Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
This week, we have Franklin Park Reading Series (where I am excited to be amongst the stellar lineup to read!), Lisa Taddeo discussing Three Women’s adaptation with Betty Gilpin, and Brooklyn Poets hosting its first-ever literary walking tour.
Also, do you have friends in Providence? Please invite them to my reading at Symposium Books, if so!
And, as ever, please share the love with your bookish friends!
Monday, November 11
Franklin Park Reading Series
This month Franklin Park features Vinson Cunningham (Great Expectations), Cebo Campbell (Sky Full of Elephants), (me! Amphibian), Nicole Haroutunian (Choose This Now), and Amelia Possanza (Lesbian Love Story). Hosted by founder Penina Roth, expect drink specials and a raffle for the readers' latest books.
Free; 8-10pm; 766 Franklin Avenue, 618 St Johns Pl, Brooklyn
Engaged Electorate: Lux Magazine presents Beyond the Election: How Gender Didn't Decide 2024
Engaged Electorate returns for its final week, presented by Lux Magazine with panelists Sarah Thankam Mathews (All This Could Be Different), The Intercept columnist Natasha Lennard, Lux editor-in-chief Sarah Leonard, and writer Emily Janakiram offering an election recap, focusing on the roll of gender in the 2024 presidential election. This event is hosted with the support of political education nonprofit Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung.
$5 redeemable in-store, RSVP required; 6.30pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Dame Harriet Walter: She Speaks
Harriet Walter, one of Britain’s most esteemed Shakespearean actors, discusses She Speaks!—her inventive reimagining of what Shakespeare’s women might have said, resulting in a rewarding, fun interpretation of these classic plays—in conversation with Susan Feldman.
$5, redeemable in-store; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Tuesday, November 12
The Authors Guild Foundation & McNally Jackson present: Edwidge Danticat and Michèle Stephenson
Part of an ongoing collaboration between McNally Jackson and the Authors Guild Foundation, Michèle Stephenson and Edwidge Danticat—whose new collection of essays is We’re Alone—come together for a conversation on art-making that bears witness, the possibilities of community, and a shared interest in mixing personal narrative, reportage, and tributes to ancestors and artistic heroes to tell their stories.
$5 redeemable in-store, RSVP required; 6.30pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Simon Critchley: Mysticism
Simon Critchley, author of over 20 books (though I particularly liked Memory Theater) celebrates his new book, Mysticism—a probing, inspiring exploration of mysticism not as religious practice but as a mode of experience and way of life—in conversation with Caroline Bynum (Dissimilar Similitudes).
Free, register online; 7pm; Book Culture, 536 W 112th St, New York
Youngmi Mayer: I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying
Standup comedian and host of the podcasts Feeling Asian and Hairy Butthole Youngmi Mayer presents her one-person show based on her memoir I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying. Featuring special guest comedian Brian Park.
From $20; doors 7pm; The Bell House, 149 7th St., Brooklyn
Gary Marcus: Taming Silicon Valley
Gary Marcus discusses his new book, Taming Silicon Valley—in which the prominent researcher and cognitive scientist sounds the alarm over Big Tech’s role in the future of AI—in conversation with Julia Angwin is an award-winning investigative journalist.
Free, with registration; 7-8pm; The New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, 42nd Street & 5th Avenue, New York
Jean Hanff Korelitz: The Sequel
A discussion and Q&A with Jean Hanff Korelitz (The Plot) on her new novel The Sequel, in which a not-so-grief-stricken widow follows in her novelist husband’s bestselling footsteps and entertaining complications ensue.
Free, with registration; 6.30-7.30pm; Midwood Library, 975 East 16th St. at Avenue J, Brooklyn
Drexel University presents The Business of Publishing: Agents & Editors Talk Candidly About their Jobs — and Yours!
A lively panel featuring top agents and editors to give you a glimpse behind the curtain to let you know what makes an agent want to offer representation and an editor make a bid to acquire a book. This panel, part of the Senior Year Residency for Drexel University’s MFA Program, is open to the public. Panelists include: Hannah Braaten of Gallery Books; Callie Garnett the editorial director at Bloomsbury Publishing US; Anjali Singh, founder of The Anjali Singh Agency; and Sally Wofford-Girand of Union Literary.
Free, with registration; 3-4pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Distinguished Writers Series presents Lauren Markham
A reading and discussion with Lauren Markham (A Map of Future Ruins: On Borders and Belonging) as part of Hunter Creative Writing Program’s Distinguished Writer Series. The events are open to students and the public. Non-students should arrive early to get a day pass from security.
Free; 7:30pm; Hunter West, 8th Floor Faculty Dining Room, New York
Wednesday, November 13
Anne Berest: The Postcard
Anne Berest's The Postcard is among the most acclaimed and beloved French novels of recent years, at once a gripping investigation into family trauma, a poignant tale of mothers and daughters, and a vivid portrait of twentieth-century Parisian intellectual and artistic life. Anne is joined by Leslie Camhi.
$5 redeemable in-store, RSVP required; 6.30pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Dr. Zinga A. Fraser: Shirley Chisholm in Her Own Words
Dr. Zinga A. Fraser celebrates her new book Shirley Chisholm in Her Own Words—a collection of speeches and writings highlighting Chisholm’s contributions to politics, feminism and activism—with Dr. Farah Jasmine Griffin to discuss how Chisholm’s trailblazing legacy and intellectualism continues to influence movements for racial and gender justice today.
