133. Reading the City
June 22 to 28
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in NYC.
This week is all fun magazine parties: BOMB’s summer issue party is at the Francis Kite Club; Weird Girls’ x Luna Luna magazine host a Lynch-inspired evening at SISTERS; and Elastic has a great line-up for its launch at the Sultan Rooms (love this venue).
Also, P&T Knitwear are hosting World Cup watch parties all week in their ampitheater, which is cute—soccer but make it bookish. And Maggie O’Farrell’s launch for Land has been sold out for months but you can join the waitlist and hope.
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, June 22
LAUNCH | Franklin Park Reading Series
Franklin Park launch their summer season with a blockbuster reading featuring new work from Camille Perri (Social Animals), Cat Fitzpatrick (The Dinner Party), Natalie Adler (Waiting on a Friend), M Lin (The Memory Museum), chiwan choi (birthdays), and Honor Jones (Sleep). Celebrate the start of summer with fellow lit enthusiasts, enjoy drink specials, and get a shot at the readers’ latest books in the free-to-enter raffle.
Free; 8-10pm; Franklin Park Bar and Beer Garden, 618 St. Johns Place, Brooklyn
🏳️🌈 | Celebrating Queer Romance – Pride Panel + Party
A discussion and celebration of queer romance hosted by The Ripped Bodice and Littlefield. This panel event features authors Page Powars (But I Hate Him), Adriana Herrera (A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke), and Camryn Garrett (Off the Record), and is moderated by The Ripped Bodice’s Kimani Mae (Half Court Shot: A Sapphic Sports Romance). Enjoy Littlefield’s drinks, mix and mingle with authors and readers, and rejoice in queer romance.
$18.71; 8-10pm; Littlefield, 635 Sackett Street, Brooklyn
LAUNCH | Tiffany Tsao: But Won’t I Miss Me
Tiffany Tsao (The Majesties) celebrates the launch of But Won’t I Miss Me—set in an alternate reality where pregnancy endows women with exceptional powers, one new mother uncovers terrifying truths about herself and life in this philosophical and propulsive tale of a woman and mother in crisis—in conversation with YZ Chin (Edge Case). This sounds like an interesting cross of The Substance and The Power through the lens of motherhood.
Free; 6.30-8pm; Yu and Me Books, 44 Mulberry Street, Manhattan
Tuesday, June 23
LAUNCH | Hallie Elizabeth Newton: Agnes Lives!
Hallie Elizabeth Newton celebrates the launch of Agnes Lives!—a day-in-the-life debut novel about a fading socialite on the hunt for someone to kill her before her next SoulCycle class. Joining her in conversation is Rolling Stone contributing editor David Lipsky.
From $10.89; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
PARTY | BOMB Summer 2026 Issue Party
Celebrates the Summer 2026 issue with readings by BOMB contributors Hannah Lillith Assadi (Paradiso 17), kelsey day (The Spiral Key), and Alex DiFrancesco (Transmutation). Enjoy complimentary beverages while they last, and a party with the BOMB community.
$20, including magazine and drinks (free for members); 7-10pm; Francis Kite Club, 40 Loisaida Ave, Manhattan
SERIES | Late to the Party Press
Featuring Catherine Spino, daisy cashin, Ben Kesslen, and Kathryn Everett, hosted by Madeline Howard and Sophy Drouin.
Free; 7-9pm; KGB Bar, 85 E 4th Street, Manhattan
Wednesday, June 24
SERIES | Weird Girls x Luna Luna Lit - A Lynchian Reading
A reading series dedicated to celebrating literary weirdness and lusciousness. The readers will take inspiration from David Lynch, with poetry, prose, hybridity, cocktails, mocktails, wine, food, and community. Expect to hear different kinds of writing while Lynchian music fills the space. You’re encouraged to come dressed as your favorite Lynch character. Readers include Emily Brandt, Jerry Drake, Gregory Crosby, and Jordan E. Franklin, with a few words by the hosts Luna Luna Magazine editor Lisa Marie Basile and Caroline Hagood, creator of the original Weird Girls reading series.
Free; 7.30pm; SISTERS, 900 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
SERIES | Ditmas Lit
The Ditmas Park literary series welcomes Paula Bomer (The Stalker), Alexa Brahme (Good News), Sara Youngblood Gregory (Dead Boys in Space), Masae Satouchi (Color Magic: Unlocking the Door of Destiny), and Jules Wernersbach (Work to Do).
