134. Reading the City
June 29 to July 5 + Booking Ahead
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in NYC.
At last, a quiet week in book land! That’s thanks to the holiday coming up, but there’s still some treats, like the a party for the latest A Public Space, a zine about crying in public, and a craft panel on writing challenging characters at Liz’s Book Bar. That, and, for paid subscribers, a packed Booking Ahead section with the events likely to sell out this summer.
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 29
LAUNCH | Lili Anolik: Too LA
The launch of Eve Babitz's Too L.A.: Letters Never Sent (But Some Were) with editor Lili Anolik, Babitz's biographer, who has raised these letters from the tomb and accompanied them with informative and irreverent commentary, guiding the reader through the uproarious lifelong party that was Eve Babitz's real masterpiece. In conversation with Matt Starr, a poet and founder of Dream Baby Press.
$5, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, Manhattan
SERIES | World Transexual Forum
The next World Transsexual Forum invites Meredith Russo (If I Was Your Girl) for a panel discussion with hosts Anton Solomonik (Realistic Fiction) and Jeanne Thornton (A/S/L) to discuss her new work. This will be accompanied by an open mic. Sign-up from 7.30pm. Also zines from Shapeless Press.
Free; 7.30pm sign-up, 8pm readings; Franklin Park, 618 St Johns Place, Brooklyn
SERIES | Straight Girls Summer Reading
Riley Mac invites Althea Baird, Cris Garcia, Sophie Appel, Frankie Baker, and Chariot Wish to read.
Free; 7pm; Parkside Lounge, 317 E Houston St, Manhattan
Tuesday, June 30
PARTY | A Public Space No. 33
An evening of cocktails, mingling, conversation with fellow readers, contributors, and editors from A Public Space No. 33, an issue of choreographies. Featuring readings by Fiona McCrae; Parker Menzimer; Imogen Osborne; and Dani Oliver. With introductions by assistant editors Yasmin Bashir and Theodore Heil.
$20 (free for APS magazine subscribers); 7-9.30pm; Bar Laika by e-flux, 224 Greene Ave, Brooklyn
PANEL | Creating Mysterious Characters In Your Fiction
In this craft panel, Jayson Greene (UnWorld) and Paula Bomer (The Stalker) will discuss the art of creating characters whose motivations resist easy explanation. How do you inspire the kind of ambiguity that bewitches readers? Using examples from their own work as well as writers who inspire them, Bomer and Greene will discuss the delicate art of keeping readers at arms’ length without pushing them away.
$11.49; 6.30-7.30pm; Liz’s Book Bar, 315 Smith Street, Brooklyn
LAUNCH | Teddy Wayne: The Au Pair
Teddy Wayne (The Winner) launches The Au Pair—another seductively twisty page-turner about the explosive impact of a beautiful Norwegian au pair on a celebrated novelist and his wife—in conversation with Christopher Bollen (Havoc).
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Mara Brock Akil: The Revelation of Dionne Daphne
Mara Brock Akil, the television writer and award-winning creator of Girlfriends, celebrates the launch of The Revelation of Dionne Daphne—an emotionally enthralling debut novel about enduring love, world-shattering secrets, and self-awakening—in conversation with Jacqueline Woodson (Brown Girl Dreaming).
$5, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, Manhattan
LAUNCH | Colin Asher: The Midnight Special
Colin Asher launches The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music with a reading, conversation, and live musical performance from The Cambia Collective.
Free with RSVP; 7-10pm; The Urbane Arts Club, 1016 Beverley Road, Brooklyn
Wednesday, July 1
LAUNCH | Emmalea Russo: The Moon Papers
Emmalea Russo (Vivienne) celebrates her new book The Moon Papers—a controversial arts collective rolls out most audacious plans to launch a second moon from the Mojave Desert. The problem? No one seems to understand how “Moon2” actually works. Emmalea will be in conversation with CNN Senior Style Reporter, Rachel Seville Tashjian. This event is co-sponsored by Fashion Fiction, a reading series highlighting literary fashion writing from the past and present.
$10; P&T Knitwear Books & Podcasts,180 Orchard Street, Manhattan
Thursday, July 2
LAUNCH | Paul Tremblay: Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep
Paul Tremblay discusses his new novel, Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep—“Creepy and unexpectedly humorous. . . .A master storyteller, Tremblay’s b(l)ending of genres here truly is a perfect beach read” (NPR)—in conversation with Grady Hendrix (Witchcraft for Wayward Girls).
$10; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, Manhattan
Friday, July 3
LAUNCH | Mar de Lágrimas: Zine Release Gathering
Bring your tears and tissues for the release party of Mar de Lágrimas, a conceptual zine by Doménica García. Mar de Lágrimas explores crying in public as private emotion and public spectacle. Drawing from two years of public crying performances across NYC, the project weaves together internet art, poetry, and pop culture, tracing how a private act has always leaked into public life.
Free; 7-10pm; dear friend books, 343A Tompkins Ave, Brooklyn