$15; 6.30pm Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue, New York
Creative Writing Lecture: Valeria Luiselli
The Creative Writing Lecture Series brings distinguished writers to Columbia for original talks on craft. This time they welcome Valeria Luiselli the author of Sidewalks, Faces in the Crowd, The Story of My Teeth, Tell Me How It Ends (An Essay in Forty Questions), and, most recently, Lost Children Archive. Guest Registration (those without a CUID) is required. To register, email writing@columbia.edu.
Free with registration; 6-7pm; 501 Dodge Hall, Columbia University, 601 West 125th Street, New York
Thursday, November 14
Lisa Taddeo & Betty Gilpin: Three Women
A screening of the Three Women series finale, which runs for an hour, followed by a conversation with author of the bestselling novel Lisa Taddeo, actor Betty Gilpin, who plays Lina in the screen adaptation, and journalist Kerensa Cadenas.
$10.89; 7pm; St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, 157 Montague Street, Brooklyn
On America: Abolish Rent and the Resurgent Tenants Movement
For the final Fall event in the Center for Fiction’s four-part series on housing, land, and the policies that shape our country, they turn from land ownership to the precarity renters face amid an ongoing housing crisis, welcoming writers and organizers Leonardo Vilchis, Tara Raghuveer, and Esteban Girón for a panel discussion led by Tracy Rosenthal. Rosenthal and Vilchis are the cofounders of the L.A. tenants union and their new book, Abolish Rent: How Tenants Can End the Housing Crisis, will serve as a springboard for the panel’s conversation.
$10; 7-8.30pm The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Rebecca Little and Colleen Long: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Authors Rebecca Little and Colleen Long discuss I’m Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America—a comprehensive examination on how pregnancy loss came to be so stigmatized and politicized, and why a system of more compassionate care is critical for everyone—with New York Times health reporter Roni Caryn Rabin.
Free; 6.30-8pm; Lofty Pigeon Books, 743 Church Avenue Brooklyn
Women Under the Influence
A night of wine and readings featuring Nina St. Pierre, Barrie Miskin, Catherine Spino, Ellen Frances, Nicole Treska, and Gnaomi Seimens, dedicated to Gena Rowlands.
Free, with registration; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Molly Peacock: The Widow’s Crayon Box
Molly Peacock reads from her new collection of poetry The Widow’s Crayon Box, illuminating both the role of the caregiver and the crystalline emotions one can experience after the death of a cherished partner.
Free; 6-7.30pm; The Corner Bookstore, 1313 Madison Avenue, New York
Julian Zabalbeascoa: What We Tried To Bury Grows Here
Julian Zabalbeascoa presents his debut novel What We Tried To Bury Grows Here—a haunting tale of survival, longing, and empathy, set during the Spanish Civil War—in conversation with Daniel Loedel (Hades, Argentina).
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Friday, November 15
Muriel Leung: How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster
Muriel Leung celebrates the release of her newest book, How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster—acid rainstorms have transformed New York City into a toxic wasteland, forcing its remaining citizens to redefine what it means to live, die, and love at the end of the world—in conversation with Jade Song (Chlorine).
$5, redeemable in store; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Tense: Is That All There Is?
Readings by Lucy Sante, Guy Dess, Adeline Swartzendruber, Mairead Kiernan, Chloe Pingeon, Chris Bray, and Beckett Rosset. Music by Sadie Shea with dance accompaniment by Oona Landgrege, and a short film by Max Tullio.
$23.18; 8-11.30pm; Sovereign House, 185 East Broadway New York
Saturday, November 16
Brooklyn Poets Community Walking Tour & Writing Group
Brooklyn Poets hosts its first-ever community walking tour to discover the literary history of its Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. There will be four brief stops throughout the neighborhood to discuss their literary and historical significance, passing the haunts of writers and poets such as W.H. Auden, W.E.B. DuBois, Arthur Miller, Richard Wright, Anaïs Nin, and Carson McCullers, before returning to Brooklyn Poets for a special writing group inspired by what you’ve seen and learned. Brooklyn Poets intern Sophie Steinberg will lead and facilitate.
By donation; 1.30pm; Brooklyn Poets, 144 Montague Street, Brooklyn
Yuri Herrera: Season of the Swamp
Yuri Herrera (Signs Preceding the End of the World) presents Season of the Swamp—a work of speculative history set in nineteenth-century New Orleans and portraying the antebellum South through the eyes of humbled hero Benito Juárez, translated by Lisa Dillman—in conversation with Jakob Guanzon.
Free; 7pm; Community Bookstore, 143 7th Avenue, Brooklyn
Sunday, November 17
Literary Saloon
The Literary Saloon, hosted by Wesley Straton (The Bartender’s Cure), is a mixed-genre reading series, evoking a “Sunday-evening-at-the-bar-with-my-friends vibe.” This month it features Megan Pinto (Saints of Little Faith), Marguerite Sheffer (The Man in the Banana Trees), Andrew Wells (Sealed), and Aida Zilelian (The Legacy of Lost Things).
Free, but drink purchases from their Café & Bar are requested; 5pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
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 available now from Ig, as well as Virago in the UK, and forthcoming from dtv in Germany. My first book, No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press, 2018) 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!