Free; 7.30pm; The Urbane Arts Club, 1016 Beverley Road, Brooklyn
LAUNCH | Cory Doctorow: The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI
Cory Doctorow (Enshittification) launches The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI: How to Think about Artificial Intelligence—Before It’s Too Late—a short, provocative guide to what's good, bad, and stupid about AI and the discourse around AI. In conversation with songwriter Jonathan Coulton. (I had to read on to learn what this possibly had to do with centaurs…)
$10; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, Manhattan
LAUNCH | Isaac Butler: The Perfect Moment
Isaac Butler (The Method) launches The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars—a story of late twentieth century art vs. censorship, brimming with intense drama and fierce moral urgency—in conversation with Emily Nussbaum, a staff writer for The New Yorker.
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
SERIES | Lit Out Loud: Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler
Lit Out Loud, the reading series that brings literature to life through immersive read-aloud experiences performed by actors and narrators, takes on Natalie Adler’s Waiting on a Friend, read by award-winning audiobook narrator Dani Martineck.
$5, redeemable in-store; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Thursday, June 25
PARTY | Elastic Magazine No. 2 NYC Launch
Elastic, a print magazine of psychedelic art and literature, launches “No. 2: The Interspecies Issue” with mind-expanding readings and experimental sound on the rooftop of the Sultan Room. There’ll be readings from contributors ‘Pemi Aguda (One Leg on Earth), Elissa Washuta (White Magic), Avigayl Sharp (Offseason), Gina Chung (Green Frog), and Allegra Hyde (The Last Catastrophe); surreal honky-tonk from improvisational trio Astroturf Noise; and genre-defying DJ sets by Dreamer.
Free, with RSVP; 7-11pm; The Sultan Room Rooftop, 234 Starr Street, Brooklyn
ONE-OFF | Celebrating 80 Years of Penguin Classics
In celebration of the 80th anniversary of Penguin Classics, Elda Rotor, Vice President and Publisher of Penguin Classics, moderates a conversation with writers Nicole Dennis-Benn (Here Comes the Sun), Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist), and Xochitl Gonzalez (Last Night in Brooklyn) reflecting on the evolving role of the classics and the exciting ways in which contemporary voices continue to expand, challenge, and reinterpret the literary canon.
$10; 7pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
LAUNCH | Zinzi Clemmons: Freedom
Zinzi Clemmons (What We Lose) celebrates the launch of Freedom: Essays—“a stunning testimony from a talented writer who strips off false facades with honesty and vulnerability, and leaves us with a searing question: ‘Can you build a nation based on love?’” (BookPage). In conversation with Literary Hub’s Emily Firetog.
$5, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, Manhattan
LAUNCH | Gabrielle Korn: Long Island Girls
gabrielle korn (Everybody (Else) Is Perfect) celebrates the launch of Long Island Girls—“For lovers of music, romance, and perhaps some indie sleaze, this is a time capsule for first love.” (Harper's Bazaar)—in conversation with Tyler McCall (People Like You).
Free; 6pm; Brooklyn Public Library - Brooklyn Heights Branch, 286 Cadman Plaza West, Brooklyn
Friday, June 26
BOOK CLUB | Allie Rowbottom: Lovers XXX
Allie Rowbottom (Aesthetica) joins Open Book Club NYC to talk about her new novel, Lovers XXX, called “the definitive literary Valley porn novel” by the LA Times. Enjoy the margarita bar and wine, a short reading from Allie, followed by an interview and audience Q&A.
$50; 8pm; 80 Bowery, Suite 203, Manhattan
Saturday, June 27
ONE-OFF | Writing Field Trip to Jane's Carousel with Irina Reyn
Hosted by One Story, join a writing field trip to Jane's Carousel and Brooklyn Bridge Park to find inspiration through a guided tour, a craft lecture by Irina Reyn (What Happened to Anna K.), generative writing exercises, and a reading of student work.
From $10, sliding scale; 9.45am-12.30pm; Jane's Carousel
Sunday, June 28
POETRY | Poetry in the Garden
Elizabeth Street Gardens’ bi-weekly poetry program in partnership with McNally Jackson Bookstore returns for the summer season. Hosted by Joseph Reiver and Yvonne Brooks.
Free; 5-6pm; Elizabeth Street Garden, Elizabeth Street, Manhattan
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 or here on Instagram.
Thanks so much for the shout out for WEIRD GIRLS. Your memoir, BTW, looks amazing. Going to check it out. :)