging from club culture to the art world, from the AIDS crisis to COVID-19—in conversation with Alexander Chee (How to Write an Autobiographical Novel).
$10; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, Manhattan
Thursday, November 20
SALON | Pete’s Reading Series
The lineup this month features Jason Diamond (Kaplan’s Plot), Rax King (Sloppy: Or, Doing it All Wrong), Mia Arias Tsang (Fragments of Wasted Devotion), and Alejandro Varela (Middle Spoon), hosted by Temim Fruchter (City of Laughter) and Brian Gresko.
Free; 7.30pm; Pete’s Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St, Brooklyn
PANEL | The Scientific American 2025 Nonfiction Panel
Scientific American, the oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S., partners with Greenlight to highlight some of the best nonfiction published in 2025. The panel of authors includes Marguerite Holloway (Take to the Trees), Maris Kreizman (I Want To Burn This Place Down), Nathan H. Lents, Ph.D. (The Sexual Evolution), and Kate Marvel (Human Nature). The discussion is moderated by Brianne Kane, Editorial Workflow and Rights Manager at Scientific American, before an audience Q&A. Refreshments to follow.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
READING | Heather Aimee O’Neill: The Irish Goodbye
Heather Aimee O'Neill is back from book tour to discuss her debut novel, The Irish Goodbye—three adult sisters grapple with a shared tragedy over a Thanksgiving weekend spent in their childhood home, navigating complex relationships and old tensions—in conversation with Joshua Henkin (Morningside Heights).
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Friday, November 21
PANEL | Books, Stores & Books on Stores: A Friendsgiving gathering with Friend in Store
Join P&T Knitwear and Friend in Store to close out Friendsgiving Week with a special evening celebrating NYC’s extraordinary stores and the books that spotlight them, with a panel discussion, book signing and party. Featuring James & Karla Murray (VINYL NYC), Tamar Arslanian (Shop Cats of New York), Joel Holland (NYC Storefronts) and Ria Sim (Dear New York, I Love You).
$5, redeemable in store; 6.30-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, Manhattan
Sunday, November 23
SERIES | Sunday Salon
The Sunday Salon Reading Series returns with Krystal Anali Vazquez (Lady without Land), Christine Vartoughian (The Only Way Out Is Through the Window), Rita Woods (The Edge of Yesterday), and Katie Yee (Maggie: or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar), four writers whose work explores legacy, love, survival, and the strange beauty of becoming. Hosted by Carissa Chesanek and Wil Turner with music by DJ DubSix.
Free; 5pm; Von Bar (downstairs), 3 Bleecker St, Manhattan
CONFERENCE | PAGE TURNER 2025: The AAWW Publishing Conference
PAGE TURNER is the Asian American Writers’ Workshop signature program. The publishing conference centers the work and experiences of writers of color, convening experts and authors across industries and genres to share candid insights, advice, and experiences over a day of workshops, panels, and Q&As, closing with a networking event.
$108.55; 11am-5pm; Asian American Writers’ Workshop, 18 W 21st St, Suite 900, Manhattan, and livestreamed
ADAPTATION | Special Page-to-Screen Reading Party Ft. Hamnet
Reading Rhythms is hosting a special reading party to celebrate the upcoming film adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet, the heartrending story that reimagines the life and love of Shakespeare’s family. This one-night-only immersive event gathers guests in an atmospheric venue to get lost in O’Farrell’s world of nature and mysticism, scored by a soundtrack inspired by the film’s original music by Max Richter. Connect with fellow readers, explore the book’s themes in intimate discussion blocks, and get a first look at the adaptation starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, and produced by Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes.
$20, including book; 7-9.15pm; Hide & Seek, 593 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn
This post was written by a human. Please check all details before attending.
I’m a Brooklyn-based journalist and author. My debut novel Amphibian is out now. My first book, No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run followed my childhood as the daughter of an international pot smuggler and federal fugitive. I’m here and here on Instagram.
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