89. Reading the City
July 28 to August 3
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in NYC.
It’s a week of literary salons; we have Limousine, Letters & Soda, Domino Reading Series, Lactose Intolerant, the Queens Reading Series, a new one from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, and closing out the week with poetry in Elizabeth Street Garden. Also, Ed Park is in conversation with Rachel Aviv about his new story collection, and there are a couple of interesting debuts (I’m particularly excited by Stephanie Wambugu’s novel). Also, head to Black Spring Books to get a free “ICE out of NYC” poster made by
.And next month, I’m putting together what I hope will be a comprehensive guide to book clubs of NYC so if you have one that’s open to the public hmu.
Send me your events, and, as ever, please share the love with your bookish friends.
Monday, July 28
LAUNCH | J.B. Hwang: Mendell Station
J.B. Hwang discusses her debut novel Mendell Station—a tender debut that follows a woman who, after her best friend’s death, loses her faith and quits her job to join the postal service, quickly becoming an ‘essential worker’ as the city shuts down—in conversation with (I Leave It Up to You).
$5; 7pm; Strand at Columbus Ave, 450 Columbus Ave, Manhattan
PARTY | Car Crash Collective x Domino Reading Series
Featuring Tade Davis, Nicola Maye Goldberg (Nothing Can Hurt You), , Erin Satterthwaite, , and Tony Tulathimutte (Rejection).
Free; 7.30pm; Nightclub 101, 101 Avenue A, Manhattan
Tuesday, July 29
LAUNCH | Ed Park: An Oral History of Atlantis
Ed Park (Same Bed Different Dreams) presents An Oral History of Atlantis—a collection of gilt-edged stories that slice clean through the mundanity of modern life—in conversation with Rachel Aviv, a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Strangers to Ourselves.
$5 redeemable in-store, RSVP required; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, Manhattan
LAUNCH | Rax King: Sloppy
Rax King, author of Tacky and co-host of the podcast Low Culture Boil, celebrates the launch of Sloppy: Or: Doing It All Wrong—a boldly funny, warts-and-all tour of the bad habits that make Rax King who she is—in conversation with (Trauma Plot).
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
LAUNCH | Kylie Cheung: Coercion
launches Coercion: Surviving and Resisting Abortion Bans—an incisive examination of the systemic violence behind the overturning of Roe v. Wade—in conversation with writer and activist (Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win).
Free; 6.30-8pm; Lofty Pigeon Books, 743 Church Avenue Brooklyn
SALON | Letters & Sodas: LIC Reading Series
Host (Build Your Own Romantic Comedy) brings together standup comedy, humor pieces, fiction, and essay readings, with featured performers this month Meg Reid, Shem Pennant, Just Lunning, James Folta, Pooja Reddy, and Brian Gresko .
$5; 7-9pm; The Greats of Craft LIC, 10-15 43rd Avenue, Queens
SALON | lactose intolerant
An anti-clout reading series featuring writers of color in NYC. Readings by Adlan Jackson, Ama Kwarteng, Kyle Carrero Lopez, May Teng, and Ruth Minah Buchwald.
Free; 7pm; The Asian American Writers’ Workshop, 18 West 21st Street, Suite 900, Manhattan
Wednesday, July 30
LAUNCH | Stephanie Wambugu: Lonely Crowds
Stephanie Wambugu, an editor of , celebrates her debut novel, Lonely Crowds, about a volatile friendship between two outsiders who escape their bleak childhoods and enter the glamorous early '90s art world in New York City, where only one of them can make it. (Acts of Desperation) joins in conversation.
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
LAUNCH | Kerry Cullen: House of Beth
celebrates the publication of her debut novel, House of Beth—a haunting and seductive tale of a young career woman who slides quickly into the role of stepmother, in a life that may still belong to someone else—in conversation with Theda Berry.
$5, redeemable in store; 6.30-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, Manhattan
MAGAZINE | New York Reviews Architecture: Issue #46/47 Launch Party
The celebrates its fresh double issue, #46/47, in a Fort Greene beer garden. Subscribers attend for free. All tickets include a copy of NYRA #46/47. Early bird tickets include a complimentary drink. Readings from issue contributors.
