Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
I maxed out my Substack word count which means it’s a bumper week in book-land. We have HIP Lit and Les Bleus’s annual New Year Salon, new books from Marie-Helene Bertino and Temim Fruchter, not one but two Gornicks in conversation at McNally Jackson, and, to close the week, a decadent cabaret affair for Tara Isabella Burton’s Brooklyn book launch.
As ever, send feedback, send help, send events I should have on my radar, say hi! And please share the love with your bookish friends.
Tuesday, January 16
The Café & Bar Presents Drink & Draft Night
Hosted by Josh Krigman, Drink & Draft is a night to get you unstuck and inspired in your writing through a series of visual prompts and style experiments. Optional sharing; all genres welcome; no experience necessary.
$25 incl. first drink from the Cafe & Bar (beer, wine, or speciality cocktail); 6-7.30pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Beautyland w/ Marie-Helene Bertino & Tracy O'Neill
The full event title – “Beautyland: A Lecture Regarding the Life of an Extraterrestrial based on her notes, curiosities, and transmissions” – is enough to make me want to read Marie-Helene Bertino’s latest novel (as does everything about its alien-on-earth premise). The Parakeet author is joined in conversation with Tracy O’Neill (The Quotients).
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Alex Michaelides + Uma Thurman: The Fury
Alex Michaelides, New York Times best-selling author of The Silent Patient, is launching his new thriller The Fury in conversation with Golden Globe-winning actress Uma Thurman. Yes, that’s right, Uma Thurman of Uma Thurman fame. Why? No idea. And it’s sold out, so I’m just telling you this for curiosity’s sake.
Sold out; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
John Hendrickson & Juliet Lapidos
John Hendrickson, who wrote a story for The Atlantic about Joe Biden’s decades-long journey with stuttering, as well as his own, celebrates the paperback publication of his memoir Life on Delay: Making Peace with a Stutter in conversation with The Atlantic’s Juliet Lapidos, followed by a wine reception.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Vivian Gornick and Lisa Gornick in Conversation
Join two generations of esteemed writers, a memoirist and a novelist, come together in conversation to discuss Lisa Gornick’s latest release Ana Turns and Vivian Gornick’s Taking a Long Look.
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 6.30pm; McNally Jackson Soho, 134 Prince St, New York
Cynthia Zarin presents Inverno, in conversation with Judith Thurman
Poet and author Cynthia Zarin (An Enlarged Heart) presents her latest novel, Inverno, in conversation with New Yorker staff writer Judith Thurman.
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 6.30pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Wednesday, January 17
Molly Roden Winter: More w/ Michele Filgate
Molly Roden Winter discusses her debut More: A Memoir of Open Marriage, in conversation with Michele Filgate, the editor of What My Mother and I Don't Talk About.
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7pm - 8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Monica Heisey presents Really Good, Actually
Comedian, essayist, and award-winning screenwriter Monica Heisey presents Really Good, Actually, her debut novel about one woman’s messy search for joy and meaning in the wake of an unexpected breakup, featuring a great lineup of fellow authors in conversation: Isaac Fitzgerald, Naomi Fry, Sarah Hagi, and Scaachi Koul.
$5; 7-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Book Talk with James Frankie Thomas
James Frankie Thomas launches his debut novel Idlewild in conversation with Tara Isabella Burton (Here in Avalon).
Free; 6-8pm; Housing Works Bookstore, 126 Crosby St, New York
An Evening with Merle Hoffman
A pioneer in the fight for reproductive rights since 1970, Merle Hoffman speaks about her new book, Choices: A Post-Roe Abortion Rights Manifesto.
Free, RSVP; 7pm; Revolution Books, 437 Malcolm X Blvd, New York
Jessica Roy + Claire Stern: American Girls
Former digital director of ELLE Jessica Roy launches her debut book American Girls: One Women's Journey into the Islamic State and Her Sister's Fight to Bring Her Home, a deeply reported narrative about religious extremism, radicalization, and the bonds of family, in conversation with the current digital director of ELLE.com Claire Stern.
$8; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
New York Cartoonists in Conversation: Creating Stories for Our World
Accomplished cartoonists Jon Allen (Julian in Purgatory), Dean Haspiel (Best of Godzilla), Ellen Linder (The Black Feather Falls), Peter Rostovsky (Damnation Diaries), Bishakh Som (Spellbound: A Graphic Memoir), and James Otis Smith (Black Heroes of the Wild West) come together to discuss their art, craft, and experience, and the singular ways comix help navigate the complexities of our world.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street Brooklyn
Thursday, January 18
Temim Fruchter: City of Laughter w/ Mara Wilson
Cohost of Pete’s Reading Series, Temim Fruchter, celebrates the launch of her debut novel City of Laughter, spanning four generations of Eastern European Jewish women bound by blood, half-hidden secrets, and the fantastical visitation of a shapeshifting stranger over the course of 100 years. She is joined in conversation by Mara Wilson.
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Pete’s Reading Series
Temim will have to hotfoot it from her Books Are Magic launch to Pete’s Candy Store to host the monthly installment of Pete’s Reading Series, alongside Brian Gresko. The lineup features readings from Francesca Capossela (Trouble The Living), Ed Park (Same Bed Different Dreams), and Cleo Qian (Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go), with books for sale from Greenlight Bookstore.
Free; 7.30pm; Pete’s Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St, Brooklyn
Friday, January 19
Les Bleus and HIP Lit’s Annual New Year Salon
HIP Lit and Les Bleus join forces again for their eighth annual New Year Salon, this year hosted at the new HIP Lit HQ, The Urbane Arts Club, a sprawling Victorian mansion in Ditmas Park. The evening will feature readings from David Santos Donaldson (Greenland), Monique Laban, Julian Tepper (Cooler Heads), and musician Jocelyn Mackenzie, followed by drinks and dumplings. Books will be available for sale from Mil Mundos.
This event is dedicated to David Burr Gerrard, who for those who didn’t have the chance to know him was a beloved member of the New York City literary community and a dear friend. The organizers invite you to contribute to this GoFundMe, which will provide some financial relief for David's wife and daughter during this very difficult time.
Free, RSVP required; 7pm; The Urbane Arts Club, 1016 Beverley Road, Brooklyn
Tara Isabella Burton launches Here In Avalon
For her two-tiered Brooklyn book launch, Tara Isabella Burton will be reading first at the lovely Red Hook Coffeeshop at 5pm (327 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn), followed by an evening of vaudeville and cabaret in keeping with the world of Here In Avalon (much of which is set in Red Hook). Expect performances from burlesque dancer Maggie McMuffin, accordionist Erica Mancini, fire-breather Kita St. Cyr, sword-swallower Alaska, and writer Hannah Long.
Free; 7-11pm; Jupiter House, 79 Otsego Street, Brooklyn
Araminta Hall: One of the Good Guys w/ Gillian Flynn
Araminta Hall (Our Kind of Cruelty) discusses her new psychological thriller One of the Good Guys in conversations with Gillian Flynn, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Gone Girl.
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
The Salon at CBH, Curated by Molly Crabapple
This is the Center for Brooklyn History’s inaugural Salon, “a curated party of music, poetry, conversation, tarot card readings, salsa, litefeet dancing, refreshments and more,” curated and hosted by artist Molly Crabapple. She’ll be joined by dancer Sony Jayy, opera singer Adriana Valdés, poet Nicole Sealey, electro-pop musician Maximum Fractal, tarot reader Gereve, salsa band Anonima Orchestra, and community organizer Asad Dandia. Registration has reached capacity, but you can still turn up, space-permitting.
Free; 7-11pm; The Center for Brooklyn History, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn
NB. Please check all details before attending, the fact checker went awol.
I’m a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, and teacher, and the author of No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press) and Amphibian (forthcoming from Virago). I’m here and here on Instagram. Get in touch with any bookish events you’d like me to include!