$18.01 (free for subscribers); 7pm; DSK , 710 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Thursday, July 31
SALON | Limousine: A Reading Series
Featuring Saidah Belo-osagie, Mikayla Bryant, Kylie Cheung, Emma Specter, and Rax Will and hosted by Heather Akumiah (Bad Witches) and Leah Abrams.
$5; 7pm; Berry Park, 4 Berry St, Brooklyn
SALON | Queens Reading Series
Featuring writers and poets from or based in Queens, including Aishvarya Arora (Mr. Time), Yasmin Adele Majeed, Nadia Misir, Annie Tan, Meghna Rao, and (Fragments of Wasted Devotion). Coffee and aguas frescas available for purchase and light bites will be served.
Free, donations towards writers; 7pm; The World’s Borough Bookshop, 34-06 73rd St, Jackson Heights, Queens
LAUNCH | Aiden Arata: You Have A New Memory
Aiden Arata celebrates the launch of her debut essay collection, You Have A New Memory—an open-hearted interrogation of our digital selves, braiding cultural criticism, memoir, and narrative musings into an exploration of identity, girlhood, media, tech, nature and “finding the depth and beauty in the fucked-up world we live in” (Phoebe Bridgers). Isle McElroy (People Collide) joins
in conversation.$5, redeemable in-store; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
SALON | Alpha Beta Blah
The 2025 Asian American Writers’ Workshop Margins fellows present Alpha Beta Blah, a new reading series that invites writers to come frat out with the fellows. The inaugural reading is themed on “the party scene,” and features M Lin (The Memory Museum) and Paolo Iacovelli (The King of Video Poker).
Free; 7-9pm; Asian American Writers' Workshop, 112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor, Manhattan
LAUNCH | Joe Pan: Florida Palms
Joe Pan celebrates the publication of his debut novel, Florida Palms—a gripping debut about a group of young men dragged into a drug-running operation—in conversation with Gregory Crosby (Said No One Ever) and Paula Bomer (The Stalker).
$5, redeemable in store; 6.30-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, Manhattan
Friday, August 1
ONE-OFF | Celebrating 20 Years of Literary Debuts
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 program, and to celebrate, the Lincoln Center co-hosts a discussion featuring past honorees—Angela Flournoy (The Turner House), (Luster), and Kirstin Valdez Quade (Night at the Fiestas)—where they reveal the authors and books that most inspired them, and what it means to build a literary career and community in New York. The discussion will be moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs & Partnerships at the National Book Foundation. Part of the Lincoln Center's annual Summer for the City programming.
Free, first come, first served; 5pm; The Garden at Damrosch Park, Amsterdam Ave. and West 62nd St., Manhattan
SALON | First Novel Friday
The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Friday returns with featured debut authors (Gingko Season), Benedict Nguyễn (Hot Girls with Balls), and Stephanie Wambugu (Lonely Crowds). Enjoy happy hour in the Members Lounge, followed by a reading and conversation in the auditorium moderated by Torrey Peters (Detransition, Baby).
From $5; 6-8.15pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Sunday, August 3
SALON | Poetry in the Garden
Join McNally Jackson at Elizabeth Street Garden, as a poet or audience member, for the Poetry in the Garden reading series. If you’re a poet who would like to read, submit 2-3 poems connected to the theme “current” to art@elizabethstreetgarden.com ahead of the event. Readings are hosted by Yvonne Brooks and Joseph Reiver.
Free; 5pm; Elizabeth Street Garden, Elizabeth St, Manhattan
NB. Please check all details before attending, the fact checker went awol.
I’m a Brooklyn-based journalist and author. My debut novel Amphibian is out now from Ig, as well as Virago in the UK, and dtv in Germany. My first book, No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press) followed my childhood as the daughter of an international pot smuggler and federal fugitive. I’m here and here on Instagram. Get in touch with any bookish events you’d like me to include!